Let Me Tell You A Secret...

Set for Punchdrunk Theatre's Sleep No More. Image via Ida C. Benedetto's blog

Secrets. Secrets keep us safe, set us free, bind us, intrigue and infuriate us in equal measure. I love the idea of secrets but I'm equally enamoured with the idea of discovery. I get excited when new archaelogical finds are announced and I love it when caches of personal papers/ artworks/ manuscripts are suddenly unearthed. Unravelling mysteries and sharing secrets seems to be part of our DNA - the lure of secret lands may have been the spur for Marco Polo's Asian oddessy but the need to impart those secrets is surely what brought him home.

In an increasingly digital world, uncovering secrets (think Wikileaks) and finding the answer to life's mysteries often feels as though it could be just a Google search away, but let's face it, it can be a bit of a hollow experience when you're home alone nursing your laptop. It's not surprising then that people are flocking to more communal experiences like those offered by Secret Cinema and Lost Lectures in London, events shrouded in secrecy the better to entice/engage their audiences. Tickets are hard to come by but those who do manage to procure one do so in the knowledge that the location and substance of the event will only be revealed to them slowly through a series of clues - some online (using both social media and interactive games), some involving actors.

The use of actors and unusual locations to create an immersive experience is taken to even greater heights by Britain's Punchdrunk theatre company whose Sleep No More, a radical retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth/ Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca has been wowing sell-out audiences in New York. What is remarkable about Punchdrunk's approach is that it provides the opportunity for each audience member /participant to have a completely different experience of the same show depending on the choices they make as they explore their surroundings. Clues are everywhere but it's up to you to recognise and interpret them.

I'm not aware of any projects like this in Melbourne (perhaps it's a secret!) but I'm not sure how I'd go anyway. Maybe it's not for everyone. I'm a bit of an armchair explorer myself and although I love the idea of these projects I'm one of those people who freak out a bit when an actor breaks the Fourth Wall and encourages audience participation so my anxiety level would be pretty high! How about you? Have you been to anything like this? Would you like to?


P.S: If you're in Melbourne and keen for a spot of detection this weekend you might like to take part in the Melbourne City ROMP this Sunday 25 March. The event is described as part treasure hunt, part amazing race and aims to raise funds for the Burnet Institute of Medical Research whose focus is on finding cures for the 'Big Three' - HIV, TB and malaria.

War Horse...

This week I've been fascinated by the amazing puppetry of the Handspring Puppet Company - the powerhouse behind the award-winning theatre production, War Horse. If you don't have time to watch the whole thing, scoot through to about the 10 minute mark to see the horse in action - it will take your breath away.

Australian Made

Evening gown 1954 by Hall Ludlow, Melbourne

silk, Vilene, acetate, nylon, polyester, metal, cotton
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Gift of Mrs Adrian Lowe, 2005

Yesterday we finally made it to Australian Made: One Hundred Years of Fashion at the NGV. The hundred years in question are the 1850s to 1950s and although that is quite a timespan the exhibition is quite modest in scale. That being said every outfit, hat and shoe deserves its place in the show. The earliest example comes from 1855 (at the height of the Victorian goldrush) and is made from cotton, silk, metal, mother-of-pearl and baleen (whale bone). Incredibly, it was sewn entirely by hand by an unknown maker predating the general use of sewing machines. At the other end of the timescale is a beautiful ruched and pleated strapless evening gown by Melbourne designer Hall Ludlow (pictured above).

Dress, c1855. Maker unknown, Australia.

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Gift of Mrs Micheal Parker, 1983

It was the shorter evening gowns from the 1920s, however, that really caught my attention, initially on purely aesthetic grounds but then by a personal connection. Four of the items on display were donated by a wonderful woman I first met when I was just starting my career and she was just finishing hers. Her name was Irene Mitchell. Renee was an actor, director, teacher, head-honcho at St Martin's Theatre and mentor to literally thousands of theatre professionals in Melbourne and by extension Australia. She was an icon on the local scene from the 1940s to the 1990s and even in advanced age she was still a force to be reckoned with. She still had an amazingly rich, rounded voice that projected to the back of the room and she commanded great respect form all those who knew her. She wore wonderfully over-sized jewellery and carried herself with great dignity - a true grande dame of the theatre. You can find a lovely photo of her here and more information about her career here).

Pictured above is one of the gowns she donated to the Gallery in 1975. It was made in 1919/20 by Hicks, Atkinson & Sons Pty Ltd in Collins Street, a retailer with an 'elegant European atmosphere'. It is described by the curator as being made of 'black silk with an overlay of net draped into soft panniers at the hips and decorated with iridescent sequins' and tiny glass beads.

If you are in Melbourne you really should go and take a look at this show. It may not be as big as some of the 'Winter Masterpiece' exhibitions but every piece in it is a jewel.



PS: You may remember that I was tagged recently by Style Wilderness. In turn I've tagged Debby at Cooking Up A Storm In A Teacup and Estelle at Curbside Style so why don't you go and have a look at their funny, witty, interesting answers?