2001

PRODUCTION:
The second Last Supper
A performance in three courses

VENUE:
April 2001, Performance Space, Sydney

PROGRAM NOTES:

TAKE. EAT. THIS IS MY BODY. THIS IS MY CAB SAV. DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE.

If there were a drug to make life meaningful, it wouldn’t be on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
Is armed struggle possible when the cricket’s on?
Some of us expected to witness a revolution in our lifetimes. Should we still wait?

A group of strangers arrive at a mysterious corporate dinner nominally commemorating the 2000th anniversary of the Last Supper. They adopt the names of Apostles, and fuelled by endless glasses of red wine and a three-course meal, transform global capitalism into religion in a Last Supper of seductions, treachery, slapstick, hypocrisy and violence. Traversing the ideological terrain of the New Right, best management practice, revolutionary nostalgia, millennial anxiety, and the grand empty spectacle of the Sydney Olympics, The second Last Supper unflinchingly probes the ethical dilemmas of the moment. Hilarious, sobering, provocative and poignant, The second last Supper is truly surprising and unforgettable performance.

REVIEWS:

“This is a show to keep in repertoire, a refreshing new vision in performance.” RealTime

"an antidote to the leaden trend of performance art seriousness; an embrace of that oft-forgotten point about entertaining the punter" The Sydney Morning Herald

“sublimely anarchic” Sydney Star Observer

"a wonderful sense of humour, ranging from clever-clever through to slapstick to the downright daggy." The Sun Herald

“If you want narrative closure, you’re in the wrong place. In fact if you want narrative, you’re in the wrong place. If you want an engaging, challenging dose of Reality Theatre then buy a ticket.” Pod

PRODUCTION CREDITS:

Collaborators/Performers:
Danielle Antaki
Stephen Klinder
Christopher Ryan
Rohan Thatcher
Yana Taylor
David Williams
with Mark Byrne performer / operator)

Lighting by:
Richard Manner

Video projections
Sam James

PRODUCTION:
841 Minutes
Durational performance

VENUE:
22nd September, 2001. Performance Space, Sydney

PROGRAM NOTES:

Truth and Fiction. 841 minutes in a room with 5 alleged artists and a few phone calls. Bad jokes. A 12 hour continuous performance improvisation that questions the right to be here. Now. Strong drinks. Accomplices aid and abet those impounded via underground communication links. Midday to midnight. An experiment and a desperate struggle to stay present. To fight for what is yours. To find a place to spelak. To know what to say.

Witnesses required.

This project was assisted by Performance Space. It is a cultural gift to the nation from a group of living national treasures.

PRODUCTION CREDITS:

Collaborators/Performers:
Mark Byrne
Nikki Heywood
Yana Taylor
David Williams
Beck Wilson

PRODUCTION:
Unspeakable Acts
Short performance

VENUE:
Performance for B-Sharp (ROUGH CUTS)
Venue: Downstairs Belvoir St Theatre.

PROGRAM NOTES:

"GOOD EVENING LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, I HOPE THAT EVERYONE'S HAVING A GOOD TIME. I HOPE THAT EVERYONE'S HAPPY. THAT'S GREAT. WE'LL SHARE A BIT OF LOVE TONIGHT IN THE SHORT TIME THAT WE HAVE TOGETHER. A LOT CAN HAPPEN IN TEN MINUTES."

Two people enter a location. They come from different places and are heading in different directions. They collide amidst others in the same space. Something happens. Something changes. A conversation begins in the darkness, and spills over into a spastic tango over a gin and tonic or three. A couple occupy the same physical space but don't quite can't quite meet. A choreography of fumbles and embarrassing silences.

Unspeakable Acts was a duet that became the starting point for questions to ask yourself in the face of others (2002-3)

PRODUCTION CREDITS:

Devised and Performed by:
David Williams
Beck Wilson