Creation Creation REVIEW Windmill, August 10 2022 ****

CHILDREN’S THEATRE

By Windmill Theatre

At Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne, 19-20 August 2022

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars:**** (4)

This review of recorded version on August 10, 2022. This review is published only on this blog. KH

FleurEliseNoble_JonathonOxlade_CreditThomasMcCammon

Creation Creation by Windmill Theatre is a delightfully whimsical, eccentric and sometimes poignant physical and visual performance that will appeal to children and adults alike.

 

It asks the big questions such as: how the world was created, what happens after death, how humans create babies and even why some people can lick their elbows. These questions and their multitudinous answers can be heard in excerpts of recorded interviews with ordinary people ranging from ages 8 to 102.

 

On a totally white stage, two non-speaking performers, Jox (Jonathon Oxlade) and Fleur (Fleur Elise Noble), use odd objects and geometric pieces of cardboard to create playful representations of the voiced ideas, including an array of creation myths from cultures including Egypt, Greece, Iran, India, China and indigenous Australians. Meanwhile, from the side of the stage, Auslan interpreter Dan Cleasby translates the voice overs.

 

The actors’ version of the Big Bang theory of the creation of universe is a balloon inflating then exploding. The first voices explain their views of creation, then others relate personal stories about near-death experiences or explain scientific phenomena such as black holes and the resulting “spaghettification” of a human body. A highlight is the 102-year-old man who describes, in his quavering voice, childhood memories and the things that gave him joy.

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Kids express their fantasies about creation, space, aliens and, in one memorable section, childish voices describe their vivid and colourful visions of the afterlife. When the topic turns to the future, both adults and children are less optimistic, and the stage turns to darkness and violent action. The future looks bleak, but the children conjure some delightfully, absurd, unrealistic but hopeful methods of fixing the future and saving our planet and its lifeforms: making ice for the polar bears, creating more land, living under the sea, stopping littering and buying plastic, and one extraordinary plan to control bovine methane emissions.

 

A soundscape (Harry Covill) links disparate scenes, acting like a punctuation mark, and the performance ends with a montage of images of the interviewees accompanied by a rap song constructed from their sampled voices.

 

Creation Creation is funny, moving, inventively designed and performed with inspirational voice overs from those ordinary people of all ages. It will entertain and charm you.

 

By Kate Herbert

 

Director Rosemary Myers
Co-Creator, Audioscript, Interviews Roslyn Oades
Co-Creator, Designer, Performer Jonathon Oxlade
Co-Creator, Designer, Performer Fleur Elise Noble 

Composer Harry Covill

Lighting Designer, Technical Designer Chris Petridis
Movement Director Carol Wellman Kelly
Interview & Research Assistant Georgi Paech 
Portrait Photographer Jessica Clark 
AUSLAN Interpreter Dan Cleasby

FleurEliseNoble_JonathonOxlade_CreditThomasMcCammon