THE BLOK! by A Daylight Connection

An Aboriginal woman with long dark hair stands behind a blue box, resting her hands on another woman with long dark hair lying on her back in the box with her head falling off the edge. They both wear Aboriginal garments.

Presented by Darebin Arts Speakeasy and Melbourne Fringe

Radical, Blak, and funny as hell

A Daylight Connection, led by Kamarra Bell-Wykes and Carly Sheppard, make work that bucks theatre convention. Hilarious and irreverent, this motley crew of visionary renegades are hell-bent on reimagining what First Nations performance can be.

THE BLOK! is a wild, satirical battle for creative control. An artist known as The Master, drowning in spiralling ego and crushing writers block (Carly Sheppard), hits rock bottom, and is visited by a divine Blak Creator (Alexis West). The Creator unravels the myths of artistic genius, white patriarchal supremacy, and the singular notion of God.

Constipated by pressure and fame, The Master must confront the limits of their genius and surrender to a force bigger than themselves. As we rapidly hurtle towards our collective extinction, how do we separate the false gods from the real?

THE BLOK! is a spiritually rogue theatre experience that exploits classic genres, pop culture, modern-day tropes, and mythical iconography, to create a sublime feast of divine revelation and ego-fuelled chaos. It is performance as rebellion; creation as disruption - radical, Blak, and funny as hell.

Image by Gregory Lorenzutti.

Content Warnings

This production contains coarse language, theatrical haze, strobe lighting, and references to suicide, drug use, sexual content, genocide, extinction, and the end of the world.

Age Suitability

Recommended for audiences aged 16+.

Creative Team

Devised by: Kamarra Bell-Wykes and Carly Sheppard with contributions from Alexis West
Directed by: Kamarra Bell-Wykes
Co-directed by: Carly Sheppard
Performed by: Carly Sheppard and Alexis West
Set Design by: A DAYLIGHT CONNECTION
Sound Design by: small sound
Lighting Design by: John Collopy
Stage & Production Management by: Holland Brooks
Produced by: Performing Lines

Reviews

"I haven't laughed so hard in a long while. There's genuine liberation in satire this fearless and clever." — Cameron Woodhead, The Age Four golden stars lined up next to each other.

"THE BLOK! is entertaining and hilarious, hiding its sharpness behind fart, poo and bum jokes — and proof that the best theatre is rooted in teh physical, not just the cerebral." - Kate Mulqueen, ArtsHub Four golden stars lined up next to each other.

"Carly Sheppard is a skilled clown, dancer and physical comedian, and her embodiment of The Master's various drug-induced trips alone are worth the ticket price." — Kate Mulqueen, ArtsHub Four golden stars lined up next to each other.

"Carly Sheppard's energy and mastery of her art is utterly beguiling." — Ruth Richter, Stage Whispers

"The performance was held by doomy drones, warbles and dissonant sounds of Andrew's live accompaniment - there was a deep listening and response here between Andrew, Carly and Alexia that kept every moment alive and present." — Holly Rowan

THE BLOK! was presented by Darebin Arts Speakeasy and Melbourne Fringe and produced by Performing Lines. This project had been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body. This project had been Fringe Funded, as part of Deadly Fringe, with thanks to the Sue Beeton Fund, Julie Kantor and Craig Semple.

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