The Inaugural Election for Ruler concerning the United Royal Republic Country Homeland of Invasia is approaching. Five candidates from the planet are in the running and it is up to you, the citizens, to vote in the leader who earns your trust.
But how do you choose a leader when their policies aren’t even delivered in your language?… Prepare to be tested for ‘aural racism’ as a host of bizarre characters converge for Invasia. This participatory performance piece from The Leftovers Collective is taking over Redfern’s Hustle & Flow bar this Australia Day/Invasion Day.
Performer and Artistic Director, Curly Fries (yes, you read that correctly), describes Invasia as involving “a bit of sound, a bit of dance, a bit of traditional acting, and then there’s also movement and performance”.
There will be no organic English used, as each performer utilizes a unique dialect made up of up to several different languages. Curly’s character will be speaking in a mixture of Hindi, Mandarin, Polish and Gamilaraay, which is a traditional Aboriginal language.
“We’re looking at how rulers get in…how they engage an audience, what manipulative sound tricks they can use, what is it to aurally envelope someone, what it is to bring someone close to you just through your voice…” explained Curly.
“The audience will have to totally work out through sound who they ‘like’ and vote for that person through a visual card, there will be no instruction in English,” he elaborated. “Whoever has the most votes, that person will come forward and that is your ruler for Invaisa. Their laws will be translated into English…”
All the candidates’ speeches are taken from Shakespeare’s great texts. So you could be swayed by the voice and tone of one candidate, only to discover their speech is taken from Macbeth, and killing for promotion is ok’d under his leadership.
“It’s a really fun night where you can step into some of the deep concepts if you want to or you can just enjoy the fun of hearing these weird candidates speak in languages that are familiar and yet not familiar and vote on one…”
Invasia is the fourth performance by The Leftovers Collective to be welcomed into Hustle & Flow since the group’s inception in May last year. Their first performance came as a reaction to “a bunch of artists not getting general auditions for a large theatre company in Sydney”. Not ones to waste good work, they performed these “leftover monologues” and, in a parody of the casting process, invited the audience to critique them.
The Collective’s free public performances are an excellent opportunity to see working artists exploring taboo themes in an unbridled, independent environment which genuinely celebrates diversity. (AM)
Jan 26, 6.30pm. Hustle & Flow Bar, 3/105 Regent St, Redfern. FREE. Info: www.theleftoverscollective.com
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