Genderfication

The Leftovers Collective are pushing the boundaries and releasing an original artform which combines social experiments and classic works. 

Genderfication explores the social norms of gender, comparing binary, non-binary and fluid gender identification, with biological sex. 

The actors are each going to perform the same script in their own unique way to see if the audience knows, notices or cares about the perceived genders of the characters or performers. Actor, Kipp Lee said,

“The Leftovers Collective came about when a bunch of less traditional actors tried to audition for Bell Shakespeare and they didn’t get the general audition so they decided to do it anyway. They have basically taken traditional old texts and they are presenting them with different genders and appearances, sort of trying to change what an audience expects from a Shakespearean or Jacobean script.”

While watching their show, they want audiences to stop thinking in a gendered way. The Leftovers Collective is providing an opportunity for non-binary actors to perform freely in a space without having to worry about social constraints on gender.

“Being a non-binary performer and always being perceived a particular gender, it’ll be nice to challenge that expectation in a place where people are more receptive for it. This is the first opportunity I’ve been given as a non-binary character to perform as a non-binary person. That’s fairly radical in itself that something like the Leftovers Collective exists to create that space because coming into the world as someone who’s non-binary, I was expecting that if I wanted a role I was going to have to create it or compromise my gender almost,” Lee concluded. 

Sep 27. Surry Hills Library, Crown Street. FREE. www.theleftoverscollective.com

By Jade Morellini