Review: The Ribcage Collective x La Mama Theatre

On Thursday night I showed up at La Mama ready to see The Ribcage Collective’s new work of experimental theatre. The Ribcage collective are a collaborative group of young theatre makers from varied theatrical backgrounds. For a second year running they have written, devised and performed works of immersive, sight-specific theatre at La Mama in Carlton. Their previous show was described by ArtsHub as “an intimate theatrical experience enough to reawaken a childhood sense of play”. That sounded pretty good to me. At the beginning of the evening we found out the recent arts funding cuts had just forced the closure of Platform Youth Theatre, the organisation that had brought these performers together. The kind of theatre we were about to see – youth-driven, experimental – is becoming harder and harder to make, even though it seems essential that young people have opportunities ambition, funded work. The show was based around a new Australian myth written by the group. It followed a family through three generations and a lot of hardship – from earth to hell and back again. The myth was told by a woman dressed as the sun; a “very wordy sun” as my viewing companion put it. The sun was so wordy that neither of us were able to follow the story, although that didn’t necessarily matter, we were told, because the three acts that made up the bulk of the work were also designed to be experienced separately. The audience was split into two, each group led by a guide through three site-specific pieces. The stories were vivid, each with a unique sense of place and drama. In one, a woman seems to be drowning in a bath of silver while another woman looks on, calmly smoking a cigarette. In another, a brother and sister quarrel as they are trapped in their dead fathers home. In my favourite story, a young boy philosophises with his fish, only to find the fish has come alive and is gyrating on his bed in a slinky dress. All of the stories had a great sense of playfulness and surprise. Moments like the fish coming alive, or a woman being dunked in silver liquid, were thrilling to watch. The spaces – some more ‘traditional’ than others, were cleverly used. A hole in the ceiling of one space allowed the silver liquid to be dunked secretly, a decrepit staircase became a dramatic entrance way. Some moments in the piece did feel little heavy-handed. Metaphors were either obvious – a chain is passed from actor to actor ‘linking’ the 3 pieces together – or too abstract and complex to be accessible. “What did the silver stuff mean?” someone asked later. Talking to audience members afterwards, there was a general sense of confusion – what did that mean? How did the stories link together? We couldn’t figure it out. It was a relief to slip into the Q+A session afterwards and find a panel of enthusiastic performers keen to answer our questions. It because clear how much thought had gone into every element – the metaphors may have been confusing, but that wasn’t because they lacked depth. Hearing the performers talk afterwards somehow made the work as a whole more enjoyable for me. Their thoughtfulness and passion redeemed the show’s weaker moments. It was during the Q+A that I realised we were in the company of a school group: young girls about to go into Year 12 drama. They asked about the world beyond high school plays and the performers willingly shared their knowledge. It was the innocent being led by the less innocent, a charming moment slightly overshadowed by the recent funding cuts. One performer said “There aren’t many opportunities left, so you’ve really got to put yourself out there.” Another chimed in “but if you do, you will find people willing to help.” And, if there is hope that courageous youth theatre will not only endure, but thrive, the Ribcage Collective are certainly a shining example. Written by Beth Gibson.

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