SPECIALS! Kath Duncan to be Presented at Arts House
Specials! will have two showings with an artist talk during the Arts Centre Melbourne – Alter State festival in October.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Aug. 29, 2024
Specials! is an Australian first – a disability led play created by a Special School student about Special School.
Written by researcher Kath Duncan, Specials! is a new comedy created with a cast of disabled actors.
Developed for over two months as part of the Arts House The Warehouse Residency program, Specials! will have two showings with an artist talk during the Arts Centre Melbourne – Alter State festival in October.
Specials! reveals 1960-70s practices and attitudes towards disabled children – it features punk poetry, balloon footy, intimate tests with stopwatches and disabled performers play non-disabled characters.
Duncan says she had a completely rotten experience in Special Education in the late 1960s, “This story is personal. The Special School I attended was literally built on top of an old dump – it was full of low expectations, constant testing and zip constructive education.”
“During my research into Australian Special Education, I realised how ashamed and rageful I was about having to attend this school. Why were we there anyway? It felt like punishment just for being us,” Duncan explained.
“As we developed this new work, we discovered so much creative fun out of anger at being locked up. We have enjoyed taking the piss out of the bosses, nurses and teachers at our schools,” says Duncan.
Specials! is story of two former students bumping into each other as adults outside their Special School, breaking in and time travelling to seek revenge.
A disability pride production, Specials! is furious, funny and timely. It is a rally cry and rebellion that centres the voices that have been systemically marginalised for far too long.
Specials! recognises those who gave evidence at the 2023 Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. The government has announced the next 5 years are critical for the existence – or not – of Special Education.
Arts House Acting Artistic Director, Olivia Anderson, says Specials! is a transgressive and exciting work, “Along with our partners at Arts Centre Melbourne – Alter State, we are proud and privileged to work with Kath and her team to present these showings as part of The Warehouse Residency program.”
The Warehouse Residency at Arts House centres and celebrates the development of new creative work led by Deaf and Disabled artists. Now in its fourth year, The Warehouse Residency is open for national submissions between 5 September and 23 October 2024.
Performance Details
Development showing
Specials! by Kath Duncan
6.30pm Tuesday 8 October – Auslan interpretation
1pm Saturday 12 October – Tactile tour
2pm Saturday 12 October – Audio described
Venue
Arts House - North Melbourne Town Hall
521 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne
Tickets
$10 + transaction fee
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