Taking comedic inspiration from the satirical work of Barry Humphries, Gina Riley and Jane Turner, this project will aim to test the limitations of live theatre through its multidisciplinary form and online exhibition, while providing an insightful and humorous provocation to audiences for a greener Australia through its content.
Following the journey of Flora, a Koala who lost her home and family in the 2019-2020 Australian bushfires, narrative will unfold through screened stop-motion animation, live hand-rod puppetry (E.g. Jim Henson’s Muppets), and live audience interaction and contribution. Communicating stylistically from the world of cartoon, Flora’s story will explore themes of death, displacement, colonisation and drug use all through the lens of the COVID19 pandemic and the Global Climate Crisis.
A biting and witty ‘Aussie Battler,’ who will tell her story with comedy and sass, Flora will serve as a personified embodiment and mouthpiece of Australia’s natural ecosystem, and her struggles will metaphorically portray how human ignorance and destruction has led to the current Global Climate Crisis and the threat of mass extinction.
“I believe puppetry is a useful and innovative medium to approach subjects that are hard to swallow because it offers audiences a buffer between reality and themselves.”
See a teaser of Flora’s Fauna Below