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Close to Home - Melbourne Fringe Festival (2024)
Presented as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Produced by Flatpack Art
As comforting and enlightening as it is distressing and informative, this is unique and perfectly reflects the Fringe
Reviewed by Rachael Vassallo
Dates 16 - 20 Oct
Time 6:00pm, 5:00pm (50 minutes)
Venues Festival Hub: Trades Hall - The Square
Attendees gathered in the rainy courtyard of Trades Hall to be taken into a space where we were seated in the round. We entered the space through a setting resembling a cottage garden. Each audience member was given a bag with an accompanying zine, a piece of origami paper, a dried orchard and three stones. Close to Home was performed by three, who remained in the performance space for the entirety of the duration.
Close to Home opened evoking a sense of familiarity. The premise of which was to identify the connection between the ecosystem and comfort. Discussion first drew our attention to the equilibrium of biology that surrounded us. We were reminded to make ourselves one per cent more comfortable. Discussion was then shifted to defining the concept of ‘home’, which truly captured a moment in the space.
The fragmented storyline focused on the characters’ desire to search for a home within the ecosystems of the world. Despite being the only home humans have ever identified as compatible with life, Earth can be a dreary, cruel place at times. It is as fragile as it is consistent and as alien to youth as can be. Our three characters find a sense of youthful nostalgia in travelling through Melbourne Zoo, admiring the ecosystems.
To me, the concept of ‘home’ is essential. I rely on a sense of familiar comfort to function and do not respond well to change. The premise of this performance, and what subsequently ensued hit ‘close to home’ for me. Walking to and from the venue had me witness the growing homelessness crisis gripping Melbourne. It was distressing to witness.
We then experienced the three actors walking in a pacing manner around the space, listing off the distances between animal exhibits in the Melbourne Zoo. This was very experimental but also enticing and interesting, even though the concept reads as the opposite. We experienced ten minutes of this to set us up with a sense of familiarity for the staging of this performance. Audience participation is also used in this production, and the actors do a brilliant job of remaining in character, whilst also treating the audience with politeness.
Zoos, in spite of all the work they do always come across as unnatural. Looking back at photos of zoos last century gave an impression of exploitation for human eyes at the expense of the animal’s wellbeing. Hearing the narrative of how elephants are left in the centre of a concrete jungle with city lights blaring making it difficult to sleep, and nocturnal animals being kept awake with fake, fluorescent sunlight is almost bizarre. It has been blatantly obvious for generations that the best place for non-native animals, is their natural habitat, their home. Yet the concreted monolith of the city is just as unnatural for humans, its natural that so many find their home in the country.
This story left me with an insatiable sense of freedom and desire to make my own choices and find my true home.
The set design (Silvia Shao and Tomas Gerasimidis), particularly in the scenes concerning the zoo, was brilliant. Shao created something truly symbolic and creative. The use of audience participation with stones removed the distinction between the world of the set and the audience. The most striking example were two origami elephants, which were used to stage the story of Melbourne Zoo’s first and second exhibited elephants. They brilliantly evoked a sense of control and vulnerability in the audience.
Close to Home relied on storytelling accompanied by non-naturalistic acting with much of the narrative created through metaphorical dialogue. The distinction between these two methodologies of drama flowed seamlessly between each other. Discussion was focused on the nature of ‘home’ and what it meant. I did find these discussions repetitive and identified a one pointed perspective instead of allowing the audience to come to their own conclusion.
We were treated to one last story before conclusion, of swans who willingly make their home in the Melbourne Zoo. This story left me with an insatiable sense of freedom and desire to make my own choices and find my true home. Regardless if I am returning home to any sense of comfort, Close to Home is comforting in itself.
CREATIVES
By: Kate Cameron, Olivia Staaf, Chelsea Rabl, Oliver Tapp, Emily Shelmerdine, Jess Lu, Frazer Shepherdson and Tyrie Aspinall with design by Silvia Shao and Tomas Gerasimidis.
Produced by Flatpack Art
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