Interview | The Naughty Corner on their upcoming work MAZE

Next up on our local artists interview segment is*drum roll please*...The Naughty Corner. The Naughty Corner is a Brisbane based collective founded in 2017 by multidisciplinary creatives Bianca Bality, Jess Bunz, Claire McFadyen & Joe Wilson. They are dedicated to creating contemporary works where the storytelling is original, the content is visceral and sensory, and audience experience is paramount. Their work explores provocative narratives that reside in theatrical landscapes, and investigates what it is to be human through stories that uncover the underbelly of the ordinary. Their previous works Something in the Water, which was recently published by Australian Plays Transform, and ROCKET MAN both sold out their seasons at Metro Arts and Backbone Youth Arts respectively. Here's what they had to say about their upcoming production of MAZE...

VIRAG: Your upcoming production MAZE is a visual spectacle that delivers a fresh take on the origin story of Greek mythologies Minotaur. What attracted you to this story?

THE NAUGHTY CORNER: Mythology in general, it's longevity and the symbolism and teachings embedded deep within ancient mythologies, was definitely a large part of what sparked our curiosity with this story. The Minotaur and the labyrinth in particular provided an incredible visual inspiration for the work. We were surprised to find that, despite the Minotaurs influence on other characters in Greek mythology, his own voice and experience was largely underrepresented in other works about the Minotaur. The more we researched this character, the more we realised his positioning as a voiceless creature of tragic circumstance. We asked ourselves, what happens if you give this character a voice and story, and how can this mythology be applied to a contemporary theatrical world? What makes a monster? And how does the perpetuation of harmful narratives within our communities contribute to negative change?

VIRAG: Last year you debuted a 15 snippet of this work as a part of the DPS lab. What was the creative process like for the making of this work during that program and how did the creative process evolve after the program finished?

THE NAUGHTY CORNER: We were so lucky to be chosen as one of three groups for the DPS Academy last year, and the program allowed for a kind of limitless exploration into how we could tell this story. The whole process was really collaborative, between our collective and also with the other groups, which was awesome to work within, and led to us forming our main visual tools through which we tell the story of MAZE. We were able to create our first prototype of our main staging device , which are custom-made LED light poles made by our wonderful designer Claire, and were able to develop a sound 20 minute snippet of the work. After the program finished, and we, along with Dead Puppet Society and Brisbane Powerhouse, decided to continue with the work and stage it this September, we were able to get together a team that had skills where we lacked them, so we've been really lucky to bring on a choreographer, some very adept techies to upgrade our light poles, and a group of really talented emerging actors to deliver the story in the best way possible. We are so excited to be bringing the full work to the stage with such an awesome team around us.

VIRAG: In re-telling of myths there are always new nuances to be found. Has your interpretation and relationship with this myth and the character of the minotaur itself changed over your creative journey?

THE NAUGHTY CORNER: I would say largely so, originally we jumped into this work with the visual representation of the character and his physical journey through the labyrinth at the forefront of our minds. As such, much of our initial explorations into the myth were through a purely visual lens, which led to character and story forming much later than it would have in a traditional creative process. Since revisiting the mythology more deeply in later developments, we have definitely been able to recognise its richness with regards to symbolism and Ideas around nature vs nurture, primitive vs evolved, human nature and the complexities of power. Ideas around the power of story, of words and their ability to change us for better or worse has definitely moved to the forefront of our exploration. It's also been a great creative exercise to really consider and delve into the experience of a character who has historically had very little expressed from his own viewpoint.

VIRAG: For me, as an emerging artist myself, what really draws me in and to be quite honest, impresses me is the sheer amount of early career artists you have working on this play. What inspired that decision? Is it something your team had always wanted to do?

THE NAUGHTY CORNER: We are perhaps most excited about being able to support such a large group of incredibly talented early career artists for this production. As early career artists ourselves, we know all too well the lack of tangible professional opportunities for artists at this stage in their careers, especially in the wake of the pandemic. We also know how incredible the talent pool is in Brisbane, so early career artists were really our first point of call for MAZE. We are very lucky to be supported by not only Dead Puppet Society and Brisbane Powerhouse for this run, but also by the Queensland Government through the Arts Queensland QASP initiative, meaning we can support 17 Queensland artists, 13 of which are early-career. We are simply stoked to be able to present this opportunity, and hope that by making a cracker of a show, it proves to the larger industry that emerging artists are worth investing in.

VIRAG: Lastly, how can we support your company?

THE NAUGHTY CORNER: Buy a ticket! Our season runs at the Underground Theatre in Brisbane Powerhouse from September 29 - October 2, and we would love to see you there! You can also follow us on our social media platforms which are listed below!

Tickets: https://brisbanepowerhouse.org/whats-on/event/maze/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tnccollective

Instagram: @thenaughtycornercollectiv

Photography credits to Kate Lund (Image One) and Sean Dowling (Image Two)

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