MIAF: Gender Euphoria

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL
Gender Euphoria
in association with Arts Centre Melbourne
15 October 2019
The Famous Spiegeltent, Arts Centre Melbourne
to 20 October
www.festival.melbourne

"Gender Eurphoria" Mama Alto. Photo by Alexis Desaulniers-Lea

Press 6.

That's Mama Alto's advice. She gives damn good advice.

When dealing with a robo call during an election, there wasn't an answer that was right for her. When only only option is "1" or "2",  press 6. Binaries only exist in computing.

Welcome to Gender Euphoria. It's a state of mind, a way of being. It's the world we're creating. It's an end to gender dysphoria and a celebration of hope and life.

It's a fuck off to the hate created by fear and to the fear created by hate. It's an end to the ignorance and stupidity that create shame. It's an end to invisibility, hiding and the idea that discomfort is the fault of the uncomfortable person.

It's heartbreak and anger and the relief of over overcoming them.

It's song, burlesque, poetry, comedy, witchcraft, dance, sequins, pride, pride flags, ruffles, flying, supporting, well-cut suits, music and unmitigated joy that shifts the weight of shame.

It's Nevo Zisan's gender whispering to children that they are loved and infecting people with empathy.

Co-created by Mama Alto and director Maude Davey, it was first seen at this year's Midsumma festival, and was, at the time, the largest cast of Trans and gender-diverse performers seen in Australia. This time, the cast is bigger

Along with Mama and Nevo, there's Amao Leota Lu, Miss Bailee Rose, Fury, Harvey Zeilinski, Mahla Bird, Mx Munro, Ned Dixon, Quinn Eades and new special guests Crystal Love, Nikki Viveca and Krishna Istha. And musical director Ned Dixon and bass player Cerise Howard. And Auslan interpreters Mac Gordon and Kirri Dangerfield. And everyone working backstage and in the background.

Embargos mean that its next performances can't be talked about yet, but there are more performances. And I hope that it keeps getting seen at festivals all over the world until audiences wonder why Trans and gender-diverse performers are in a show of their own.


Alexis Desaulniers-Lea is the Gender Euphoria photographer. Photos help people be seen. I'll add more photos next week when they are ready. You've gotta see everyone.

"Gender Eurphoria" Maude Davey, Mama Alto. Photo by Alexis Desaulniers-Lea

"Gender Eurphoria" Harvey Zeilinski . Photo by Alexis Desaulniers-Lea

"Gender Eurphoria" Mahla Bird, Quinn Eades. Photo by Alexis Desaulniers-Lea

"Gender Eurphoria" Nikki Viveca. Photo by Alexis Desaulniers-Lea

"Gender Eurphoria" Crystal Love. Photo by Alexis Desaulniers-Lea

"Gender Eurphoria" Mahla Bird. Photo by Alexis Desaulniers-Lea

"Gender Eurphoria" Mx Munro . Photo by Alexis Desaulniers-Lea

"Gender Eurphoria" Miss Bailee Rose . Photo by Alexis Desaulniers-Lea

"Gender Eurphoria" Cerise Howard . Photo by Alexis Desaulniers-Lea

"Gender Eurphoria" Nevo Zisan . Photo by Alexis Desaulniers-Lea

"Gender Eurphoria" Krishna Istaha . Photo by Alexis Desaulniers-Lea

"Gender Eurphoria" Fury . Photo by Alexis Desaulniers-Lea

"Gender Eurphoria" Amao Leota Lu . Photo by Alexis Desaulniers-Lea

Note: When you slip up and use the wrong pronoun, you apologise because it is YOUR fault, not the fault of the person that you've misgendered. Don't know what pronoun they use? Ask them. And see how easy it is to use a gender-neutral first-person grammatically-correct pronoun in English.

MICF: Garbage Monster – Alice Tovey

MICF
Garbage Monster
Alice Tovey 
Hot Mess Productions and The Butterfly Club
18 April 2019
The Butterfly Club
to 21 April
comedyfestival.com.au

Alice Tovey

One day, singer and feminist super hero Alice Tovey and her music director feminist super hero Ned Dixon will have to move to huge theatres. But this weekend they are still in the kitsch heaven of The Butterfly Club where you can see the stage and have a cocktail.

Garbage Monster is about what we don't put in the bin, what we keep next to the bin, what we recycle and what we leave festering at the bottom because we don't use plastic bin bags to get the slimy gross stuff out of our lives.

Alice begins her bin dive with an outfit made from bright-orange plastic temporary safety-fencing, but this is far from a safe show.

First to be dropped are some of those celebrities – mostly men, but this is a genuinely equal show – whose repulsive behaviour and ideas have ruined some of our favourite films and tv shows*. IN THE BIN they go.

Then she makes room for the people who think they know her and somehow think that their opinion of her matters. They may STFU and get IN THE BIN as Alice sings about the "lies" women tell and how, maybe, performers really do perform on stage.

