By Jennifer Beasley.
A lone voice questions Daddy Australia in this performance piece designed to make you squirm.
It was with great anticipation that I dragged my latest victim to be my companion to observe this 60-minute show, Edging at the Arts House. Luckily, my friend is a psychologist and has patience in spades, as I babbled something incoherent when asked, ‘what’s it about?’ I had no idea as my mind had exploded on a Christmas shopping trip and I’d skimmed the explanation from the media flyer.
Put simply, Edging, presented by APHIDS, an organisation led by Lara Thoms and Mish Grigor, is part narrative, part play, part wrestling, part interrogation and the rest is pure fun, as the sexy Sammanesh Pourshafighi, all gorgeous matt lippy with a Leo’s charisma (astrology also has a small bit part you’ll find), propels this performance piece into uncomfortable territory.
Starting with audio as Pourshafighi describes her age (42), gender (fluid) and a Muslim who is a refugee after their family fled Iran in the 1980’s, the theme of this work is stated clearly: Make your voice strong, so that you can be heard. Such simplicity. Great writing too, as Pourshafighi berates the other performer, Eden Falk (co-creator), a long-time theatrical actor and voice-over artist, most notable for his work on Border Security (Great Gatsby), which is relevant to this play.
Weaving different themes and styles throughout this performance, sometimes it feels as if the two actors had just stepped out of a café, unrehearsed, and are just having a friendly chat with the audience. But this is all part of the act. Following on from the audio, the hapless Falk is bossed around by Pourshafighi to send the items from the suitcase onto the conveyor belt in this quasi-airport set-up, as each piece is examined and Pourshafighi reflects on her life. Then, Falk brings on Bones, who plays Roscoe. Shaggy and waggy, Bones stole the show. Because Bones is a dog. Apparently, Roscoe was a famous Detector dog for Border security.
Following on from this scenario, the team switch it up, as techno music beats out, and we are at disco night at Berghain, a gay club in Berlin. Pourshafighi oozes across the stage, cracking some funny dance moves, as she corners Falk, before switching back again to a boarder security scenario, and asks Falk what his ‘safe’ word is. ‘Hamlet’, Falk replies.
The seamless integration of this play is brilliant. As the piece delves deeper into the life of the hapless Falk, his part as a voice-over artist on the show, the dog, how both performers speak, how the government used an astrology poster and the gay club, all intermingle as first Pourshafighi, then Falk, interrogate each other. Items from refugees who had been interviewed by Boarder Security are periodically placed on the conveyor belt, the overhead cameras broadcast the written feelings of those who had been asked if they liked Madonna, as an indication of gay tendencies. As we find out, Australia had a policy after 1991 to refuse entry to any migrant that was gay. Unfortunately, absurd as that was, the questions Border Security asked were even more ridiculous.
This leads into the strengths of the piece, as Pourshafighi breaks the fourth wall and interacts with the audience, setting up quiz games, guessing someone’s star sign and even sitting on someone’s lap. Their natural exuberance and playfulness take some of the sting out of the piece, as the audience is confronted with questions that ask why justify an action, just to get paid? To understand that we are all implicit in a government that thinks it’s ok to refuse entry to the country because they like Bette Midler or enjoy wrestling. Or even, most humiliating of all, deny a human dignity by demanding they remove their shoes, which both actors do. Then remove their pants and stand, exposed and demeaned before all. A protest to how the Australian Government treated, and perhaps still does (?) those that most need our help.
A clever and at times brilliant blend of absurdist humour, serious undertones and physicality to prove their point, Edging isn’t afraid to push buttons. The interrogation scenes, based on the long running Border Security show (now celebrating 21 years on TV) are well done as the actors quip and parry, with awkward and inappropriate questions par for the course, as they hone their point.
Terrifically paced, both actors are amazing, and their grace and good humour do much to pull the audience away from over introspection. Just fantastic and will stay with me for a long time. I certainly agree with Olivia Anderson, Arts House Acting Artistic Director that this is ‘An urgent work that exposes and challenges institutional power.’
This performance was also Interpreted by Auslan Stage Left.
Edging plays at the Arts House at 7pm (5pm Sunday) until Sunday December 1st, 2024.
Image: Gregory Lorenzutti
