• Created by: Sarah Aiken and Rebecca Jensen / Deep Soulful Sweats
• Presented by: Arts Centre Melbourne Take Over! Commission, in association with Melbourne Fringe
• Performed by: Sarah Aiken, Rebecca Jensen, Claire Leske, Megan Payne, Alexander Powers and Ngioka Bunda-Heath

Synopsis

Staring into our cultural inertia and the hypocrisies of trying to be good in the face of climate crisis, “What Am I Supposed To Do?” (WAISTD) is a truly immersive experience questioning the complexities and complicity of contemporary Australia. Digging into the stasis that holds us back from doing anything, this dark, hopeful and irreverent cautionary tale reminds that now is not the time to sit back and watch.

Sarah Aiken and Rebecca Jensen / Deep Soulful Sweats invite you to jump in the twin cab for a jaw-dropping ride through cultural detritus of colonial Australia in an unfolding environmental horror. You will play a vital part in a performance without spectators. Directed live, the entire audience move through a collage of drama, movement and narrative, heavy on the symbolism.

Project supported by Lucy Guerin Inc through a residency at WXYZ Studios.

---PLEASE NOTE---
- Contains adult themes, recommended for audiences aged 15+
- Strictly no bags/food/drink (cloakroom available)
- Audience might be standing long periods, flat shoes recommended
- Low light, fluctuating light, strobe lighting and haze

The event on 21 September is Auslan interpreted. The interpreters are Linda D'Ornay and Sarah Fields.

Warning: Contains strobe lighting, some nudity, moderate coarse language, both sudden and sustained loud noises, high level of audience participation, potentially triggering content or themes, including Violence,Alcohol Use,Simulated Blood, environmental collapse

Reviews

“A freeform, participatory fantasia that immerses the audience in a lush cocktail of physical sensations, guided dance, imposed dress-ups and tenderness.”
- Jana Perkovic, Dancehouse Diary

“Mystifying non-linear scenes build off of and collide with one another, creating an absurd universe [... ] It powerfully employs the corporeality of contemporary dance to discuss what the body is to us now and what it might become in a way that is hard to express in words, channeling the unspeakable anxieties that live just below our skin.“
- Amanda Ribas Tugwell, Beat Magazine

"Aiken and Jensen hit gold when examining the right to access mythic traditions in contemporary terms."
- Varia Karipoff, RealTime

“Bold and frankly very unusual, the whole evening was magnificent.”
- Freya Parr, Rotunda Media