Melbourne Reviews

Thursday night's session of SICK was called a "relaxed" performance. Lights were brighter, sound was supposedly quieter and there was the option to walk out of the space at any time.

The provided ear plugs were still needed for most. Even when aural and visual stimulation was less, the sound, mainly derived from two Hammond organs, pierced the intimate space and was impossible to ignore. If anyone had issues with loud noise, even the relaxed session would prove too much. 

Choreographer/performer Phillip Adams collaborates with autistic performer Ryan New and they both spend what feels like an extremely long time vigorously thrusting their torsos and various objects (plush toys, rolled up clothes) onto the keys, inciting headache-level screeches. And when they step away to do skittish ballet combinations down the length of the rectangular room, the sound remains in recorded loops. 

SICK begins from the idea of living with autism and the "impulse to act out of the ordinary". New is not a formally trained dancer and has performed extensively with mixed ability company Rawcus. Adams' background is highest level ballet/contemporary dance training but his work over the years has become increasingly abstracted and queer, closer in line to performance art than straight dance. 

Halfway through the piece, Ryan's real-life carer, Bo Svoronos, makes the two-hander a trio. Tall, long haired, with a weathered face and an enigmatic silent vibe, he's a curious presence in the obfuscated work.

Set & Costume designer Jake Preval decks Adams and New out in blue ballet tights and shoes, light-coloured tutu collars and biker-chic black leather jackets. Svoronos wears a gigantic gingham fabric ball over his head, a sheer dressing gown and a backless camisole.

There is A LOT going on in this hour-long performance, but ultimately it's pretty befuddling. It bounces from one highly "performed" and shaped scenario to another. Adams and New swing buckets tied to ropes like lassos in unison patterns, punctuating with mimes of both chucking and shitting into them. A collection of small garden gnomes is smashed in an aloof ritual and New tells a story about Canada and dogs.

What begins with the body-hurling upon the organs culminates in Adams and New, standing atop the organs, staring quietly ahead, each rolled up in vinyl fabric screen-printed with a close-up of baked beans. Behind them, retro television commercials for French champagne project onto the concertina walls. 

The seemingly random action intrigues on some level, especially the physical variety of the male bodies and the mysterious presence of Svoronos as some sort of nurturer/manipulator/outsider character.

Midsumma Festival is a good match for SICK's out-there exploration of queer and disabled identity. Highly-mannered and abstracted, SICK’s esoteric nature ultimately distances it from its audience, despite physical proximity. The obtuseness makes it challenging to take away any of the personal stories layered within the content.