This Is Brisbane?

Disappearing Acts actually reminded me of the Michael Jackson tribute from the 21st Century art exhibit that was at GOMA early last year. Such a fantastic exhibit. Anyway, Disappearing Acts reminded me of that certain piece because it sampled fans of MJ singing for a homage to him, and this piece was created through the collaboration of Brisbane residents. I didn’t really enjoy the piece that much, but it was fun to see images and areas of Brisbane that I had regular interaction with.

In an attempt to capture the “real Brisbane story”, award winning multi-media designer Martyn Coutts and sound artist Kelly Ryall collaborated with a selection of materials to explore the various facets of Brisbane. Using the material submitted by the public – including sounds, video and pictures – the piece attempted answer the question “What is Brisbane?”.

The success in the result was mixed and was really difficult to engage with and enjoy. While the programme mentions that the initial goal of this theatre was to explore whether it was possible to “create a piece of theatrical work without a performer”. It is possible, and it’s called installation theatre. Although this work wasn’t so much of an installation that you could go around and explore at your leisure, it was like a museum exhibition where you were forced to look at everything whether you wanted to or not. The opening 20 minutes was a noisy video that pretty much solidified into everything I hate about Brisbane – the unwavering drone of insects, generic scenery, flooding etc. The Stores Rehearsal Room was not devised as a performance space, and it shows since the room isn’t correctly insulated and it was muggy but oddly comforting (and lulled a few people around me to sleep). The seating was très awful, pretty similar to sitting in the third row for Antigone – they’re all on the ground and the people in front of you will obstruct your view.

At around 30 minutes into the piece, there is a brief moment where some text explains that murders are usually committed on sunny days, and perhaps murderers like sunshine just as much as normal people. It was such a random, out of place fact, but it was a welcome moment away from the initial chaos. Beyond that, the work pretty much ambled. There were some video shots of a cycle from the perspective of a car driving down some streets, some water flooding around, and shots of Brisbane skyline from the water. There were some other things such as some street names cycling through too but nothing really grabbed me or was particularly interesting.

One thing I think that could greatly improve this piece is to have it more as an installation work (check out Sarah Winter’s work for a good indication) where the audience can move around freely, choosing their level of interaction. Also, it probably would have been beneficial for a greater variety of sources to be used, as it seemed that the performance heavily relied on the hand-held camera work which filled up around 30 minutes of material. I know that this entire piece was mixed together into just under 10 days, but it would have been great to hear audio extracts taken from interviews, see some more varied locations and to have uncovered some gems that Brisbane audiences may not have discovered. The elements that make Brisbane special would be totally different between each person, but in Disappearing Acts it felt like we were walking public spaces that we’d all seen 9000 times before. The content was a little underwhelming and I was pretty disappointed.

I don’t think the piece was particularly interesting or memorable, and although the idea is clever I think the execution left a lot to be desired. I’d like to see this piece again when it has incorporated the outstanding and undiscovered areas of Brisbane and perhaps in a more interactive installation format – but until then, this is isn’t a piece I’d recommend to make an effort to see.

‘Disappearing Acts’ presented by Kelly Ryall & Martyn Coutts and Brisbane Powerhouse is showing on 16-19 February at Brisbane Powerhouse’s World Theatre Festival. Duration of 40 minutes. Visit the World Theatre Festival Official Website for more information on session times and to buy tickets and festival passes.