Acclaimed feminist theatre makers THE RABBLE are exploring the complex dynamics of power, consent, knowledge and truth through their new performance work: YES at Arts House from 30 March 2022.
People the world over are living through periods of great change and disruption and yet access to reliable information is becoming ever more elusive. Set within an ever-evolving physical space, YES witnesses two performers answer hundreds of relentless and overwhelming questions with one seemingly simple word.
In THE RABBLE’s own words, “People all over the world are trying to tell the story of the last two years. Between the bushfires, COVID-19, the Black Lives Matters protests, transphobia and never-ending conspiracy theories, the chasm between world views is literally and metaphorically widening.”
YES co-directors, Emma Valente and Kate Davis, explain, “We want to disempower the makers of meaning – the leaders of patriarchal structures – that filter and decide how trauma is portrayed – we want to create a more communal process of searching,” they said.
Valente and Davis often question: why is it so difficult to find simple facts? Why can’t we create a more communal process of searching? Could it be possible that multiple conflicting ideas are all true at once?
Building to a cacophony of potential answers, YES is an unpredictable onslaught that culminates in a void, drained of contested narratives. Part rite of passage, part public debate, part personal memoir, the audience are taken from joy to contemplation to existential dread as they ponder their own feelings towards seeking the truth.
“After a long gestation period, YES will finally have its premiere. This powerful work looks at our relationship to truth in a post-traumatic world. It’s a riveting series of questions that rise, settle, provoke and rise again,” said Arts House Artistic Director, Emily Sexton.
THE RABBLE is a group of visionary women who have consistently produced bold, provocative and visually stunning theatrical experiences. The company has forged an unrivalled reputation for producing experimental theatre (Unwoman, Lone, Joan, Story of O) of the highest quality – theatre that interrogates the human condition through a combination of surreal and visceral aesthetics, and a feminist sensibility.
Co-Creators and Co-Directors: Emma Valente and Kate Davis | Performers: Dana Miltins and Mary Helen Sassman | Set and Costume Design: Kate Davis | Lighting and Sound Design / Composition: Emma Valente | Stage Manager: Cassandra Fumi | Production Manager: Kate Cameron | Production Manager (Development & Pre-production): Rebecca Etchell | Producer: Performing Lines | Associate Designer: Emma Lockhart-Wilson
YES
Arts House – North Melbourne Town Hall, 521 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne
Season: 1 – 10 April 2022 (previews: 30 & 31 March)
Information and Bookings: www.artshouse.com.au
Image: THE RABBLE presents YES – photo by Pier Carthew