ATTEND – ‘Moving Stationery’ And ‘Echolalia’ In Wellington .
http://www.kallocollective.com/
One of my fav Kiwi Theater troops was ‘Dramadillo’. These shows sound similar….
BOOKING FOR BOTH THROUGH THE BATS BOOKING LINE:
(04) 802 4175 OR ON tickets.bats.co.nz
ECHOLALIA at the GRYPHON THEATRE.
Cheeky, “ridiculous” and “delightful”, Echolalia is a solo clown theatre performance, the like of which is very rarely seen in NZ.
Tickled by the social “weirdness” of autistic children while working with them on a holiday programme, Jen McArthur created a character for the stage who doesn’t register social niceties. Echolalia uses the forms of clown, physical theatre and dance to present Echo – a young woman preparing for a much needed job interview. This challenge is intensified by the front door, behind which the pressure of social situations awaits.
Touching, surprising, playful, McArthur spellbinds the audience, in this highly recognisable portrayal of a person doing battle with their fears.
“McArthur’s tender performance as Echo is both delightful and heart breaking.” Salient.
Premiered in July last year at BATS, McArthur has since reworked the script with the assistance of Jo Randerson. “(Her) work is an important vein of comic, poetic clown that needs to get stronger in NZ for our theatre industry to grow.”
Jen McArthur is a Wellingtonian trained at the NZ School of Dance, Circomedia circus school in Bristol and by Lecoq clown teacher Giovanni Fusetti. She joined the international Kallo Collective after meeting fellow New Zealander Thom Monckton at a clown workshop. The Collective has developed a unique sense of theatre style and physical comedy drawing from the masters, Chaplin and Keaton, and adding a contemporary twist.
Contact:
Jen McArthur jennyrowan.mcarthur@
$14 Full / $12 Concession / $10 Groups 6+, kids under 10, fringe artists
MOVING STATIONERY
Moving Stationery is a wordless one-man physical comedy show combining dance, object manipulation and clown technique. The creation of Moving Stationery took place in Finland as part of a three-month artist’s residence. With very little human interaction during that time, and outside temperatures dropping to -28 degrees Celsius, the result is a particularly well rehearsed but slightly off-kilter show.
This comedy of errors revolves around Sigmund, the bewildered recipient of a new office job, who is completely out of his depth. Sigmund’s desperate attempts to defend himself against his own mistakes spiral out of control until he is fighting an epic war against a (deceptively) harmless office. The elevator, his lunch, and the office stationery seem set to destroy him.
Thom Monckton’s show “contains the history of clowning and perfect timing”. It is an easy and entertaining show to see, combining the very old and very new forms of clown – both rarely seen in New Zealand.
“…blessed with limbs that could rotate in any direction and a body that appeared entirely boneless.” Dartford Times, London
“His work is simply some of the funniest that has come out the school’s 10 years of operation.” -Godfrey Sim, CircoArts Director
Thom is a New Zealander from Patea, South Taranaki. He grew up with four older brothers and an irrational desire to be a clown. Thom has trained two years at New Zealand’s circus school CircoArts and was the 13th New Zealander in 50 years to complete the two years training course at physical theatre school ‘Lecoq’ in Paris.
Thom has helped set up four physical theatre companies in the UK and France and has established himself as a respected artist in Finland.
Contact:
Thom Monckton - thomas.office@gmail.com 0220350649
Tickets $16 full /14 concession /12 Groups 6+ and Fringe artists
Don’t miss this opportunity to experience TWO tested works steeped in a New Zealand sense of humour, from internationally experienced performers/ creators.
“I shall not reveal the conclusion, but by all means my applause was rapturous.” Salient
Kallo Collective
“…as zany as any we have seen here for decades.” -The Dominion Post (NZ)
Founded in 2009 Kallo Collective is an up-and-coming physical theatre and contemporary circus company. The international collective is based in Helsinki with strong connections in France and New Zealand. Key members include Jenni Kallo (FIN), Thom Monckton (NZ), Sampo Kurppa (FIN), and Jen McArthur (NZ).
The Collective aims to augment and evolve the disciplines of physical theatre, contemporary circus, and in particular, clowning.
The founding members (Kallo, Monckton, and Kurppa) studied together at the international physical theatre school of Jacques Lecoq in Paris and all members have a background in circus training. The collective has developed a unique sense of theatre style and physical comedy drawing from the masters, Chaplin and Keaton, and adding a contemporary twist.
Kallo Collective has created and produced the original clown theatre shows; Members of Our Limbs, Echolalia, Miss Olga, and Moving Stationery. These productions have met with great response from the public and critics alike. Kallo Collective is an adaptable and productive company with high quality, tour-friendly shows that appeal to a wide audience.
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