Free Admission | State Theatre Centre | til 18th Feb | ★ ★ ★ ½ 

This years artist in residence for the Perth Festival, Ursula Martinez, has left her mark on several notable shows, including Fringe World Festival’s Bitch on Heat . Her shows are renowned for their provocative, autobiographical content – and her propensity for nudity. Free Admission is no different.

She starts each new statement with the word “sometimes” – and sometimes these thoughts are funny. It was fascinating to hear how the audience respond to these random thoughts, as different parts of the room responded differently to different aspects. Her early reminiscing on the kind of racist rhymes in 1970s schoolyards drew laughter from, I suspect, people who remembered that time well and still half agreed with the sentiments. As the rhymes became more explicit – and included the “n” word – the laughter stopped from all but a minority.

This is a pattern that continues throughout the show. Martinez bounces from topic to topic – beginning with seemingly inconsequential memories and stories that become darker and darker. All the while she is building a wall, slowly hiding herself from the audience. I never got the impression that she was revealing more of her inner self. In fact, for a show that is so personal, there was very little emotion. The most authentic statements came in the very first minute of the show, when she admitted her jealousy of Catherine Tate and Graham Norton.

And through all of this, Martinez is building a wall. She does it without ever referencing the fact – instead she just keeps slathering on the mortar and tapping away on the bricks with a rhythm that is almost hypnotic.

It’s what happens when the wall is finished that is possibly the most interesting part of the show. The ending may – or may not – take you by surprise.

Free Admission is an incredibly subtle and nuanced examinations of the divisions we create as human beings.

Free Admission is showing this weekend at the Theatre Underground at the State Theatre Centre as part of Perth Festival. Tickets available here. 

Rebecca Bowman

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A Family Outing – 20 Years On | State Theatre Centre | til 12th Feb | ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ 

A Family Outing—20 Years On, performed by daughter and mother, Ursula and Milagros Martinez is tender, joyful, and poignant. It grapples with the unstoppable aspects of time by revisiting a recording of the original show, A Family Outing. 

On stage, mother and daughter watch from a couch the recording on a TV, while it is simultaneously projected on a large screen for the audience to view. This co-mingling of the past with the present immediately caught my attention. At first, I couldn’t help but notice the differences brought about by time, with the most obvious being the absence of Arthur, father and husband to Ursula and Milagros. But the performance does much more than simply focusing on obvious differences. It’s strengths, and there are many, are found when the past is brought together with the present, and then encourages you to speculate about the future, your own uncertain and yet inevitable future with aging.

I was intrigued with, and am still musing about, the ways in which repetition and shadowing were used throughout the performance to play with time. Gestures, lighting, movements, props, and clothing were just some of the strategies used for complicating time. And it is here, within these repetitive moments, when the blurring of younger pasts and older presents occurs.

One of the most enjoyable and tender of these moments happens when Milagros’ past and present selves rises from the couch, and dances to the disco classic, I Will Survive. I was drawn in and compelled to compare the younger and older, noticing the inevitable effects of time on bodies and relationships, but also the ageless aspects of joyful encounters. I was delighted to keep discovering such moments over and over again throughout the performance.

If you are interested in being moved by tender, joyful, and poignant moments between a mother and daughter, while they are playing with time, then this show is for you.

A Family Outing – 20 Years On will be at the State Theatre Centre’s Studio Underground until Tuesday 12th February. For tickets and more information head to perthfestival.com.au

Mindy Blaise

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If you’re a fan of Fringe World, you’ve almost definitely seen the work of Ursula Martinez before. Perhaps best know on the fringe circuit for her role in La Soiree and her uniquely adult twist on the classic handkerchief magic trick.

Martinez is celebrating 20 years of performance, with two very personal and soul-baring shows at Perth Festival – Free Admission and A Family Outing: 20 Years On.

Serving as Artist-In-Residence, Martinez will be revisiting her debut show A Family Outing two decades later. Originally, the show explored Martinez’ life, queer identity and relationship with her parents in a semi-scripted stage show that held nothing back. Now, Martinez is re-staging the show – but her father has passed away and her mother is unable to remember her lines.

We caught up with Martinez for a chat ahead of her Perth Festival residency.

First of all, I have to ask how your notorious hanky routine came to be.

“It came about quite literally from a drunken evening with friends. I was in my house and there was about six of us and we all got really drunk and because I was at home I had all of my stuff with me so we started doing party pieces and getting out wigs and costumes, I was getting out my guitar, all that stuff.”

“I had this magic trick in my drawer that I’d had for ages, it was the only trick I knew and I’d learned it when I was about fourteen. So as part of this late night drunken party performance nonsense I started doing my magic trick and I started taking my clothes off and in the foggy hungover state of the next morning I was recalling the night before and I was thinking about that performance and I thought ‘Oh! That was quite a good idea!’ and I took it from there!”

It sounds like you’re bringing a very different performance to Perth Festival. Did you parents have performance experience as well?

Not really. My dad used to do a bit of performance when he was in the army in the Second World War, he used to give them a little bit of entertainment. That’s all though, they were both retired teachers.

