What Am I Supposed To Do? (WAISTD)
By Sarah Aiken and Rebecca Jensen / Deep Soulful Sweats
“WAISTD drives into the space where feelings of powerlessness, urgency and futility compete with righteous clamour, denial and, dare we say it, plain old complacency. Indeed, in the very texture and weave of its construction WAISTD draws us into a spiral which can seem inexorable, where our choice is corralled (or maybe choreographed), and we end up as marionettes in a clap-a-long pantomime of looming horror“
Sarah Aiken and Rebecca Jensen ask ‘What Am I Supposed To Do?’, Dance Informa, Paul Ransom
Now is not the time to sit back and watch.
Staring into our cultural inertia and the hypocrisies of trying to be good in the face of a 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 eco-horror. Somewhere between mass games, film set and school play, 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.
Presented by:
Arts Centre Melbourne Take Over! Commission, in association with Melbourne Fringe
Concept, choreography and performance:
Sarah Aiken and Rebecca Jensen / Deep Soulful Sweats
Collaborating performers:
Claire Leske, Megan Payne, Alexander Powers, Ngioka Bunda-Heath
Design: Romanie Harper
Lighting Design: Amelia Lever-Davidson
Mentor/Outside Eye: Mish Grigor
Photography: Gregory Lorenzutti
Sound Design: Andrew Wilson
Production Manager: Bindi Green
More reviews and writing:
Chaos and witchcraft as ‘eco-horror show’ takes over the Arts Centre, The Age, Jana Perkovic
Theatre that fights our inertia on the climate crisis, Artshub, Alison Croggon