24-Hour Experience
29–30 March 2014
It turns out that I didn't need to go home after a mere five hours, I just needed some alone time and a pandan bun.
Hour #7 Bathing Beauties 6 pm
Hour #7 Bathing Beauties 6 pm
This is the show that brought me into the experience of the Experience.
The pool at the gorgeous Melbourne City Baths is old enough to still be measured in feet. We sat wearing headphones in the gallery above the pool and listened to stories about women who swim – the pressure, body shape issues, pain, joy, competition and freedom – while watching women who fit their own images swim: synchronised, racing and pleasure. Place, theme and story merged beautifully and it felt like the stories belonged to the space.
Hour #8 The Catalyst Club 7 pm
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Photo by Ali Alexander
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The Catalyst Club was formed in 1910 by 19 women who were Melbourne University alumni. They called themselves the Cats and the secret club still meets today. This meeting was performed at the Victoria Room at the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre (so close and yet a world away from QV) and men were allowed to attend.
There were place cards with information about past members, like writer Joan Lindsay, and the performance was a meeting with a paper, a meal and a discussion.
The food was excellent, it had to fuel us for a few hours, and we got to wear cat ears!
Hour #9 Behind the Public Eye 8 pm
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| photo by Ali Alexander |
It's amazing how energy and enthusiasm change when it gets dark, or after some wine and profiteroles.
This work took us into the underground toilets on Elizabeth Street. I've living Melbourne for over 11 years and I've never even noticed them,
Here we saw stories of people who use these toilets, from the desperate to the angelic, and the stories continued above ground.
This was another work that connected space to story emotionally. It was also the beginning of the works (and us) interacting with the public.
Coming up: The Old Melbourne Gaol, laneways and dancing in front of the cathedral.
