A celebration of life in all its stages, Photography by Carla Gottgens Prime Time interrogates the relationship between age, power, visibility, and value. This new intergenerational work challenges our assumptions and expectations about age and ageing. Featuring a cast of 14, aged between 5 and 93, Prime Time forges new dialogues across generations through shared stories, perspectives, dance and sound.
How would you describe your show to someone who knows very little about it?
Prime Time is a new inter-generational performance work featuring a diverse cast of both 14 (aged 5 to 93) who are a mix of professional performers and community members.
What makes it stand out and why should people see it?
Prime Time is a rare opportunity to see such a range of ages on stage together and the beauty, truth and chaos that comes with that. In essence it is a celebration of life in all its stages, challenging our assumptions and expectations of age, ageing and value. It is about facilitating new dialogues across generations through sharing stories, perspectives and dancing together in an artist-led process.
How long was the process from idea to writing to stage? Any challenges along the way?
The Prime Time Project has been evolving since April 2023, starting with a 3-week artist residency at the Braybrook Community Hub chatting to community members of all ages, gathering over 80 recorded interviews. We then ran four research workshops in Footscray, which brought together a mix of professional and community performers to create this work.
This cast has now become like a family. Over the 3 years since the first development ( we didn’t see each other for nearly a year), we have witnessed people’s lives change and grow, have surgeries, become carers of partners, and we even lost our much-loved and inspiring 93-year-old Helen Walsh, who passed away last year.
What attracts you to Fringe?
Born in a Taxi’s work is a good fit for Fringe is that it is both experimental and accessible.
It is also a great opportunity to reach new audiences through broader marketing channels and opportunities.
How would you describe your relationship with the audience and what do you love the most about live performance?
Born in a Taxi’s superpower is connecting an audience of strangers in the spirit of play. Over the years we have performed in so many different contexts and countries in public spaces, events and theatres. Many of our works have an element of audience agency or participation which heightens the sense of liveness and the unpredictable and is where the real magic happens.
Who would you say have been your biggest inspirations?
Al Wunder from Theatre of the Ordinary, who sadly has only recently passed away, was a significant teacher of mine since the early nineties. He is considered the Godfather of movement improvisation in Melbourne, and it is from his work that Born in a Taxi met each other and went on to develop a comprehensive method in ensemble movement improvisation over the past 4 decades. I joined Taxi in 1993.
John Bolton is another local teaching legend that has been a big influence on my work. I attended his school in 1992, and I learned the value of just making loads of work and learning through doing.
What are three things that would surprise people to learn about you?
1- I eat a stupidly large amount of food for a relatively small person.
2-At the age of 12 I won 1st prize for my disco moves (which I was completely making up) at the first disco in the hick town of Oxford NZ, much to my surprise and the disgust of the older and way cooler, teenage girls.
3- I used to want to be a goat farmer.
What do you love most about performing at Melbourne Fringe?
I am directing this show, which I am absolutely loving, so it is a change from performing and a great growth spurt for me.
What comes after the Fringe Festival for you?
A big lie in!… followed by one of my favourite shows in mid Nov No Former Has Performed This Performered This Performance Before #11, a performance we have committed to doing each year …till we die! Now in its 11th year.
Born in a Taxi brings a cast of 14 aged between 5 and 93 into the spotlight to challenge our assumptions about age and ageing.
October 14 -17
melbournefringe.com.au
