Ten Next-Level Events to See at Next Wave Festival 2016

A standout on the program at this year’s program, Under My Skin is the latest work from The Delta Project, a Melbourne-based dance company comprised of both deaf and hearing dancers. Choreographed by Jo Dunbar and Lina Limosani, the show will combine movement, new media and sound as dancers Anna Seymour, Elvin Lam, Amanda Lever and Luigi Vescio explore what it means to listen and be heard. With just six performances set for the first weekend of the festival, tickets are already going fast.

Tasmanian composer Dylan Sheridan returns to this year’s festival with his latest otherworldly concerto. Using a mix of cello, violin, saxophone and electronics, this immersive musical work takes listeners 1500 light years through space to the edge of the Horsehead Nebula. Described in the festival program as “a sonic exploration of galactic patterns”, The Horse takes over Arts House for eight shows starting Thursday, May 12 and is one of the must-see (and hear) events at Next Wave this year.

They say a rose by any other name would still smell just as sweet. And yet when you’re talking about something named Ecosexual Bathhouse, no other moniker is going to have quite the same effect. The latest live art encounter from Loren Kronemyer and Ian Sinclair — better known collectively as Pony Express — for Next Wave, this immersive after-dark labyrinth in the Royal Botanic Gardens explores the concept of ecosexuality, an emerging queer identity that positions the environment as an erotic partner. Kind of gives a whole new meaning to the notion of getting in touch with nature, doesn’t it?

Sister Akousmatica is radio like you’ve never heard it before. Over seven hours seven female musicians from around the country will perform on the banks of the Yarra. But that’s not where you’ll listen. Instead, you’ll join curators Julia Drouhin and Pip Stafford as they lead a procession through the streets of Melbourne with an arsenal of portable radios, stopping at various landmarks along the way to tune in to each performance. The pair will leave from Signal, Flinders Walk at 11am on Sunday, May 8, but you can join them at any time and stay for as long as you wish. And don’t worry if you can’t make it into the city — you can still listen in on 3CR 855AM, or via stream at 3cr.org.au.

Writer, actor and queer activist Annaliese Constable stars in a one-woman comedy show about that most touchy of topics: parenthood. It’s a subject she feels fairly strongly about, having grown up with a mother who once tried to take a swig from a breathalyser. Laughter is often the best way to deal with things that make us uncomfortable, and Mummy Dearest promises plenty of both. Several sessions have already sold out, so make sure you get in quick.

Artist Hannah Brontë presents a bold new vision of Australia in this politically-charged feminist music video. Through the language and aesthetics of hip hop, Still I Rise portrays a government with an Indigenous female Prime Minister, fluent in her people’s traditional language, leading a parliament made up of women of all different ethnicities, ages and backgrounds. Crazy, huh?

The video will be visible at Blak Dot Gallery in Brunswick East Wednesdays through Sundays, and is one of a number of works on the Next Wave program exploring Indigenous issues in contemporary Australia. Brontë will also curate a night of female MCs and DJs at Howler on Sunday, May 15 as part of the festival.

This one-woman show from Sydney artist Nat Randall is part performance piece, part act of mental and physical endurance. For 24 hours straight, Randall will repeatedly perform a single scene from John Cassavetes’ cult film Opening Night. Each time, she’ll be joined by a different male co-star — you can even volunteer to join their ranks yourself, no acting experience required. The free performance will take place from 1pm on Friday, May 20 at ACMI in Federation Square, with audience members free to venture in and out as they please.

A hundred years from now, an astronaut named Chris travels through space on the search for a new world for the human race to call home. She’s alone, save for two companions: a passive aggressive operating system and a plant name Terry. Created and performed by Rachel Perks and directed by Bridget Balodis, Ground Control is a dark, dystopian, experimental comedy about violence, technology and all the different ways we’re stuffing up the planet. Perks and Balodis previously collaborated on Angry Sexx, which was a highlight of the Fringe Festival back in 2014. We’re expecting big things from their follow-up.

Get up close and personal with some of Australia’s biggest YouTube stars in this multi-venue video installation taking over the shopfronts of North Melbourne. Artists Xanthe Dobbie and Tiyan Baker have collaborated with six YouTubers — including Andrew Ucles, Damielou Shavelle and Shyamali Sinha of Foodie’s Hut — on a series of intimate video portraits showing a side of the internet celebrities that their subscribers don’t usually get to see. The videos will be on display Tuesdays through Saturdays across the duration of the Next Wave Festival. Dobbie and Taker will also hold a walking tour on Saturday, May 7 and a YouTube workshop on Sunday, May 8.

An offshoot of Hannah Brontë’s feminist rap Still I Rise for Next Wave Festival, this Sunday night gig at Howler in Brunswick will see a selection of Indigenous fem-cees and DJs take control of the decks and the dancefloor. Curated by Brontë, the lineup will include SEZZO, SOVTRAK, Busty Beatz and Amrita Amrita, as well as an open mic session which will be open to all female MCs. Should be the perfect way to shake the lead out ahead of the final week of the fest.