Anthology

Anthology is a suite of performances, each between 20 – 40 minutes long, involving 1 – 3 Rawcus ensemble members. This is a long term project that the company will begin in 2024.

Rawcus is an intersectional ensemble of 12 performers. The longest standing member of the ensemble has been with the company for 22 years, while the newest members have been with the company for 7 years. Typically Rawcus creates epic works with the entire company onstage together. Anthology is a point of difference. It’s an intimate work that zooms in on 1 ensemble member at a time. Each section is built according to the performer’s interests- their history, their body, their mind, their unique style: Clem learned to read and write as a child through poetry, and as an adult writes collections of poems. Lou has a deep love of the film Titanic, and has always wanted to reenact it onstage. Josh wants to perform a drum solo, even though he doesn’t play the drums.

Audiences spend roughly half an hour with an artist in a wonderland specific to them. One piece ends and the next begins – a widely different half hour created by a wildly different human being. While the individual performances vary greatly in theme and form, they are united by design. When the suite is completed it can be staged as a durational performance or presenters can choose just a few segments that are most appropriate for their audience. The works can be separated and refitted like lego blocks. When multiple segments are presented side-by-side, Anthology is a sprawling and playful meditation on difference, desire and the hunt for meaning in our lives. This is a years-long undertaking with delicious bite sized outcomes along the journey to completion.

Anthology is produced by Performing Lines Victoria.

Samantha Butterworth
Performing Lines
samantha@performinglines.org.au