Mess and Intimacy depict the beautiful chaos of humanity’s endurance

Posted on 30 September, 2020

If you’ve been struggling to find a word which isn’t ‘unprecedented’ to describe the energy of 2020, you’re not alone.

Lucky for you, creative force Chenoeh Miller has not only verbalised the contradictions complicating human existence in COVID, but has commissioned two new shows visualising these phenomena.

Mess and Intimacy are artistic responses to the contradictions and paradoxes underpinning life in this pandemic, aiming to connect us as an audience in a time demanding we are kept apart.

Both will be performed at Belco Arts’ brand new theatre, where Chenoeh Miller is Live Programs Officer.

Mess, which premiers this Thursday 1 October, is a physical theatre performance experimenting with shadows and light, in which Chenoeh observed as underpinning isolation. At the centre is director and contemporary dancer Natsuko Yonezawa.

“Natsuko Yonezawa is a young director who is fascinated by the worldwide phenomenon that originated in Japan, the Hikikomori—meaning socially withdrawn,” explains Chenoeh.

“Hikikomori people self isolate for years and often decades or lifetimes. The reasons for this vary widely, but often come down to a feeling of not fitting into society. Initially, I wanted Nat and the group to find an original subject while playing with mess and light, but when the entire world was experiencing isolation, it seemed an opportune time for Natsuko to dive deep into her massive amount of knowledge on the subject.”

“Mess is dark and an experimental work that we don’t often see in Australia. It’s as if Natsuko has tapped into the messy mind created from extensive periods of not interacting with the world. It’s disturbing but also very beautiful. I think it will challenge our audiences.”

Meanwhile, Intimacy  (22-23 October) fuses the formats of burlesque, dance, text and physical theatre to capture societal yearning for intimacy in a world which is increasingly placing boundaries on our ability to stay connected.

“When I think of Intimacy, my heart swells with joy,” says Chenoeh. “The three collaborators [artists Jazida, Noa Rotem and Adam Deusien] are highly skilled with many years working as professional performers, directors and leaders within communities locally and around the world. But when I bought them together, they didn’t know each other. And they used this fact to create material for Intimacy—how can you be intimate in a world that forces you to be distant?”

“But Intimacy doesn’t necessarily focus on this time of isolation. It really looks at closeness and connection and how individuals need to bring different parts of themselves to a relationship in order to open up to that closeness.”

“Intimacy is fun, sexy and deeply intimate. It is a very accessible show that will appeal to a wide audience.”

Capturing themes of joy, heartbreak and incredulity, Intimacy encourages the audience to reconceptualise connection in an age where distance is the order of the day.

Like all creative organisations, COVID dealt a difficult hand to Belco Arts, and continues to limit their logistics, with their theatre capacity of 400 limited to just 70.

However, Chenoeh applauds the ACT Government’s approach to its arts community during the pandemic.

“It was very scary in mid-March when literally all work in the entertainment industry was indefinitely suspended…Homefront was a wonderful initiative by the ACT Government. Not only did it rescue many local artists but it provided a way for audiences to continue to engage with local art online.”

And, with the ACT’s cases remaining at 0, Belco Arts is finally able to welcome patrons back.

“The Belco team is thrilled to have our entire arts centre back open to the public. While it means more work for all staff and performers with additional shows per day and cleaning and logistics, we are a super tight team and have remained so through fires, hail and a world pandemic. The gratitude that we feel for our work and each other at this time is a consistent motivator.”

For Chenoeh and her team, COVID restrictions also represented a chance to think (even more) outside the box when it came to commissioning new works.

“As all of us became experts in online communications like Zoom this year, it meant that we could open up the recasting of Intimacy beyond ACT borders,” she explains.

“As such, we have brought in a phenomenal performer and leader of various dance companies around the world, Noa Rotem, who usually splits her time between Israel, Portugal, France and Northern NSW. She was keen for a trip to Canberra and the development of Intimacy timed perfectly.

“Simultaneously we have Adam Deusien of Lingua Franca dance theatre currently in Canberra due to his new position with Events ACT including programming the recent Where You Are festival (which supported many local artists during 2020). I am super excited to be bringing Adam into the room to stretch out his office legs and show off his talent as a versatile actor and dancer.”

“And Jazida! Our very own queen of burlesque. It is a beautiful team of kind and respectful collaborators. They have chosen NOT to have a director and have all taken on the role of making the work together along with Tiffany Abbott designing a set and costumes.”

As for the future, Chenoeh is looking forward to bringing more “risky, diverse and exciting” theatre to Belco Arts.

“We have a strong team at Belco. Our Co-CEO’s Jack Lloyd and Monika McInerney encourage us to harness our strengths and to gain strength in new areas…In the process of discovering the identity of our live performance program, I only know that I want artists and audiences at the centre of it.”