Acqua Azzurra (A Nasty Story)

Export event | Export network | Feedback | Map | Network | Print
Event Acqua Azzurra (A Nasty Story)
Venue Belvoir Street Downstairs Theatre, Surry Hills, NSW
First Date 17 July 1991
Opening Date 18 July 1991
Last Date 28 July 1991
Dates Estimated No
Status Professional
World Premiere Yes
Description "A collectively-devised piece about the legend of Bluebeard. The result is a theatrical performance without traditional form or shape in which movement and imagination have greater impact than words. This is visual and sensory theatre, striking and absorbing." Sunday Telegraph
“From the moment that six faces hover in space, like a clutch of Cheshire cats, the importance of the wall’s role is established. Acqua Azzurra is dependent on its visual component, and the confluence of skilful set design, evocative costumes, precise lighting and expressive movement make this aspect of the presentation work with exhilarating effectiveness….In terms of the spoken word, Clare Grant is a luminous example of how it should be….the less experienced performers…had more to say than they could manage”. ….” SMH
“…..the trouble with Entr’acte’s open-ended approach to its excessively diverse material is that is insufficiently theatricalise in some places, while in others it seems abstracted to the point of self-obsession and self-indulgence…..What I like about Acqua Azzurra is its boldly feminist sensibility – its satirising of patriarchal archetypes, of sexual desire and of the way in which women are often reduced to the sum total of their body parts. Among the images that still flicker at the fringes of my memory are five women voraciously kissing an unadorned black wall, leaving behind sticky snail trails of saliva.” The Australian
“…a recurring tone of chosen hysteria runs through this performance. It is as if these women are playing seriously with the tool of madness to cut and shape the stories they want to tell. It is easy in theatre to use madness and appear confused. To use madness and find the power and clarity of this state is much more difficult. The female performers in ‘Acqua Azzurra’ showed courage and skill as they worked with this two-edged sword”, On the Street.
Description Source Reviewer's Opinion
Primary Genre Other
Secondary Genre Cabaret
Visual Theatre
Group-devised
Postdramatic
Corporeal Theatre
Subjects Feminism
Organisations
Contributors
Name Function Notes
Sarah de Jong Composer
Pierre Thibaudeau Designer
Kate Dennis Devisor
Clare Grant Devisor
Catherine Hourihan Devisor
Deborah Leiser Devisor
Katia Molino Devisor
Pierre Thibaudeau Director
Elisabeth Burke Director, Assistant
Bruce Keller Dramaturg/e
Simon Wise Lighting Designer
Kate Dennis Performer
Clare Grant Performer
Catherine Hourihan Performer
Deborah Leiser Performer
Katia Molino Performer
Sarah de Jong Sound Designer
Resources
Text Nationality Australia
Production Nationality Australia
Further Information More reviews to be added.
Event Status Completed
Data Source
Source Description
Australian & New Zealand Theatre Record July 1991
Entr'acte Archives ETL10: programs, publicity, reviews. MUSIC ETL23 - Reel-to-reel 14" original music; ETL26 music copy tapes.
Review Preview. Emily Gibson “Going for Baroque”, Metro 12 July 1991. Preview, Nine to Five, 15 July 1991.
Poster Entr'acte Archives In 2018 the archives are stored at both University of Sydney and at the home of Elisabeth and Pierre.
Entr'acte Archives VIDEOS: ETL16&19&20_ Videos. Some of these have been digitised: USPS_160,_167-8,_182,_190,_192-3. Also EPV04. EPV07 - demo tape of which AA is 7'30
Review Jan Moulstone, “Acqua Azzurra” On the Street, 24 July 1991 Georgina West, “Acqua Azzurra”, The Drum Media, 30 July 1991. "Theatre"(with Entr'acte photo), The Bulletin, 23 July 1991
Review Rosemary Neill, "Imprints of power and puzzlement", The Australian, 22 July, 1991. John Swords, "Is there life after Bluebeard?", Sunday Telegraph, 21 July 1991. Jill Sykes, "Baroque cabaret promises almost fulfilled", The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 July 1991.
Event Identifier 15092