So how did they react when you asked to collaborate?

They were both very open people! Adventurous and a little bit bohemian, I mean we grew up as nudists. Also they were both retired and a little bit bored, so when I spoke to them to appear in a show with me they were both very up for it.

From the tease of the show in Perth Festival’s trailer, the show looks very off the cuff. Is there a script?

It was a mixture, so people were never quite sure which bit was which. Some bits were tightly scripted, some bits were tightly structured but loosely scripted, and other bits were completely improvised, but the audience purposely were never quite clear on that.

What made you decide to revisit that show 20 years on?

20 years felt like a thing! 20 years since my first show and a lot of things happen in 20 years. I just thought it would be interesting to revisit that show and explore the passing of time which is a universal thing we all experience. We can’t not experience it! It’s something we can all relate to.

It must have been difficult for you to go back there on a personal level.

It’s just normal life. When 20 years pass, the best case scenario is that you’re 20 years older but not particularly different. Worst case scenario is that you’re dead. Mid case scenario you’re older but more vulnerable or less well or more frail or incapacitated. That’s just the reality of life. In some way making the show is no more difficult than living the life.

In order to make this show we’ve had to revisit the previous show, so while it’s a little bit sad it’s also nostalgic and beautiful to remember that amazing experience that we shared 20 years ago when we had no idea it would be a massive success and end up touring the world together.

Ursula Martinez’ A Family Outing: 20 Years On will be at the State Theatre Centre Studio Underground from February 7th – 12th and Free Admission from February 15th – 18th. For tickets and more information, head to perthfestival.com.au

Leigh Andrew Hill

Cover photo:- Alicja Dobricka

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The Perth Festival have just released their 2019 program, filled with fascinating and unique creators from Australia and around the globe.

Artistic Director Wendy Martin presented her final curation for the festival last night, marking four years at the helm of the beloved celebration.

Martin opened the presentation with an announcement that the breathtaking Boorna Waanginy will return to transform Kings Park into a stunning visual celebration of Noongar culture and Western Australian flora and fauna.

“Boorna Waanginy is the centrepiece in a series of works by Western Australian artists and companies under the banner Made in WA,” Martin said, “These daring local productions have been nurtured and commissioned by Perth Festival as a lovingly made portrait of our place and the things that matter.”

“I am very excited that so many of the artists that I love from around the world will be in Perth to share their extraordinary work with us. Our own wonderful West Australian artists will shine brightly alongside them as we celebrate this incredible corner of the world the stories that make it unique.”

Australia’s longest running arts festival is celebrating 66 years with one of it’s most stunning programs to date. Perth will host incredible artists such as Barrie Kosky’s Komische Oper Berlin, New York’s Elevator Repair Service, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, dance sensation Dada Masilo and so much more.

This year’s festival is also celebrating some extraordinary LGBTIQ + talent including artist-in-residence Ursula Martinez (who you may remember from Fringe World favourite La Soiree), acclaimed transgender Canadian artist Cassils, queer author madison moore* and lip-sync luminary Dickie Beau with this unique ode to the great stars of Hamlet.

Chevron Gardens will also return to take over Elizabeth Quay with a selection of unique musical acts from Australia and beyond. Christine and the Queens, The Internet, Cat Power, Beach House, Abbe May, Orbital, Rhye, Jamile, Aloe Blacc and so many more will be bringing their sounds to the banks of the Swan River.

And we’ve only just scratched the surface! With the Lotterywest Film Festival, Writers’ Week, performance, visual art and music, Perth Festival is set to ignite our city this Summer.

Explore the full program at perthfestival.com.au

Images:-
Boorna Waanginy by Toni Wilkinson
Ursula Martinez by Alicja Dobricka

* madison moore styles their name without capitals.

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Not only did DJ JimJam bring a serious party to the main dance floor, a host of Fringe World’s top international performers delivered surprise performances on the terrace.

Out on the terrace La Soiree’s Ursula Martinez appeared in front of the spotlight.

Taking a swig of champagne from a bottle, she asked if anyone had a light for her cigarette.

Encouraging the crowd to rave on with her to the sound of Mousse T’s track ‘Fire’.

Suddenly there was a flash of fire as Martinez’s minimal nipple covering went up in flames.

Soon the other breast covering was also disappearing in a flash. By the end of the mesmerizing performance little of the artist’s costume remained.

Martinez wasn’t the only La Soiree alumni shedding a costume.

The amazing Jess Love performed her hula hoop routine after stripping off her costume – much to the crowd’s delight.

Scottee, whose solo show opens at Connections this Wednesday, hosted the night.

The club entertainer impressed the crowd with his offbeat magic routine and rousing rendition of a ’90’s pop classic sing-a-long.

The cast of East End Cabaret Bernadette Byrne and  Victor Victoria also took to the stage for a rousing musical number.

Catch Scottee at Connections in ‘The Worst of Scotee’. 

Jess Love and Ursula Martinez are appearing in La Soiree in the Pleasure Garden.

Eastend Cabaret: Sexual Tension opens on Saturday at The Pleasure Gardens.

Tickets are available from www.fringeworld.com.au 

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