The Blue Room Theatre and Ladyfinger present No Door On Her Mouth

For those seeking a more complex consideration of the all-too-familiar experience of “falling in love”, Dawn Albinger dares to explore the spaces between love and resistance, thought and agency, voice and breath.

Using her signature tragi-comic style, Albinger deploys fragmented narrative, highly poetic text and humour to deconstruct Western notions of “romance”, “femininity”, “desire” and “love” in an intimate solo performance.

No Door On Her Mouth is a lyrical amputation that invokes choking divas, handless maidens and flightless women, celebrating the juiciness of the mature female imaginary and getting to the heart of the matter in ways that are at once inspired and awkwardly (in)articulate

The piece is a philosophical answer and performative response to Irigaray’s question of how to say “I love you” without it meaning “I wonder if I am loved”.

Written and performed by Dawn Albinger
Dramaturgy by Margaret Cameron
Video art by Sam James

The Blue Room Theatre and Fish in a Vortex Productions

I think we need to have a house meeting… Gemma the Facebook addict, Winnie the romantic and Angela the messy matron struggle to survive the ups and downs of their shared existence. The house is flooded with petty fights, dirty dishes, mood swings and a hope for a better tomorrow.

Will the house stand strong when new housemate Quentin moves in uninvited? Or will their world come tumbling down?

Based on true stories and developed through The Blue Room Theatre’s Early Stages program during 21 Summer Nights, House of Fun! is a newly devised work that humorously dissects the battlefield of shared-house living.

If it’s happened in your living room, it has happened in House of Fun!

Created and directed by Nate Doherty
Co-created and performed by Fran Middleton, Whitney Richards, Mischa Ipp and Chris Isaacs
Produced by Simone Ruggiero
Set design by TJ Darcey Sound design by The Men From Another Place

To coincide with The Blue Room Theatre's 21st Birthday in 2010, a new and improved 21 Summer Nights program will return, Monday - Friday in February/March. That's 21 nights of one-off and weekly spoken word, theatre, and cabaret gigs, plus nightly parlour games.

During the festival period there are a lot of visiting acts in town, but that doesn't mean Perth's performing artists go underground. 21 Summer Nights is a four week festival-style showcase of independent Western Australian work which gives you the chance to experience a variety of affordable performance - and mingle with Blue Room artists and guests - in a fun festival club style environment.

The Blue Room Theatre is also pleased to announce the addition of a weekly music night for the first time in the eclectic summer season.

Stay tuned to www.blueroom.org.au for updated info.

Witness by UJAMAA

An horrific event witnessed becomes a story told and retold. But whose story is it then?

Two men; one Black, another White.

In the shadow of a historic and horrific crime in Africa, a witness starts to tell his story to a sympathetic scribe.
Once told, a story has a life of its own; it can shift its shape. It can change the life of the one who hears it. It can condemn; it can cure; it can kill.

This play traces the powerful life of a tragic story. The results of injustice, terror and violence do not stop at the event itself.
Neither do the identities of the characters stay stable, but morph to explore different ways of witnessing and responding to historical violence.

Devised and performed by celebrated Tanzanian/West Australian filmmaker Martin Mhando and Perth actor/writer David Moody, this world premiere production promises a unique chemistry of comedy, wit and tragedy.
Directed by Serge Tampalini
Written and performed by Martin Mhando and David Moody with Lesley-Anne Philps
Lighting design by Aleesha Green

Have you ever been forced into training you didn’t want or need? Witness the hilarious results this has for Harry in a brand new comedy.

Imagine a man so wound up he could spring to the moon.
Harry is a creature of pedantic ritual. Same routine, same people, same places, same happenings. And above all else, he loathes personal development seminars.

"Get your hands off me! I do not need embracing."

Forced into a flurry of team building sessions and effective communication workshops, Harry’s body, mind and soul are publicly dissected.

“You can’t do that. That’s not how you use LEGO.”

No cut is too deep in Allan Girod’s satirical take-no-prisoners exploration of one man’s struggle with imposed change.

“I just don’t understand why a whoopee cushion is funny.”

