Part nightmare, part time capsule, part gift – PICNIC is a new dance-theatre work conceived and performed by KAGE Creative Director Gerard Van Dyck. The world premiere performance will be presented on August 19 in Melbourne, before a national tour in 2016. Celebrating a return to the solo stage after his previous highly acclaimed show The Collapsible Man (2001), Van Dyck presents a new, intimate performance that explores notions of innocence, naivety, creativity and chaos. Combining nuanced and athletic choreography, machine gun monologues, illusion and intelligent humour, PICNIC presents an absurd meditation on the importance of creativity with an original script by Melbourne writer and provocateur Marieke Hardy and an inspired soundtrack by composer Alisdair Macindoe.
Van Dyck describes PICNIC as a ‘surreal physical poem’ and ‘political by its very nature’. Combining nuanced and athletic choreography, machine gun monologues, slapstick physicality, illusion and humour, PICNIC presents an absurd meditation on the importance of creativity.
Gerard Van Dyck says, “PICNIC is an immensely personal project, born from my desire to ask the question of why the arts are not taken seriously across the majority of Australia, and why is the act of being creative dismissed as a worthwhile occupation?”
As co-founder and Creative Director of KAGE, alongside Kate Denborough, Van Dyck has worked in the performing arts industry as a dancer, choreographer and most recently as a teacher. KAGE is recognised nationally for producing memorable performances that explore current social issues while artfully entertaining audiences.
PICNIC scriptwriter Marieke Hardy is a writer, broadcaster, producer and artist. She is a regular panelist on ABC’s First Tuesday Book Club, the creator of the hit TV show Laid.
Alisdair Macindoe is an award-winning dancer, sound designer, composer and instrument maker. His professional engagements as a sound designer for dance include works by Antony Hamilton, Chunky Move, Lucy Guerin, Australian Dance Theatre, Next Wave and more.
Concept and Choreography: Gerard Van Dyck
Writer: Marieke Hardy
Composer: Alisdair Macindoe
Performed by Gerard Van Dyck
KAGE presents PICNIC
Dates: Wed 19 – Sun 30 August (preview Tues 18 Aug)
Venue: fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Times: Wed – Sat 8pm, Sun 5pm
Prices: Adult $35, Concession $28, Previeww $15, Groups (6+) $30
Q&A with creative team on Sun 23rd Aug after 5pm show
Auslan interpreted shows on 23 & 27 Aug
