POWER BALLAD (2017)
"I am looking for a language which exists outside the patriarchal definitions. Of course that is not possible. But who is any longer interested in the possible"- Kathy Acker
Power Ballad is an investigation of language, the hidden ideologies and power dynamics hidden within it, and an attempt to find a new language of pleasure, anger and femaleness. Part performance lecture, part karaoke party featuring a mighty loud 80s power ballad karaoke sing-a-long, including the full synth beauty of Pat Benatar, Patti Smith and Annie Lennox.
The performance is an experiment in disrupting the pre-coded acts of communicating through an innately gendered language system. The work sits between genres, using clown, silence, dance lecture and karaoke to interrogate the space between words and meaning.
Created by Julia Croft and Nisha Madhan. performed by Julia Croft. Directed by Nisha Madhan.
NOMINEE: TOTAL THEATRE AWARD (BEST EMERGING ARTIST/COMPANY) 2017
“★★★★★ A brilliant mash-up of flesh, sonics and text…Many shows lay claim to gender fluidity, but this is the real deal: othering, teasing, provoking. The tone moves between hysteria and terror, joy and despair.“ - The List, Edinburgh
“★★★★ It’s an astonishing performance that I am still processing.” - The Herald Scotland
“★★★★ Not just dark and poignant but ultimately warm and fervent, the show ends with the audience coming together in karaoke. It isn’t what Croft creates that makes this show so profound, but what she disrupts”. - Edinburgh Festivals Magazine
“Power ballad is a revolution. Winking while bringing both form and content to its knees is a way that is deeply deeply hopeful” - Pantograph Punch (NZ)
“An Orgasm of delight” - Theatreview (NZ)
TRAILER HERE
TOUR DATES [as of November 2018]: ● VANCOUVER, CANADA: 22 - 26 January 2019 The Cultch, Vancouver, Canada ● CAIRDE SLIGO ARTS FESTIVAL: 10 July 2018 The Factory Performance Space, Sligo, Ireland ● BATTERSEA ARTS CENTRE: 28 - 30 June 2018 Battersea Arts Centre, London, United Kingdom ● AUCKLAND: 12 - 13 April 2018 Loft at Q Theatre, Auckland, NZ ● PERTH'S FRINGE WORLD: 27 January - 3 February 2018 Blue Room Theatre, Perth, Australia ● MELBOURNE FRINGE FESTIVAL: 2017 Melbourne, Australia ● EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE: 2017 Edinburgh, Scotland ● AUCKLAND: 2017 Basement Theatre, Auckland ● AUCKLAND FRINGE: 2017 Basement Theatre, Auckland
