I have been given the wonderful opportunity to work with fabulous Japanese Butoh Artist, Kae Ishimoto, to develop Bird Song further at Footscray Community Arts Centre, Melbourne, Australia!!
We need to raise just a small amount of money to get Kae to Australia and we are set to go.
Help us out by making a small pledge or by sharing our campaign amongst your friends, family and work colleagues.
To see our campaign click here
Image taken by Toto Kuo
Review by Kate Nicholson
Photo By: Alea Santos
Freelance Arts Writer / Editor, Art Radar
I have not reviewed theatre in a long time and I have never reviewed movement or dance. My trepidation grew when, after I was seated and the performance had started, I realised that the dialogue was entirely in Chinese, a language of which I have only a very basic understanding. (I had, of course, wrongly assumed that a production written and directed by an Australian artist would be performed in English. You would think that, by now, I would have learned to ignore these kinds of assumptions.) How could I possibly present an accurate review of a performance for which I don’t understand the dialogue?
Very quickly (and with some relief) I realised that dialogue was less functional in a story that, to be told, relied heavily on everything but words: music, set design, lighting, costume, projection and shadow puppetry… The use of so many devices in one performance seemed at times like it might overwhelm the small second-floor space of Taipei’s Guling Street Avant-Garde Theatre. However, director Ren Flannery used the space effectively, calling on the performers to move through the audience and take advantage of curtains, doors and windows as stage exit and entrance points.
When The Maid climbed out of a back window, the jump of just a foot or so was so convincing I felt myself bracing for a noticeable impact. The curtains that concealed the balcony doors functioned as a screen (for the mesmerizing work of Filipino puppeteer and projectionist Don Maralit Salubayba) and stage backdrop, and were incorporated into the movements of the performers. Rather than being hidden away, the musicians appeared prominently on the stage and directly interacted with the performers in at least two scenes.
The many contrasts between The Lady and The Maid highlighted at the beginning of the performance – sensual versus wholesome; privileged versus subordinate; peacockish versus unadorned — flattened out as the story moved on. In some ways, the drama seemed to be a ‘coming of age’ story: a sheltered woman awaiting her marriage only to find it wanting; a young maid struggling to break free of societal restrictions yet finding the binds too tight. The Bird character, though beautifully portrayed through movement and costume, failed to attain the centralising symbolism implied in the name of the performance.
The language choice in the production accompanied by the director’s utterly ambitious use of a multitude of theatrical devices and artistic mediums was perhaps as much necessity as decision. As Flannery herself states in the performance programme, she is “fascinated with the points where humans meet, beyond language and culture”, and this determination to work in those misty areas is clearly what is driving her directorial choices in Bird Song. Even if, for a non-Chinese speaker, some of the story is missed, what is captured in the sound, the movement, the art and the lighting of the performance is enough.
Although facing a phenomenal amount of obstacles Bird Song went amazingly well selling out days before opening and receiving a positive response from a mixed audience demographic. It was an extremely challenging work for all involved but we managed to pull together what limited resources we had to create a mixed media theatre work that provoked thought and mesmerised audiences.
I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all the Indigogo crowd funding supporters, whose donations helped kickstart this project.
The biggest gratitude, thanks and appreciation to these wonderful people!!
Rosie Downing
Jane Sullivan
Karen Flannery
Sarah Hosford
Pei-Yu Lin
Monique Buggy and Nifty
Lui Li Wing
Stella Kao
Catherine Burnheim and Family
Jocelyn Hine
Amélie et Arnaud Hincq-Vangrunderbeek
Erin and Sanjay
Ivan
Lorrayne and Buck Morris
Jo Lawrence
Amy Brand
Anna Weekes
Duane Preston
Eamon Holligan
Cameron Gibson
Karen Cieri
Le Smith and Simon Stafford
Patricia Hay
Frank O’Keefe
Eugene Hong
Jasmine Flannery
Karrin Schoen
Thien Huong Ninh
Jolene and Tim Sinclair
Bunji Elcoate
Stephanie Lin
Tyler Barth
Yumi Umimare
Monique Germon
Janine Wright
Cat McKay
Marli Starcevich
Jade Lillie
Tash and Fergal
Chay-ya Clancy
Emily McNelly
Sekim Kim
Amaury Tranoit
Tjoni Johansen
Finn O’Branagain
I am pleased to introduce you to the new team!!
We are now 11 women and 1 man… poor Don, haha!
(from L-R, Back-Front) Natalie Hsiao, Barbie Chang, Angel Kuo, Ren Flannery, Serena Engel, Katrina Hsiao, Yi Ying-Shan, Katherine Shyu and Esme Wu (Absent Nikko Cloud and Zoe Ku)
and then it all got a bit loose!
更多詳細介紹 To read more about a wonderful clan please click here and scroll down:
跨越語言藩籬的身體共識
洗刷人性與時空的隔絕之牆
一場肢體、感官及意象的絢麗衝撞
一首傾訴女人的愛、慾望與美麗的詩篇
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演出時間：10/12- 14 19:30
地點：牯嶺街小劇場2樓
票價：400/360/300/200/
全票/兩廳院之友/早鳥/學生、身障、敬老
>>早鳥至 9/15! 可享75折優惠！<<
演出語言：雙語演出，肢體及聲音劇場為基礎。
＊可能包含成人內容與裸露演出，兒童不宜，請自行斟酌觀賞。
導演：Ren Flannery
視覺設計：Don Salubayba
音樂設計：Serena Engel/ 李 昀/ 張午午/ 古方姿
製作/ 執製：蕭伊欣/ 蕭伊慧
演員：徐啟康/ 吳亭儀/ 易盈瑄
>>前往兩廳院購票：
http://tinyurl.com/9x3mv9f
Bird Song 鳥之頌 