The Night Garden explores domestic destruction, decay and rituals of reparation, seen through the lens of the "Australian Woman".
Performed in traverse and working with film and modified taxidermy as puppet, The Night Garden is a collision between a woman's everyday life and mythic images of survival and release. In The Night Garden, we find a woman in the midst of aftermath - her safety and herself in ruins.
Audiences view the characters, films and puppetry in The Night Garden through the structure of a burned out house on the verge of collapse. The Night Garden immerses the audience in a dream-like interrupted chronology and considers manifestations of trauma.
This work is being developed with the assistance of The Performance Space Residency Program, Culture Lab at the Meat Market, Hot House Theatre's Month in the Country Residency Program and the Bundanon Artist's Trust Residency Program.
My Darling Patricia
Winners of Melbourne Fringe Awards for Best Design and Best Production, the Adelaide Fringe Award for Most Outstanding Show and the Sydney Theatre Critics' Award for Best Independent Theatre Show, My Darling Patricia is an emergent Australian Theatre company focused on creating innovative visual theatre. Taking its name from a faded 48 year-old love-letter found hidden in a discarded vanity set, My Darling Patricia was founded in 2003 by Clare Britton, Bridget Dolan, Katrina Gill and Halcyon Macleod. The four artists approach theatre from backgrounds in dance, visual arts, circus, puppet making, film and spectacle performance. My Darling Patricia employs puppetry, installation and performance to create arresting and redolent images, weaving intricate emotional narratives in a performance environment that enfolds their audience in an intimate experience. My Darling Patricia draw inspiration from the epic visuals of Robert Wilson and Romeo Castellucci and the animation of Jan Svankmajer.
The company has created three performance works to date:
Kissing the Mirror - April 2003. A haunting installation and performance piece staged in the caretaker's apartment of the historic Sydenham Town Hall, supported by the Australia Council's Youth Initiative and Marrickville Council.
Dear Pat - September 2004. Featuring nostalgic war-time women being devoured by an inflatable female behemoth puppet, Dear Pat was commissioned by the Performance Space for Live Bait Festival, Sydney 2004 as part of The Box Set and performed again at Sydney Olympic Park, September 2004.
Politely Savage - April 2005 to March 2007. A disquieting story of feminine corrosion and regret, Politely Savage was initially presented at Pact Youth Theatre. Since then it has been performed at The Performance Space, the Victorian Arts Centre (presented by Tilt for Melbourne Fringe Festival) at the Adelaide Fringe Festival by Vitalstatistix. Politely Savage was developed with the assistance of HotHouse Theatre's 'month in the country' residency program and the Performance Space Residency Program.
Contact:
Marguerite Pepper Productions
91 Canal Road
Lilyfield NSW 2040
Tel +61 2 9560 9257
Fax +61 2 9560 9397
Mob 0412 231 313
marguerite@mpproductions.com.au www.mpproductions.com.au
