Box of Birds – Performance Space

Overview

If, like me, you had nightmares for six months after seeing Hitchcock's The Birds, the title of this show may be a tad unappealing. But don’t let it put you off, because it sounds like a memorable night out.

This self-proclaimed “mythic late-night journey through the shadows of the human psyche” uses live music, improvised dance and large-scale photography to explore themes of distorted memory, the past and life as an outsider. Playing out in the atmospheric industrial passageways at Carriageworks, Box of Birds is directed by Tess de Quincey, artistic director of De Quincey Co and leading artist with Australian dance collective BodyWeather.

Combining the unpredictable moves of BodyWeather dancers with Anne Ferran’s photographic trilogy exploring female psychiatric patients in the 1940s (Insula, 1-38 and Box of Birds), this eclectic performance involves a labyrinthine world of bodies, otherworldly fashions, immersive sound design and even a smattering of Nietzschean philosophy.

And, seriously, how often do you get to journey through the shadows of the human psyche for free?

Box of Birds is part of the You're History season, something of a birthday party for Performance Space, but don't worry about bringing a gift. They're actually giving you the presents: wrapped-up pieces of performance, visual art, dance, music and more, celebrating their big 3-0. Also showing is Brown Council's ode to feminist performance artist Barbara Cleveland, the bite-sized art of 30 Ways with Time and Space, a creative send-off to analog TV and plenty more.

Box of Birds is on nightly at 9pm, from November 20-24.