MARCH 11 - MARCH 14

MALTHOUSE THEATRE IN ASSOCIATION WITH ARTS HOUSE PRESENTS A BRISBANE POWERHOUSE AND DANCENORTH PRODUCTION

LAWN

BY SPLINTERGROUP
CHOREOGRAPHED & PERFORMED BY
VINCENT CROWLEY GRAYSON MILLWOOD GAVIN WEBBER
REHEARSAL DIRECTOR MICHELLE RYAN
DRAMATURGE ANDREW ROSS
MUSICAL COMPOSER AND PERFORMER
IAIN GRANDAGE
DESIGNER ZOE ATKINSON
LIGHTING DESIGNER MARK HOWETT

lawn, n. (lôn) 1. Ground that is covered with grass, kept closely mowed. 2. A situation or condition that results from a lack of sunlight, usually characterised by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions and or dreams of open spaces. 3. An open space between woods.

In a small one-room apartment high above the snow covered streets of Berlin a man is dreaming of the open lawns of his childhood. Beneath the wallpaper are the shadows of former tenants. In the walls and in his clothes there is a darker past he is trying to repress, but it keeps crawling out.

Accompanied by a live score composed and performed by Iain Grandage (Vamp) lawn is an expertly crafted horror fantasy. Conceived in Berlin and developed in Australia at Brisbane’s Powerhouse, lawn has been widely lauded by critics and audiences alike for its striking images, intense theatrical movement and ironic sense of play. lawn has been performed for the Sydney and Perth Arts Festivals, and internationally; in Singapore, Freiberg, Heilbronn and Berlin.

Now Malthouse Theatre is delighted to introduce lawn to Melbourne. Choreographers and dancers Vincent Crowley, Grayson Millwood and Gavin Webber all danced with Meryl Tankard’s Australian Dance Theatre in the early nineties, before going on to work extensively in both Europe and Australia. The influence of Pina Bausch and both a European and Australian sensibility can be seen in this playful, ironic dance theatre horror fantasy that is lawn. Splintergroup will also perform Roadkill for the inaugral Dance Massive occurring in Melbourne in 2009.

LAWN IS PRESENTED BY MALTHOUSE THEATRE IN ASSOCIATION WITH ARTS HOUSE AND TOURED BY PERFORMING LINES FOR MOBILE STATES:TOURING CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE AUSTRALIA. MOBILE STATES IS A NATIONAL TOURING INITIATIVE OF THE THEATRE BOARD OF THE AUSTRALIA COUNCIL. IT HAS RECEIVED SUPPORT FROM THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE AUSTRALIA COUNCIL, ITS ARTS FUNDING AND ADVISORY BODY.

PHOTO TIM PAGE PICTURED GAVIN WEBBER