AFRICA

“My Darling Patricia is hot property in new Australian theatre; this production shows why.” The Sunday Age “Africa is beautiful and savage theatre, marrying virtuosic technical accomplishment to an empathetic and ruthlessly observed understanding of the dynamics of domestic abuse” The Age “It is a dream that has been shared by lovers across the centuries – the chance to elope to exotic lands. But few would have been as bold and spontaneous as six-year-old Mika and his five-year-old sweetheart Anna-Bell who, after milling over the options in secret, packed their suitcases one New Year’s Eve and set off for the German city of Hanover to tie the knot under the heat of the African sun” The Guardian, UK (2008) Traversing domestic landscapes and the residing fantastic possibilities of suburban Australia, My Darling Patricia mine the collective imagination of childhood to create Africa, a work for adults told from the perspective of children. Featuring bunraku style puppets, performance, projection and an innovative multi level set design, Africa explores the resilient powers of imagination, fantasy and escape in the lives of children amidst a landscape of props, debris and sunfaded furniture: a rich imaginative world of ‘squalid mess’ full of dreams and possibilities. Inspired by the true story of Mika and Anna-Bell, and high profile cases of child neglect published in the Australian media, Africa draws inspiration from a literary tradition of stories that imagine children in control of a world free from adults and the rules and boundaries they impose. Independent company My Darling Patricia is renowned for creating highly distinctive visual theatre that fuses everyday Australia with the far reaches of the fantastic. My Darling Patricia return to Arts House following their 2009 sell-out season of Night Garden and Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne seasons of their award-winning production Politely Savage. “One of the achievements of Africa is its emotional honesty: how it at once expresses human resilience – the ability to generate beauty from the “rag and bone shop of the heart” – and the incorrigibility of damage and loss… It’s funny, beautiful and heartbreaking. Beg, borrow or steal a ticket to this one.” The Australian Concept: Sam Routledge, Writer/Director: Halcyon Macleod, Design: Clare Britton & Bridget Dolan Composer & Sound Designer: Declan Kelly, Puppets: Bryony Anderson, Lighting Designer: Lucy Birkinshaw, Dramaturgy: Chris Ryan Props & Set dressing: Tim McGaw Performers: Anthony Ahern, Clare Britton, Jodie Le Vesconte, Michelle Robin Anderson, Sam Routledge Produced by: Marguerite Pepper Productions.