Written, devised and performed by Allan Girod
Directed by Igor Sas
Sound design by Joe Lui

The Myth of Julian Rose presented by Mondo Di Corpo Theatre Productions

Julian is a man with a disturbing past which surfaces with a vengeance when the Minotaur from a childhood storybook begins to stalk his family.

Giving voice to the unspeakable, this bold new work portraits the effect of maternal child abuse and the fallout of suppressed trauma, resulting in a story that is emotive, uncomfortable and chilling.
Expect a (un)healthy dose of magic realism and contemporary performance infused with circus art as genres collide, combining elements of the surreal and macarbre.

Joined by a dynamic team of Perth creatives, Marisa Garreffa returns to The Blue Room Theatre following the success of 2008's multi-award winning Motortown (Winner, Best Production, 2008 Blue Room Theatre Awards; Nominee, Best Director, 2009 PTT/Equity Guild Awards) to direct the world premiere season of Daniel Kershaw's debut work.

"It was as blind as Homer but still it searched for me in the blackness with those malformed eyes."

Written by Daniel Kershaw
Directed by Marisa Garreffa
Produced by Christina Yiannakis

Featuring James Helm, Glenn Hall, Jo Morris and Sarah Nelson

Live score by Tristan Parr
Design by Karen Cook, Ami McDonald, Bobbi Jo Divitini, Rosie Martin and Colleen Sutherland

Image 'The Myth of Julian Rose' courtesy of Deon Schafer

Red Cross by Sam Shepard
Presented by The Wet Weather Ensemble by arrangement with Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd, on Behalf of Josef Weinberger Ltd. London

This vivid and comic re-imaging of one of Sam Shepard’s earliest and most experimental works sees characters ruled by their personal anxieties.

‘My head will explode, it will blow right off my body… roll down the mountain and form a giant snow ball… it rolls into the city and kills a million people!’

From the company that brought you A Reptile Dreamed and The Bearskinner comes a vivid and comic re-imaging of one of Sam Shepard’s earliest and most experimental works. A world in a constant state of alarm: a world in which characters are ruled by personal anxieties.

“It’s about fear, I think. Our innate terror of death, secreted by the unease of everyday living. We’re controlled by our fears; we’re bottled together and controlled by government, newspapers, doctors, you name it. Turning us into a bunch of hypochondriacs! Red Cross is a play of mountains made from mole-hills.” – Sam Shepard

Written by Sam Shepard
Directed by Sarah McKellar

Featuring Caris Eves, Ian Sinclair and Alicia Osyka

Lighting design by Karen Cook
Sound design by Will Slade

Image 'Red Cross' courtesy Jacqueline Jane

Spirit Fingers presented by Plink Plonk Productions

A visual feast of magic and music for all ages – minus the magicians! Only their hands will be seen performing world class tricks and illusions.

Feast on a spectacle of magic, mime, music and dance by two of Perth's top prestidigitators.
Matt Penny (Micro Magic, The Magic Matt Show) and Christopher Kenworthy (Magic Slam) will have you gasping in awe and shouting for more with feats of dexterity, illusion and sleight of hand never before seen in Perth.

This show is the culmination of 40 years combined experience, entertaining princes, politicians and celebrities around the globe. The pair is so confident, the entire show will be performed without a word - only their hands will be seen.

An original soundscape (some of which will be performed live on stage) will allow the magic to speak for itself, with hand choreography by the newly formed Ludwig Productions dance company.
Free your mind of language, suspend disbelief and be prepared for a visually stimulating experience.

Devised and performed by Matt Penny and Chris Kenworthy
Choreography by Ludwig Productions
Original music by Matt Penny
Lighting design by Joe Lui

“There’s something in the air that’s suffocating me and it’s suddenly extremely important that I get out.”
Terrified she’s having a heart attack, 24-year-old Grace rushes herself to hospital to find there really isn’t anything wrong with her. Despite needing more red meat, Grace is the picture of physical health.
“For some unclear reason, Kmart is out to get me.”

Learning her heart attack was actually a panic attack, Grace discovers there is a lot more mythology than medicine when it comes to mental illness. Surrounded by people, she feels increasingly alone, but in the shadows there’s another girl from a long-gone era whose experiences are frighteningly similar.

