Ira Glass Is Coming to Australia for a Radio Dance Spectacular

Most people know the tonal nuances of Ira Glass' voice better than they know they know their own family's birthdays, but, chances are, they don't know him like this. The prolific This American Life host and producer is coming to Sydney and Melbourne this July — but not to do a live broadcast of the seriously popular NPR show or to speak in conversation. He'll be performing as part of a contemporary dance stage show.

Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host combines live radio with dance. You may think that these two disciplines have "no business being on stage together" (Glass' words, not mine), but somehow the public radio king manages to pull it off. Collaborating with veteran dancers Anna Bass and Monica Bill Barnes, the 90-minute, three-act performance pulls in Glass' knack for storytelling, staging radio interviews as dance pieces and weaving in anecdotes from the performers' own lives.

"I know this whole thing sounds a little nuts but I swear it's pretty great. Huge laughs. Big emotions," said Glass. "Dance is all visuals, no talking. Radio's all talking, no visuals. But what the stories on This American Life have in common with dance is music."

The radio-dance spectacular will visit both Melbourne and Sydney this July, with two shows at both the Sydney Opera House and the Arts Centre's State Theatre. After initially debuting as a ten-minute test run back in 2013, the show has gone on to be performed all over the U.S. It will tour through California, New Hampshire, Alabama and North Carolina, before finishing up in Australia.

Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host will visit the State Theatre at the Arts Centre Melbourne on July 14 and 15, before going to the Sydney Opera House for two performances on July 17 and 18. Tickets for the Melbourne show go on sale on Friday, March 11 at 9am here, while the Sydney show will go on sale at 9am on Friday, March 18 here. 

Image: David Bazemore.