Review: FESTIVAL FATALE was Femme-tastic! at Eternity Playhouse

Chances for women to create, produce and perform their own stories is such an important opportunity that many hope soon becomes a prevalent element of the Australian theatre landscape. Women in Theatre & Screen is an organisation putting their money where their power is, on stages and screens advocating for gender parity in representation both in front of the audience and behind the scenes. This year WITS presented a diverse and dynamic program for Festival Fatale, which everyone should mark in their diaries next year, for it showed exactly where the emerging talent is coming from in writing, making, acting, events and administration. I was fortunate enough to attend three sensational experiences during the festival.

Selkie

The Celtic folktale was incredibly fertile ground for feminist musing about lovers' betrayal and the power of the woman. A man finds a woman stranded on a beach, and discovers she is a selkie: a seal who can transform into a human and back again with the use of a magic skin, hers being lost in a storm. Sarah de Possesse is resonant and intricate with her stagecraft, giving a perfect impression of an otherworldly creature out of place on land. Jordan Gallaway brought much charm and brute to soften Sean's treachery, and played well to the humour in the text. Some more exposition in Finn O'Branagain's text, particularly at the final confrontation could have opened up the themes more, an opportunity missed. Tara J E Brown's animations working in with the live-action was richly delivered and showed great talent. Lighting and Sound by Daniel Barber and Danielle O'Keef respectively did much for sense of space and tension. A lyrical and powerful statement to the need for relationships to represent the acceptance of the realities of each soul, not be configured by greed or expectations. Gorgeous!

Never Trust a Creative City

You don't get more contemporary in this country than the pairing of senseless hip hop delivered a capella with musings on the contribution of gentrification to the tragic state of federal arts funding in Australia. Tackling that problem with one of the more bizarre sense of humour available to Sydney audiences is Too Rude, the comedic pairing of Emma McManus and Maria White. The performers were genuine and genuinely funny. In between their dress-ups and poorly-constructed visual elements, Too Rude hit on some key components to the dire straits Australian artists find themselves in, chiefly the pimping of talent for commercial purposes to an extent that it isn't viable in any other sense than what true creative components are lost. The plight of young creatives was distastefully but sadly all-too-accurately represented, and it made for a good time laughing at ourselves, a little at each other, and a lot at the hilarity of Too Rude.

Black Birds

A standout, searing ovation to the strength and experience of women of colour, Black Birds was on the pulse and off the hook. Ringing with elements of slam poetry, pop culture invocations, physical comedy and body positivity, Black Birds is the kind of theatre that doesn't simply engage audiences, but empowers them far beyond the hour of audience attendance. Movements like Black Lives Matter overseas are translated very swiftly here to the ongoing challenges society places on our Indigenous communities, overlooking a range of Australian black women stepping up to be counted and share their stories. Black Birds had fire in its belly, timbre in its call for solidarity and not an ounce of shame in its eyes, nor product in its hair. Ayeesha Ash, Emele Ugavule, Meklit Kibret, Christian Hemara, Tully Ryan, Emily Havea and Angela Sullen are all names that should be rocketing up your 'to watch' lists as their authentic, empathic and rhythmic talents storm Sydney and the world.

Be sure to follow WITS for Festival Fatale next year!

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