This new work brings together local playwright Suzanne Rofe (Red Meat, 2005 and The End of Sophie and All Her Friends, 2006) and director Michelle Sowden (Alaska, 2009) for their first original collaboration

Written by Suzanne Rofe
Directed by Michelle Sowden
Designed by Monique Wajon
Featuring: Nate Doherty; Natalie Holmwood; Michelle Francis; Matt Penny; Fran Middleton; and Kingsley Judd

Presented by The Blue Room Theatre and Weeping Spoon Productions

What happens if the girl you think is "The One" turns out not to be?

It's been a long tour. Dumped, depressed and slightly drunk, actor/comedian Zack Adams figures that if you can't laugh at yourself, you may as well let an audience do it for you.

A cross between a rock concert and group therapy, LOVE SONGS FOR FUTURE GIRL is an emotive new show about love, loss, heartbreak, and growing bad ginger beards. Join Zack on his comedic musical journey in search of "The One", wherever she may be. Heck, she could even be you! (Or the cute indie girl behind you.)

Written, produced and performed by Shane Adamczak
Lighting design and stage management by Lisa McCready

Photo by Skye Sobejko

Good people do terrible things...

Renovations at the Lyon household. Bruce, the figurehead of the family, weighed down by his impressive mane, has chosen a savannah theme for their new kitchen. He is surrounded by women.
Bruce struggles to cope with modern living, and knows that his time is limited since James, his stronger, more handsome neighbour, has been peering through the windows admiring the family and the mod cons. Such is the life of a lion.

The Pride stays true to Side Pony Productions’ signature style - black comedy at its darkest - borrowing from the drama of a lion’s life, mapping their social patterns onto human characters dressed like lions.

This surreal comedy, created by the cast with director Zoe Pepper (Heart of Gold, The Manic Pony, Scarecrow, Motor City Blues), looks at betrayal and our readiness to forgive; even in the face of gross moral misconduct.

Directed, produced and create by Zoe Pepper
Co-created and performed by Brendan Ewing, Adriane Daff and Russell Leonard
Costume design by Esther Sandler
Lighting design by Lucy Birkinshaw

The Blue Room Theatre and Jessica Craig-Piper present Jack & Jill

“I mean, what really happened to Jack and Jill at the top of that hill? All we know is that whatever it was, it ended badly, okay? So please, just stop.”

When his estranged father dies unexpectedly, Christopher is obliged to venture from the isolated rural town of his childhood to the unfamiliar inner-city home of his half-sister Jillian, a charismatic young artist whom he has never met.

Christopher quickly ingratiates himself with Jillian’s housemates and sometime protégés, volatile artistic duo Kil and Bear, who sense opportunity and secretly adopt Christopher as their next project.
Nicknaming him “Jack”, the pair work competitively to transform the impressionable young man’s identity, resulting in a dangerous game that sends moral compasses haywire, with devastating consequences.
This challenging new work by emerging local artists is an intimate portrait of loss, passion, morality and obsession.

Written and directed by Jessica Craig-Piper
Assistant director and dramaturgy by Simone Ruggiero
Produced by Jessica Craig-Piper and Jamie McGleave
Lighting design by Stephen Warren
Featuring Lawrence Ashford, Zoe Cooper, Laura Jayne Henderson and Keir Wilkins

 

The Blue Room Theatre and Last Man To Die present The Last Man To Die

Step into the distant future and look backwards in time with Last Man to Die as the Canberra-based cross-artform collective explores the emotional and social consequences of artificially extending human life.
"Your actions could change the history of humanity forever. Forever."

This self-titled interactive theatre installation invites you to explore mankind's reaction to near-future technologies - extended lifespan, A.I. and brain-computer interfaces - through an interdisciplinary blend of drawing, percussion and performance.

With the theatre transformed into a museum of the future, the audience is given control of the action and text through use of new technologies.

"The group has successfully found a way of utilising tensions between the competing art forms to pave a collaboration that is technically sophisticated and conceptually original."
- Joe Woodward, Trinculo’s Shadow

Welcome to the future; have fun living forever.

Featuring Hanna Cormick, Benjamin Forster and Charles Martin in collaboration with writer/director Peter Butz

Supported by the ACT Government, the Australian Government, TechNyou and PACT Centre for Emerging Artists.