TOTALLY PRESENT: BILADURANG

Biladurang is loosely based on the traditional Indigenous story of the platypus. It is a confession of the struggles of a man looking for his identity: Aboriginal or white? Gay or straight? Does it matter, and, if so, how much? As he grapples through challenges, he concludes that he is alone. But is he?

Joel Bray is working through an identity crisis in a place that offers no identity: a hotel room. Wearing a bathrobe, drinking champagne and sharing a story. With twenty other people!

Take a journey through Joel’s experiences, fears, desires, hopes, and doubts. As he reveals parts of his life to us, we realise that our own are not all that different. We’re all in the same boat (or hotel room!). We all have stories to tell, stories of where we came from. Joel wants to hear them as much as he wants to tell his own.

As the evening progresses, Joel breaks the boundaries between the performer and the audience. He wants us to feel at home. And by the end of our time with him, we do. This super-interactive theatre/dance show makes the audience an indispensable part of it. Totally present and really comfortable in that room.

If you are looking for a traditional performance with a clear message, this is not for you. Instead, this show is about creating a sense of togetherness. It is pleasant, entertaining, unexpected, unpretentious and comforting, all at the same time. Twenty strangers feel closer to each other because a man strips his body and soul in front of an audience holding champagne glasses. This is as interactive as theatre gets!

Biladurang is showing at the 2018 Brisbane Festival until September 15.