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The Dead Twin is work that dares to take risks, and in doing so, it has broken new ground in performance making. Peril Magazine
About: The past comes back…..enter the horror……. Steve is a young man with a bright future. When he meets Lola, he develops the ability to contact his long dead twin, who died during war. Steve's parents have a pact not to talk about the twin, but each of them dreams of encountering him. The Dead Twin is a site-adaptive performance exploring a sense of alienation experienced by many transnational families, particularly those who've fled from war as refugees. The Dead Twin re-imagines the horror genre as an immersive, visceral performance; it invites the audience to move in and around the site/venue to encounter the characters and scenes of the play. Audiences thus follow the characters throughout the performance. Director Deborah Leiser-Moore Writer and Producer Chi Vu Visual Artist Naomi Ota Sound Design Jacques Soddell Performers: Davina Wright, Daniel Han/Jhn Desengano, Harry Tseng, Alex Pinder, Deborah Leiser-Moore Director’s Note Our three-week creative development explored the script as a performance work that features FCAC’s historic Henderson House and immediate surrounds. This bluestone building, built in 1872, was formerly a residence and piggery. Tales of its former ‘gory’ days enhance the themes in the work, making it a perfect setting for a site-specific promenade performance on the unspoken traumas of war. Writer’s Note This story looks at the people and places that we leave behind. Sometimes they remain with us long after we have become separated from them. A part of who we are is missing because of their absence. And so we are haunted. This performance is going for a horror sensibility to describe being part of a generation that has inherited trauma, in this case, the trauma of war. I’ve been reading about postmemory, a term coined by Marianne Hirsch, which “describes the relationship of the second generation to powerful, often traumatic, experiences that preceded their births but that were nevertheless transmitted to them so deeply as to seem to constitute memories in their own right.” I wanted to write this as a horror piece after coming across ‘The Wounds of Nations’ by Linnie Blake which argues that this genre has a “unique ability to confront the consequences of traumatic national events for individual and collective identities…to ‘reopen’ national wounds that have been denied, ignored, or only superficially addressed…” This project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council its arts funding and advisory body, Creative Victoria, Besen Family Foundation, Theatre Works and Footscray Community Arts Centre. Video Documentation by David Meagher Photographic Documentation by Jave Lee Thank you: Bernadette Fitzgerald, Jade Lillie and the staff at FCAC The Dead Twin is immersive theatre at its best. Director Leiser-Moore has shaped a seamless immersive production that maintains a thrilling fluidity for its entirety. Arts Hub A mysterious and haunting experience, masterfully choreographed by Leiser-Moore as director, whose courageous and refreshing approach to directing has moments of luminescence. Stage Whispers The Dead Twin is visually stunning, using space, bold lighting and restrained costume as a new language to speak of grief and horror. Leiser-Moore has artfully combined these elements into a tightly wound thread which draws you into this unsettling world: the Dead Twin is a very visceral experience. Theatre People PRESS Arts Hub Stage Whispers Peril Planet Arts Melbourne ABC Radio National Arts Review: On The Couch |
Performed at:
2017 George Town Festival, Penang, Malaysia 2015 Footscray Arts Centre in collaboration with Theatre Works as part of FLIGHT Festival Development: 2014 Creative Development at Footscray Arts Centre 2013 Victoria College of the Arts |