Fortyfivedownstairs Announces Exhibits, Theatre and Dance Events through May 8

Fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane in Melbourne, announced their current exhibits, dance and theatre events featuring Out of My Head, a series of dramatic psychological portraits, through April 24; Rasa Sayang, Tony Yap Company, April 22-25; and Cageling by The Rabble April 30 through May 8.  Information and tickets available at fortyfivedownstairs.com.  Gallery hours are Tuesday - Friday 11am-5pm and Saturday 12pm - 4pm.  

The full Line-Up includes:

Gallery: Out of My Head
Margaret Gold
Until April 24
Out of My Head is a series of dramatic psychological portraits which blur the boundaries between painting and drawing. Her subjects' gaze is mesmerizing, always intriguing, their intensity is palpable. Out of My Head is a continuation from her exhibition About Face which was also concerned with the unconventional and confronting portrait image.

Gallery: Studies of the Natural World
Peta Cross
Until April 24
In Studies of the Natural World things are not what they originally seem - the dancing lyrebird, the glamorous and powerful snow leopard, the Galapagos turtle, are all examples of the art of taxidermy. Meticulously realised, and using multiple layers of thin oil glaze, her paintings evoke the romantic tradition of an earlier era, while dealing with significant contemporary issues, the effects of colonisation and of the subjugation of animal and plant life.

Dance: Rasa Sayang
Tony Yap Company
22 - 25 April, 8.00pm, doors will open at 6.00pm
Rasa Sayang is the culmination of a two year dance fellowship awarded to Tony Yap, and is the latest in a series of solo productions. Yap's work is poetic and spiritual, contemplative and explosive, and just beautiful to watch. This series of performances has developed in a collaborative process with musicians/composers Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey, and with visual artist Naomi Ota and creative collaborator Ben Rogan. There are only four performances of this stunningly evocative work.

Tickets are $30/25;  for a second show: $25/$22 (phone only); and to see all four shows tickets are $80 (phone only).  Book online here

Theatre: Cageling
The Rabble
30 April - 8 May
The spirituality of Rasa Sayang is followed by the consuming rage of Cageling, a work inspired by Lorca's classic text The House of Bernarda Alba. This is the work of The Rabble, a company whose work has been described as "epic, experimental, visceral, visual, surreal, magical, grotesque" and much more.

Created, designed and directed by Emma Valente and Kate Davis, it includes performers Daniel Schlusser, Dana Miltins, Mary Helen Sassman, Jayne Tuttle and Pier Carthew (last seen at fortyfive in Cymbeline).

This is a full on production by a company which has been described as "pushing the boundaries of theatrical exploration"

Tuesday - Saturday 8.00pm, Sunday 6.30pm
Tickets are $30/22, preview (April 29) $15.
Book online here

Gallery:
Nora Wompi
27 April - 8 May
Presented by Suzanne O'Connell Gallery (Queensland).
Opening next week the Suzanne O'Connell Gallery presents an exhibition by one of the newest stars of the indigenous art world, Nora Wompi. Wompi is from Kunawarritji and paints at the Balgo art centre.

"Layers of overlapping colours blur, making forms difficult to define; the desert landscape shimmers into being, like a mirage upon the horizon." Henry F. Skerritt, Curator and Songwriter

Reading: Fly on the Wall
Charlotte Bronte's The Professor
Monday 3 May
Fly on the Wall presents their second play reading at fortyfivedownstairs. Charlotte Bronte's The Professor is adapted by Julia Britton and continues the long collaboration between this senior writer and director Robert Chuter

Tickets are $12 -$10 and available here.

Reading: The Last Days of Judas Iscariot
Human Sacrifice Theatre
12 - 30 May
From 12 May a major production by Human Sacrifice Theatre, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (by U.S. writer Stephen Aldy Guirgis) descends on fortyfivedownstairs, with a cast of thousands (well at least 17, possibly more). Directed by David Myles, more information (including a great dinner deal at a leading local restaurant) on our website www.fortyfivedownstairs.com

You can have a glimpse at the preparation behind the scenes of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot in this video.

A subscription series of four concerts by Stefan Cassomenos, a rising star in the classical music sphere will include a composition by Chopin, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth. The first performance is June 5, followed by recitals in August, September and November.

Bookings for all fortyfivedownstairs shows: http://vimeo.com/11094557 tel 9662 9966

Image credit: OUT OF MY HEAD, Green Girl.

To post a comment, you must register and login.