But that's just the beginning. It's easy to dump people we don't know. It's harder to squish down the rubbish and make room for people we know, even if they treat us like they found us in a bin. We all know someone who has stayed in a damaging relationship. Alice has. I have. And we're certainly not the only ones. Getting them in the bin is the first step. Then comes the work or keeping them in there and making sure that bin goes out on bin night.

And that's before we rubbish ourselves. We may claim to be totally ok with our bodies but still spend far too much of our time trying to change things that will never change and wearing a '"shame bra" that's too far too tight. It really feels great to stop apologising for everything, wear comfy underwear and know that there's room in the bin for anything that belongs there.

Alice has a voice that should echo in the souls of anyone who rubbish others. And Garbage Monster's mix of theme, personal story and zeitgeist anger is the perfect mix to make the kind of compost that's guaranteed to turn shit into stuff that makes everything thrive.

*And theatre. The famous actor isn't alone in the bin.

MICF: Existential Crisis

Existential Crisis
Alice Tovey, Hot Mess Productions
31 March 3018
The Tower, Malthouse Theatre
to 8 April
comedyfestival.com.aus

Alice Tovey

Alice Tovey, Ned Dixon and their band, The Apostles, are going to be rocking our music theatre and cabaret worlds for a long time to come. And they are so MICF*.

Along with Romeo is Not The Only Fruit and It's not me, it's Lou, the 20-something women are making sure that a few nights at the Malthouse this festival is compulsory.

Existential Crisis rocks with Alice out front in a tight shiny jumpsuit and her name in red sequins but it isn't as rocking as their previous work – yet.

It struggles with narrative that isn't as personal as earlier shows and starts by assuming that the audience know the people on the stage. And lyrics are getting lost in the sound mix.

The link from freaking out at 25 because you're in a loving relationship, have a supportive family and can rock a super-shiny jump suit with arm tassles to hating Peter Dutton (assuming the audience know him; ok, we despise him) feels forced. The conclusion that goes back to the beginning, and death, is much stronger. I wanted to hear more about the crisis of turning 25; more of the OTT rock opera about a struggling diva that it's wanting to be.

But it does have a song about being ready for the Zombie Apocalypse – who doesn't want to see that!

* MICF: Melbourne Indie Celebratory Feminist

How To Fringe 2017: Alice Tovey

Alice Tovey
Musical comedian, proud screaming feminist, rock god

Alice Tovey: Mansplaining
23–30 September
Arts House – Underground

SM: I finally saw Alice and Ned at last year's Fringe; see them.

Alice Tovey, Ned Dixon. Photo by Sarah Walker

If you could invite anyone to your show (and you knew they would come), who would it be?
Yassmin Abdel-Magied. She inspired a lot of the material in the show and I just want to buy her a cup of tea and be her mate. TWEET HER IN

The Melbourne Fringe in three words?
Feminist, fierce and in-your-face.

A favourite Melbourne Fringe memory.
There really are too many to choose from; some of my happiest memories are at the Fringe. Melbourne Fringe gave me my first opportunity to create cabaret. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be working with the wonderful Ned Dixon, and I wouldn’t have the immense privilege of performing shows on the reg. However, my favourite memory would have to be performing with my band, The Apostles, at the Fringe Opening Gala in 2016. Those guys are a pack of legends and the crowd was incredible.

Your experience as an independent artist being part of the Melbourne Fringe.
Always a positive one. The Fringe staff give their artists a lot of room to grow and the tools to get to where they want to be. I’m very grateful to the whole team for the support they’ve given us over the years

What makes the Melbourne Fringe unique?
The performers. Melbourne Fringe artists are very political and aren’t afraid to perform something totally left of centre.

Your advice for choosing what to see in the Melbourne Fringe.
See everything. Take some long service leave and see every show at the Fringe. Go to the website now and book all of the tickets. I’m serious. Do it

Do you think there’s a better system than star ratings for reviews?
I don’t think we’ll ever find a system of reviewing that satisfies both performers and critics. It’s not the job of critics to make performers feel good about themselves, nor is it my job to create work to be reviewed. At the end of the day, we’re all just doing our job. I know when I’ve put on a good show. Sure, a critic might not like what I’ve done, but as long as I know that I’ve done the best I can do, that’s all that matters. I know that sounds like some real namby-pamby, touchy-feely, sensitive performer bullshit, but gone are my days of crying in the shower over a bad review that says I “lack diction”. I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life

Five shows/events that you will not miss at the 2017 Melbourne Fringe.
AT: ONLY 5!?!
SM: Yes.
AT: I’m going to do a cheeky 8 shows, because there really are too many.
SM: OK, but only cos three people only did 4.
AT: Here's 10

The Vagina Monologues by Deafferent Theatre 
Rama Nicholas in The Lucky Ones
I’m Fine by Lucy Gransbury
Adam McKenzie: Laser Light
Yada Yada Yada: a 90s Sitcom Special
A Bok In Progress by Lauren Bok
Fringe Wives Club: Glittery Clittery: a conSENSUAL party
Seen & Heard by Becky Lou
Self
Church curated by Mama Alto