A couple is stranded in the Australian outback with a car that won't start next to a phone box that doesn't work. Their water is running out.

This stunning, unsettling piece of dance theatre is a manic ride down the highway of misconceptions about the heart of Australia. Using unorthodox, amazingly irregular movement and intense drama, roadkill is part road movie, part excavation into the urban legends and paranoia that surround the centre of this continent.

roadkill was produced by Brisbane Powerhouse and Dancenorth in association with Sasha Waltz and Guests with choreography by Splintergroup and premiered in Townsville in June 2007.

roadkill's European premiere in October 2007 was by invitation of the Barbican Centre in London. The two-week season was part of Dance Umbrella - London's annual international festival of contemporary dance and of the Barbican's 2007 Ozmosis program, which was a showcase for some of Australia's most inventive artistic talent.

Splintergroup
Splintergroup was founded in 2004 by Gavin Webber, Grayson Millwood, Vincent Crowley and Michelle Ryan. Splintergroup is a flexible and collaborative method where all members have equal input into the creative process. For roadkill Splintergroup consists of Gavin Webber, Grayson Millwood and Sarah-Jayne Howard.

Gavin Webber worked with Meryl Tankard's Australian Dance Theatre from 1993-1998, then moved to Brussels and worked with Wim Vandekeybus and Ultima Vez for three years. Since his appointment as Artistic Director of Dancenorth in 2005, Gavin has created nightcafe 05, gravity feed, underneath, nightcafe 06 and Underground. In this time, the company has toured to Berlin, Yokohama, Stuttgart, Singapore, Sydney Opera House, and Perth Festival and throughout Queensland.

Grayson Millwood joined Meryl Tankard's Australian Dance Theatre in 1993. In 1996 he left for Europe, working for many different choreographers including Joachim Schloemer, Benoit Lachambre, Christine de Smedt of Le Ballet C de la B, Eszter Salamon, Thomas Stache, Jared Gradinger, Chemekilehner and Woo co. In 1999 he moved to Berlin to join Sasha Waltz and Guests.

Sarah-Jayne Howard trained at the New Zealand School of Dance before joining Meryl Tankard's Australian Dance Theatre where she worked for four years performing throughout Australia, America, Japan and Europe. Sarah-Jayne has also worked with Garry Stewart's ADT, Chunky Move, Douglas Wright and Kate Champion. She was one of three finalists in 2002 chosen worldwide for the Rolex Mentor and Protege Arts Initiative. Most recently she performed in Kaidan, choreographed by Meryl Tankard for the 2007 Sydney Festival.

The current Splintergroup collaboration follows on from internationally acclaimed dance work, lawn. With three years of international touring including Europe and Asia and further touring expected, lawn established Splintergroup as innovative Australian choreographers; and the Brisbane Powerhouse, Dancenorth and Sasha Waltz and Guests as a significant producing collaboration.

Contact:
Fenn Gordon for Performing Lines
5/245 Chalmers Street
Redfern NSW 2016
Tel +61 2 9319 0066
Fax +61 2 9318 2186
fenn@performinglines.com.au
www.performinglines.org.au