AustLit

'How did we get here? Are aliens real? And is it possible to lick your elbow?

'Based on interviews with members of the South Australian community aged between 8-102, Creation Creation is a comedy about life’s biggest mysteries.

'We’ve asked two fearless creators to step onto the stage and attempt to unravel the mysteries of the universe using whatever tools they have at their disposal. Cardboard boxes become battleships and ping pong balls become planets in this hilarious explosion of art, sculpture and puppetry.

'A daring and audacious journey to the very edge of the universe and back again. It’s a wild theatrical experiment for the curious among us.'

Source: Windmill Theatre Company.

'In 1981, a young Egyptian refugee and choreographer signed up to transform a strip club. Thirty-three years later, he is stepping back from the limelight. It’s time to tell his story.

'Madame: The Story of Joseph Farrugia is a performance work based on the life and times of adult entertainment trailblazer Joseph Farrugia aka Madame Josephine, long time creative director and host of famous Adelaide strip club Crazy Horse Revue/Madame Josephine’s. Crazy Horse has been a place of fascination for many South Australians. Whether it’s been a hen’s night, buck’s show, a search for intimacy or a stolen glance up the stairwell, this venue is iconic in our city’s sexual landscape.' (Production summary)

'Acts of Courage forges immediacy and honesty between a vast range of Australian stories, generating forgiveness and hope in the act. Oades’ unwavering loyalty to the words, sounds and silences of everyday conversations conveys a steadfast loyalty to the experiences and the people from which they come. This trilogy celebrates not only the Australian spirit through times of hardship, but everyday, extraordinary, acts of courage.' (Publication summary)

'Eighteen and eighty: two ages that bookend a life. One represents untold potential; the other, the accumulation of a lifetime of experiences.

'Based on interviews with people experiencing these two very different milestones, Hello, Goodbye & Happy Birthday is the powerful new work from Malthouse Theatre’s 2013 female director-in residence, Roslyn Oades. Playful and affecting in equal measure, this show sees Oades continue her groundbreaking ‘headphone verbatim’ documentary theatre technique, bringing an extraordinary immediacy and vividness to the performances.' (Production summary)

'The more you sweat, the less you bleed.

'For 18 months theatre-maker Roslyn Oades and her trusty tape recorder followed a determined, young boxer from Bankstown through his preparations for a world-title fight. I'm Your Man is the story of who she and her tape recorder met along the way: past legends, up-and-comers and failed contenders whose lives have been irreversibly changed by the fight game.

'This Sydney Festival, Downstairs Belvoir turns boxing gym: place of dreams, of glory, of a better life, where everyone wants to be special and only one thing is certain - that no matter how high you fly you will eventually lose. I'm Your Man is no ordinary slice-of-life. The actors wear earpieces and take their lines directly from the ringsides, gyms and dressing rooms of Oades' recordings. This is fuelled-up, high-stakes, real-deal theatre.'

(Source: Belvior St Theatre website)

'"Stories of Love and Hate" looks at the lives and loves of people directly affected by the 2005 Cronulla riots. Sidestepping the media hype and social outrage surrounding the event, the source material for this unique verbatim theatre show comes from an extensive interview process with the people who were there.

'Based on a two-year interview process in Bankstown and the Sutherland Shire, Stories of Love & Hate explores great loves, broken hearts and an infamous riot. Roslyn Oades takes on verbatim theatre once again with a compelling new examination of Sydney communities and the Australian psyche.'

Source: Bankstown Arts and Crafts Centre website, http://www.bankstown.nsw.gov.au/
Sighted: 18/11/2008