SELKIE
"... Selkie is a provocative and Disquieting work"
As an artist and director, I have always embraced the violent, the sexual and the political. The works I make tend to be polemics - bold, some might say crass, visceral, didactic.
What joy then to be handed this gift of a play - this delicate, slippery paean to wild things held captive.
Finn's play captured me instantly because it spoke to all the things that move me and anger me - the violence and manipulation that exist in all of us (as opposed to only the worst of us), and the toll exacted on those we desire - not to celebrate or understand - but to own.
In Australian I have always felt like Ronnad the Selkie - trapped between who I am and what is expected of me. In my relationships the hand and heart of Sean the Human lurks not far below the surface. Those of us that fancy ourselves as better than monsters still have it in us to do monstrous things - and the only bulwark against that is a constant vigilance - a constant reflection on how we are, who we are, why we are.
Selkie is important because of this. It is at heart an invitation to introspection, to self-reflection. To look deeply into ourselves and ask if we are really as noble as we want to think we are.
My wonderful team
Performers
Ella Hetherington and Paul Grabovac (actors)
Yilin Kong and Kynan Hughes (Dancers)
Choreographer - Laura Boynes
Images by Callum Sims, and Video by Jamie Breen
- Joe Lui (Director/Composer/Lighting Designer of Selkie)
"A love story of sorts, the traditional valuing of the couple bond questioned in the face of conflict, surrender, betrayal and isolation, instead celebrating the freedom of individual identity and agency. Selkie raises questions that linger.
-Artshub.com
http://performing.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/performing-arts/nerida-dickinson/selkie-251084
"The entrapment of women by physical, economic, legal or emotional means, even by love, is an open wound in society. Selkie, in many ways, tells their story "
-The West Australian
"Selkie explores the relationship between two unsatisfied creatures, searching for whatever it is they are missing in each other. it explores the comfort that numbs us and shields us from pushing ourselves, that stumps our passion, our fire"
Selkie Ronnad (dancer Yilin Kong) struggles to breathe
Costumes by the wonderful Cherish Marrington
