Q feature: THE FALL
Arts Centre Melbourne presents the Baxter Theatre Centre at the University of Cape Town THE FALL A powerful piece of documentary political theatre
Following a critically acclaimed season at the 2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, having received two top awards and multiple five-star reviews, South African theatre production The Fall will make its Australian debut in the Fairfax Theatre for six shows only as part of Art Centre Melbourne's Big World, Up Close series. This stunning piece of documentary political theatre is led by a powerhouse young ensemble who connect to their audience through story-telling and song.
Rising from the #RhodesMustFall movement, this collaborative piece of theatre emerges from the heart of South Africa, written and performed by an ensemble of seven students who were involved in the uprising. Race, class, gender, sexism, colonialism and ideologies of patriarchy – core to global conversations and interventions today - are recounted in personal experiences and tackled head-on, seeking to unpack discrimination in all its forms.
In April 2015, a student revolution at the University of Cape Town rocked South Africa and made waves around the world. The movement successfully sought to bring down the statue of colonialist Cecil Rhodes, situated at the foot of the university's famous Jameson Steps, in protest of the white, Euro-centric cultural experience which dominated South African student life. The campaign for the statue's removal led to a wider movement to decolonise education across South Africa, garnering global attention.
When the statue of Cecil John Rhodes was dismantled, seven postgraduate students wrote The Fall. It took South Africa by storm during the #RhodesMustFall, #FeesMustFall and subsequent student movements' demonstrations in 2015. Seeking to unpack discrimination in all its forms, the play does not offer solutions to the questions raised by the movements whi ch inspired it, but hopes to create and nurture dialogue. The Fall adds its voice to the national and worldwide debate and youth- led revolutions against injustices, inequality in education, cultural representation and many other contemporary conflicts.
The Fall explores decolonization, institutional racism, privilege, systemic oppression, identity, gender and the power of protest.
The Fall is part of Big World, Up Close - a powerhouse performance series showcasing the most compelling new works from across the globe. Tapping into urgent energies from Africa to the Middle East and Australia's own shores, each piece in the series reveals profound and personal stories told by vital voices in music and theatre. Launched in 2017, Arts Centre Melbourne's contemporary winter performance series features works that are created by artists from diverse backgrounds that promote conversations around pressing cultural and political issues. In addition to The Fall, the Big World, Up Close program features TAHA, the award-winning lyrical story of the life of Palestinian poet Taha Muhammad Ali and Native Tongue by Mojo Juju, a musician of Indigenous Australian and Filipino heritage.
Arts Centre Melbourne presents The Baxter Theatre Centre at the University of Cape Town The Fall Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Theatre Tuesday 28 August- Saturday 1 September, 7:30pm Sunday 2 September, 5pm
Bookings: https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au and 1300 182 183