Hello!
New year, new start hey?!
I just happened across a pre-pandemic website offering ‘rooftop gin gardens, 80’s dance floors, and free water slides.’ Apparently, in this pre C19 world, the city was all about to ‘hot up and burst with summer scenes.’ We were on our way into a new decade, even though the haze from the bush fires thick in the air, we thought that once the rains came, life could return to normal and another year would unfold as it always did.
Yep, in Dec 2019, life was looking pretty rosy. Here at ReAction Theatre, our creative development at RMIT for ‘Secret of the Raft’ (formally 'Les Mystères du Louvre') in 2019 had gone super well and TOBY, a play by Abe Pogos, had been programmed at La Mama Theatre for September 2020. Everything was set for a busy and highly productive year. Little did we know that less than 3 months later the ‘essential night-time outings for our diaries’ would dwindle to a trip around the block, or if we were lucky, a kick of the footy in the park.
The agony of a pandemic - the lockdowns, the sadness, the endless debates, anxiety, uncertainty, and fragility. The gig economy, that so many artists relied on, was decimated overnight and the world put on pause.
Slowly, as we transitioned, this time in grey space and confusion became a time of reflection and transition. We regrouped and tried to reimagine what 2020 could become. We decided to learn new skills and adapt our practices. We saw the possibility of technology as a tool for connection, a new way of working through the enforced separation.
In April 2020, we were fortunate to receive two lots of Covid funding - one from the City of Melbourne for TOBY and a Creative Vic grant for ‘Secret of the Raft.’
The TOBY production team set about developing a set design concept that combined multiple projections, light and shadow, and tiered scrims to create an intricately layered performance that could incorporate social distancing measures, if required. It was such a luxury to have time to work on the production side and I am very grateful to the City of Melbourne for providing these funds.
As I write this, we are full-on into rehearsals for TOBY with six talented actors (Bios here ). It’s definitely a ‘make hay while the sun shines’ affair after having been locked down for a week. The exuberance and the fun that we are having on the floor is a great antidote to the soulless year that was 2020. TOBY opens on 9th March (all going well!) and tickets are available here. The theatre will have limited capacity seating, so please get in quick!
I am really looking forward to seeing you at the theatre!!
Louise and the ReAction team.