Let's talk risky business - Surf Coast Times

A show coming to Geelong Arts Centre later this month will enter risky territory and pose some difficult questions about the level of diversity in Australian performing arts.

Described as part performance and part panel discussion, Risky Business: A little show and a big conversation is directed by Kate Hood and features facilitator Zoe Boesen and three award-winning performers: Andy Jackson, Eliza Hull and Olivia Muscat.

The unique show explores the ongoing practice and future development of disability and its true representation in the arts, delivering surprising insights and fresh perspectives.

It addresses the questions surrounding disability that society is often afraid to ask, and puts the voices and experiences of deaf and disabled artists at the heart of the conversation.

In addition to participating in the discussion, each of the performers will showcase a performance piece.

Olivia Muscat is a writer, critic and performer whose work has featured in several anthologies and on various places across the internet.

Jackson will perform his poems “Quasimodo” and “Unfinished”; Hull will perform her song “Running Underwater”, as seen on ABC TV’s Q+A; and Muscat will perform a theatrical piece written for non-disabled actors, accompanied by local artist Libby Brockman.The show was created by Hood, artistic director of Raspberry Ripple Productions, a disability-led theatre company that is bridging the gap between disability and mainstream performing arts.

Raspberry Ripple operates around the social model of disability, aiming to create theatre of a professional standard using disabled performers, writers, directors, designers and technical artists.

“There is a great reluctance in Australia to acknowledge that disability is simply part of the human condition, and that performers with disability can add a dimension that has never been seen before,” Hood said.

Risky Business is supported by Geelong Arts Centre’s Creative Engine.

“At Geelong Arts Centre, we take pride in platforming diverse art forms of all abilities,” Geelong Arts Centre head of programming Penny McCabe said.

“Risky Business is an informative venture into the depths of disability and the unique perspectives it affords.”