1001 Malam Performance Project (Kisah Seribu Satu Malam)

A collaboration between Liminal Theatre, Teatre Popular, and Insitut Kesenian Jakarta (IKJ).

After the highly successful 1001 Malam acting workshop in 2007,Slamet Rahardjo and Robert Draffin held three writing sessions in Jakarta during 2008 and 2009. Taking stories from the 1001 Nights and adapting them within traditional and contemporary Javanese contexts, Rahardjo and Draffin fused the classic Arabic tales with Javanese mythology and set them against the Tembang, a traditional Javanese song cycle.

The resulting text was rehearsed with actors drawn from all parts of Indonesia in May 2009 and was performed in June at Teatre Lewus, Jakarta. The production drew on traditional dance, singing and the Wayang Wong comedic style, developing a strong connection with contemporary Javanese theatre practice and performance. Kisah Seribu Satu Malam cemented an ongoing collaboration between Liminal Theatre and Teatre Popular - fostering a meaningful dialogue between tradition and modernity, and the exciting interface of differing cultures.

Kisah Seribu Satu Malam was funded by the Australian Indonesian Institute, IKJ, Teatre Popular, and Liminal Theatre.

Senegal 2007 - Le Chant du Bacchant

As a 2007 recipient of the Keith and Elisabeth Murdoch Travelling Fellowship, Mary Sitarenos, Co-Artistic Director of Liminal Theatre travelled to Senegal to experience the rituals at the heart of Senegalese culture, and work with artists, musicians and performers in the West African nation.

With the valued assistance of Ousmane NGom (now a valued international cultural ambassador with Liminal in Australia),Bouly Sonko (Daniel Sorano Theatre), Massamba Gueye, the Blaise Senghor Center, Jean Tamba and ensemble (Company Cinquième Dimension),and the Cissokohlo Family of Senegal and Mali, Mary and Australian-based performer and drummer Lamine Sonko embarked on a six-week series of workshops and auditions to create Le Chant du Bacchant, adapted from Euripedes The Bacchae.

With translations in French and Wolof by Massamba Gueye, the troupe of dancers, musicians, praise singers, and actors explored performance generated through ritual - the beginnings of an international theatre performance dedicated to re-embedding traditional practices nested in contemporary theatre-making.

This project has been invaluable in Liminal’s ongoingwork to place our theatre within a community and cultural context, not least because of the ongoing close relationship with Senegalese artists and performers, and our hosting of dancer and drummer Ousmane NGom.

Liminal Theatre & Theatre du Pif - Hanako's Pillow

In March 2008, Bonni Chan and Sean Curran, the co-founders of Hong Kong’s Theatre du Pif travelled to Australia to work with Liminal Theatre co-artistic director Robert Draffin. They were introduced to the processes of Liminal Theatre and a strong connection was established.

Following this fruitful collaboration, Draffin visited Hong Kong in June 2008, to begin work with Theatre du Pif and a multicultural cast and crew on Hanako’s Pillow. Through an intense rehearsal period that focussed on the universlity of Witches, Warriors and Ghost Stories, the story of Hanako’s Pillow emerged - the dream of the warrior, who is in an intense duel of love and mortality, which brings avision of intimacy, loneliness, sensuality and sacrifice.

Hanako’s Pillow was inspired by the images and words of Lafacdio Hearn’s collection of Japanese ghost stories, Kwaidan; the poems of Ted Hughes; the traditional Japanese Noh play Kantan;David Henry Hwang’s The Sound of the Voice; and original writing by the cast and director.

The production premiered at the Studio Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, in July 2008 and was designed by Lee Yun Soo of Yohangza Theatre, South Korea.

Hanako’s Pillow forms part of an ongoing relationship between Liminal Theatre and Theatre du Pif.

Shanghai Acting Workshops 2006/7

In May 2006 Liminal Theatre and Performance was invited by Professor Gu Yian, director of Shanghai International Performance Arts Research Centre to further research its training by working with second year students at Shanghai Theatre Academy.This project was supported by Asialink.

The students underwent 6 weeks training which culminated in a open rehearsal / showing to the whole academy and interested artists from Shanghai.The training was conducted by Robert Draffin

Since an ongoing relationship has been forged with SIPARC and the academy.In April/ May / June 2007 a Shakespeare project was undertaken by Mary Sitarenos and Professor Gu Yian culminating in a full production of Macbeth.

Robert Draffin and Professor Gu Yian are continuing to collaborate on the interface of traditional Chinese philosophy and arts practice with Contemporary Arts Practice.

Australia - China Performance Research Project

Liminal Theatre and Performance with assistance from the Australia China Council and the Hong Kong Arts Development Fund worked for 4 weeks with OnandOn Theatre Company at the Cattle Depot Artists Village in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Robert Draffin, Mary Sitarenos, Paul Robertson and Claire Nicholls worked with 20 actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan, sharing Liminal’s actor training and theatre making processes. It was a daily training practice from 10am - 5 pm culminating in a studio performance of sections from a new Chinese translation of the Greek play Oedipus.

The training and performance was in Cantonese, English and Mandarin.

1001 Malam Acting Project

The 1001 Malam Acting Project, funded by Erasmus came from an initiative of Sardono Kusumo, Rektor of Institut Kesenian Jakarta (IKJ). Sardono invited Liminal Theatre’s Co-Artistic Director, Robert Draffin and Slamet Rahardjo, Director of Theatre Popular, to hold an intensive 8 week acting workshopat Theatre Popular Sanggar in Jakarta .

The aim was to engage Indonesian performers in a process drawn from both contemporary and traditional arts practice, using the stories of the 1001 Nights as inspiration. The actors were selected from students and alumni of IKJ, as well as independent performers in Jakarta and the wider Jalarta area. 60 actors began the process in August 2007. and 20 were chosen in November 2007 to create a public showing.