Reviews

The Sum of Us, performed as part of the Perth Festival is Yirra Yaakin’s first queer themed production, and the first time that The Sum of Us has been performed with an all-indigenous cast.

High Performance Packing Tape starts with a massive bang. A lone performer lying prone on the floor strenuously expends all his breath to inflate a large balloon until the inevitable happens. It’s uncomfortable to watch, and immediately places the audience outside its comfort zone, as do many of the sequences that follow.

By using everyday items to create a performance, Branch Nebula have set out to challenge the audience’s notion of what theatre, dance and performance is, and can be.

This play details and celebrates the wonderful and clearly little-known history of several women sporting figures. The play is structured in three parts and looks at women who were pioneers in three sports: swimming, cricket and running. All of the stories are told from a very personal perspective and highlight the obstacles that women face not only historically but also in contemporary society. The performance is also graced by the presence of Calisthenics Soloist, Nuj B, and local running legend Monica Wong.

Katyn, says writer-director-performer Jim Daly, ‘proceeds from a response born in shock at the meaningless grotesque of the Katyn massacre’.  What he has made of his response is a play that is often opaque yet astonishing in its intensity, its physicality and its rage.