This August, Kingston Arts presents three captivating theatre shows at Kingston Arts Centre and the Shirley Burke Theatre.
The Heart Whispers and Whirls 10 August
SLAP. BANG. KISS. 16 August
The Fence 23 August
On Saturday 10 August at the Shirley Burke Theatre, The Resonant Heart presents The Heart Whispers and Whirls, (pictured below right) a night of poetry, song, dance and shadow puppetry that sheds light on folk traditions stretching from South Sudan to the Balkans – a mesmerising kaleidoscope of multi-lingual poetry, folk songs, dance, and shadow puppetry.
The Resonant Heart is a multi-disciplinary ensemble of international women and female-identifying artists, uniting to share their rich cultural and artistic heritage through live performance, comprising of: Sudanese poet Nyaluelit ‘Lizzy’ Kuoth, Indian sitarist Sarita McHarg, Iranian artists Vahideh Eisaei and Elnaz Sheshgelani, and the Balkan and Sephardic Jewish music trio Saray Iluminado Femme, featuring vocalist Nela Trifkovic, and instrumentalists Irine Vela and Kelly Dowall.
The show will be followed by a Q&A, and workshops will be offered prior to the performance. Participants will learn about traditional folk performances from around the globe from professionals with decades of teaching and performance experience. Through music-making, participants also learn about the histories and culture of India, the Balkans and Iran.
Songs From The Rose Garden – An Introduction To Bosnian Sevdah and Sephardic Jewish RomancesJoin Bosnian-Australian singer Nela Trifkovic and her colleagues from SARAY Iluminado Femme in a dynamic and vocal workshop introducing audiences to Sevdah, the traditional vocal form from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sephardic Jewish Romances (secular women’s songs). A vocal workshop for community musicians and professionals alike, the workshop will delve into the melodic and harmonic lines of the songs.
The Beauty of Indian Songs
Dr Sarita McHarg will introduce audiences to the subtle beauty of Indian folk singing from the north. Drawing on her experience of growing up in a family of professional performers and culture-keepers of classical and folk traditions, Sarita teaches folk songs of her motherland with lightness, ease, and humour.
Naghali (Persian Movement Theatre) Workshop
This workshop is about movement/body and music/human-voice in Persian dramatic storytelling, an ancient style of performing arts in Iran. This workshop is accessible to a diverse range of participants, regardless of cultural background. Persian dramatic storytelling (Naghali/Gōsan) will be taught with the help of a unique visual tool, called “adamak-tion,” and Persian folkloric music.
The Resonant Heart show and workshops will enlighten and enrich audiences with a true multicultural experience in the character-filled boutique Shirley Burke Theatre.
On Friday 16 August, Kingston Arts will present Melbourne Theatre Company’s production, SLAP. BANG. KISS. (pictured left) by Dan Giovannoni, also showing at the Shirley Burke Theatre.
SLAP. A video of 16-year-old Immi hitting a security officer goes viral. BANG. Sofia’s impassioned speech for victims of a school shooting makes international news. KISS. Two boys lock lips, attempting to set the world record for the longest kiss.
Exploring themes of activism, community and hope, director Katy Maudlin delivers a bold production of SLAP. BANG. KISS. tracks three young people whose stories kickstart a series of events that none of them could have anticipated, transforming them into global symbols of revolution. But when their stories go viral and the whole world is watching, what will they do next?
This Melbourne Theatre Company production tracks the interlocking stories of three teens who find themselves transformed into symbols of revolution. Exploring themes of activism and hope, SLAP. BANG. KISS. is aimed at high-school students, but proves mature enough to engage us all. This event will feature a post-show Q&A with the artists.
Shortlisted for the 2022 Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award, The Fence (pictured below) is showing at Kingston Arts Centre, Moorabbin on Friday 23 August. Audiences can expect a scintillating solo work about privacy, bravery, and testimony by acclaimed playwright Fleur Murphy (Nothing, Hearth) and directed by Alice Darling.
In the quiet streets of an ordinary suburb, the fence between two neighbouring houses comes down. Where once there was a clear separation between them and the couple next door, now there’s only a dirt line and human decency keeping prying eyes out of each other’s backyards. They can’t help but notice a new baby and a neighbour who keeps locking herself out. And then there are the sounds late at night that have become impossible not to hear. Murphy asks the audience, should you say something, do something? But is it what you think it is? And is it really your place to get involved?
Performed by Louisa Mignone (Death of a Salesman, Wentworth, The Twelve), this gripping new play shines a light on the violence found in our own backyards.
The Resonant Heart presents The Heart Whispers and Whirls
Saturday 10 August
Shirley Burke Theatre, 64 Parkers Rd, Parkdale
SLAP. BANG. KISS.
Friday 16 August
Shirley Burke Theatre, 64 Parkers Rd, Parkdale
The Fence
Friday 23 August
Kingston Arts Centre, 979-985 Nepean Hwy, Moorabbin
