SMH Review of Stories of Love & Hate (STC remount, 2011)
“This exceptional work of verbatim theatre emerged in 2008 inspired
by the Cronulla riots of 2005. From a topical perspective, some of
the heat has dissipated a little. But Stories remains a sparkling essay
REALTIME Review of Stories of Love & Hate
“The arduous listening of Oades and her cast contrasts sharply with the profound absence of listening that lies at the heart of the Cronulla riots. In repeating these stories of love and hate with such sensitivity and artistry, the performance provides us with an opportunity to re-hear our fellow citizens and to rehearse new modes of local, cultural, and national belonging.”
Caroline Wake, Realtime #89
FBi RADIO names Stories of Love & Hate
‘Top Independent Theatre Pick of 2008’
“Tricky questions weren’t avoided – they were cleverly excavated from the outside in, so that the interviewees weren’t revealed to be ridiculous, or bigoted, but rather coming from a place those who weren’t involved might be able to empathise with. But on a whole other level of critical cleverness, the four performers themselves ranged from Caucasian to Lebanese, and from early twenties to middle age. In performance, age and ethnicity were treated as liquid entities, where young women could play old women and an Italian woman could play a Lebanese boy. I cannot think of a better, more entertaining way of helping a community understand a complicated event in our recent history and I wish Urban Theatre Projects all the audience they can take.”
“200 per cent free of judgement – and full to the brim of joy . . .
I wish Urban Theatre Projects all the audience they can take.”
Pip Smith, FBi Radio
ARTSHUB Review of Stories of Love & Hate
“Stories of Love and Hate is more about love than hate and the effect to which Oades and the UTP team edit the audio material certainly brought out the universality of human emotion. The love of place, whether it be the ocean where the waves may take you through a transcendental journey or the interior of your meticulously polished and oh-so loved car with its thumping bass, in which the possibilities of love, identity and status are endless.
The love of a parent, expressed so beautifully when a man tells of why and how he does little things like daily preparing breakfast and cutting a lunch for his almost adult son. With this headphone verbatim technique the supremacy of image is shattered. Our culture privileges the image. The art of listening is dead. Even though as a culture we reward therapists for their listening skills, to listen non- judgementally is not something we are taught nor is it something that we think we need to aspire to as ordinary members of our community… strong on sincerity and absolute in integrity. I found it only fitting that the voice, which Roy Hart calls the muscle of the soul, take its rightful place here and all thanks to Oades and the actors for their skill, humility and generosity in making Stories of Love and Hate such a unique and memorable experience.”
Annette Tesoriero, ArtsHub
DAILY TELEGRAPH Review of
Fast Cars & Tractor Engines
“This is an odd, exciting slice of cutting edge theatre . . . In theory it shouldn’t work, but it really and truly does . . . Every stumble, inflection and nuance of accent is slavishly reproduced with such fidelity that you soon stop seeing the headphones and are spellbound by the voices and their tales.”
Simon Ferguson, The Daily Telegraph
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD Review of Fast Cars & Tractor Engines
"This is local narrative that transcends geography, presenting the universality of human experience and slapping down the lie of unbridgeable cultural separation. It’s great fun, and deeply thoughtful, worthy of a subsequent season and a wide and long tour…Or, slipping on the imaginary headphones, I reckon, like, it’s yeah, um, wonderful.”
Stephen Dunne, The Sydney Morning Herald
REALTIME Review of Fast Cars & Tractor Engines
"These stories are continually surprising which makes for compulsive listening. The unpredictable and idiosyncratic vocal rhythms, pitch, and timings of the interviewees produce a magical transformation in the bodies of the performers, who occupy a space somewhere between acting, ‘being’, and possession. This is probably the best performance I’ve seen all year and deserves to be embraced by a wider audience."
David Williams, RealTime #70
Further Reviews:
