God makes man. God makes woman. Man meets woman who is tricked by a reptile. We all know the original story of shame but how would the tale of Genesis translate to today? Down at the Blue Room this month, the Wet Weather Ensemble has re-imagined our biblical beginnings and woven it into a night out in Northbridge. Adam and Eve is the tale of four gay party-goers in a nightclub called Eden. Adam and Eve performer Ian Sinclair explained how he and his troupe came to mix mirror balls and the first story of mankind.
‘It’s a devised show which means we kind of make it up and use a lot of improvisation like object and puppetry work and make things up ourselves as we go,’ he said.
‘The basic premise that unfolded is four characters whose nights’ kind of interweave in a way… there are still elements of the Adam and Eve story there; there is still the apple and the snake and the idea of original sin.’
The scope of these tangled story lines remains close to the actors who perform it. Sinclair said the cast had workshopped their own personal stories into the show.
‘Because most of the impro [sic] stuff is informed by us, our characters are a lot closer to the actors.
‘My character is coming together as someone who is first on the scene, doesn’t really know themselves or if they are really gay – things are a bit scarier.
‘There’s personal stories within there too; we did a lot of writing on our first kiss and Alicia [Osyka]’s story came out that she had her first kiss on a netball court when she was 10 or 11 year’s old and she was pressured into it.’
For many of us, the show may seem all too familiar as it shadows the four young dancers around the club.
‘We definitely have some obvious references that come out, particularly being out in Northbridge especially when they were banished out into the streets of Northbridge.’
‘We’ve been setting it in this club with lots of club objects like mirror balls and seeing how we can change that world up a lot and make it new again.’
Yet the show can sharply turn to the realm of disbelief; in one scene the tacky disco morphs into a spaghetti-western saloon as Sinclair’s character grows bolder into John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. In the end, Sinclair said the show would finish much the way it did in real life.
‘I think maybe if we take it for the four different characters, some people’s stories end happily but not everyone’s is a happy ending.’
Adam and Eve runs from October 11 – 29 at the Blue Room Theatre.
Benn Dorrington
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