Jo Loth's MIND GAMES Depression Cabaret Set for Butterfly Club, Melbourne, 6/7-10
By: James T Harding May. 15, 2012
A cabaret about depression? In the hands of writer/performer Jo Loth, this odd combination has created Mind Games, an entertaining take on a serious issue. In June 2012, Jo will be playing a return season of Mind Games at The Butterfly Club, Melbourne's home of cabaret.
Jo notes that "Depression is something that often gets swept under the carpet, it's not a fun thing to experience or to talk about... so I wanted to bring it out into the open in a fun and entertaining way". Jo created the cabaret as part of a PhD project at The Queensland University of Technology.
The show is narrated by Dr Jolene Mindtrick, a sexy German psychologist, with a penchant for discipline, punishment and sequins. Dr Jolene takes the audience through a cavalcade of broken hearts and shattered dreams sharing secrets, songs and some unconventional analysis.
Mind Games has struck a chord with audiences in Edinburgh, Melbourne and Brisbane. Jo comments: "When I took the show to Edinburgh last year it was amazing to see the connection it made with the audience. After each show I had audience members coming up to share their own experiences and thanking me for creating a show that discusses the subject in such a candid way."
Featuring a unique combination of original music; from torch songs to ballads to spoofs on opera, country and rap, Mind Games was chosen by London's Time Out as one of its critics picks of the Edinburgh Fringe.
Mind Games was created by Dr Jo Loth as part of a PhD project at QUT bridging the disciplines of Psychology and Performance Studies. The practice-led research project explored the application of therapeutic models to the creation of a cabaret performance.
The performance was based on interviews with women who have experienced depression or bi-polar disorder and on Jo's personal experiences with depression.
During PhD worked in collaboration with the Institute of Biomedical Health and Innovation (IHBI) at QUT to create a film clip for the "ontrack" website, launched in September 2009.
Jo Loth is a singer/songwriter, director, actor and academic.
Over the past four years, Jo has been honing her reputation as a writer and performer of new cabaret works with performances at The 2011 Edinburgh Fringe, The Butterfly Club (2011, 2010, 2008), The Brisbane Cabaret Festival (2010, 2007) and the 2009 Brisbane Festival. Jo has performed and presented at numerous conferences including the 2010 Performance Studies International Conference in Toronto, and at the 2011 and 2009 Austral-Asian Drama Studies Conferences (Melbourne and Perth).
Jo began her career in physical theatre with Ozfrank, performing throughout Australia and Japan and has since worked as an actor, director, movement director and teacher for the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble, Zen Zen Zo, QUT and La Trobe University. In 2004, Jo was awarded The Lord Mayor's Performing Arts Fellowship to study with Pantheatre in France.
As a singer/songwriter Jo has recorded two EPs, and has performed at various venues in Brisbane including The Brisbane Powerhouse, The Press Club, Rics Bar, Bar Soma and Room 60.
The show Mind Games: psychologically thrilling cabaret will be performed at The Butterfly Club, 204 Bank St, South Melbourne 3205 from Thurs 7th to Sun 10th June, 2012 at 7pm Thurs, Fri, Sat & 6pm Sun. Tickets are Full Price $23, Concession $20, $18 Group (8 or more) from www.thebutterflyclub.com
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