Parasites Lost at The Butterfly Club - Melbourne Fringe 2016

Parasites Lost at The Butterfly Club - Melbourne Fringe 2016

Post
Subscribe

Posted 2016-09-26 by Donna Sue Robsonfollow

Wed 21 Sep 2016 - Sun 25 Sep 2016

Alanta Colley wrote and delivered an interesting, if slightly underdone show that turned parasites into characters and travel stories into personal journeys. There was a little more to it than that- there was some political expose and an attempt at social commentary but for me, these were the strongest elements and did not go far enough. That being said, Parasites Lost achieved its vision: to talk about the side of travel, nursing, and 'saving the world' that would-be healers and practitioners do not consider or of which may be unaware.



Parasites Lost was perfectly pitched to the target student audience and those with an interest in medicine and health. Niche-audience was clear from the outset because on the whole, the audience was not thrown by the fairly 'gross' slide show of parasites and parasitical body invasion. The audience seemed relatively hardened to medical facts, remembering medical terms and jargon and had no difficultly recognising parasites presented as leading characters of travel.

The style of presentation was very much 'infotainment', punctuated with story-telling and some visual softness just to break groans from the uninitiated. In amongst the information and health-educator banter, Alanta wove personal travel stories, which again, had broad and entertaining appeal to a student audience. For others, who have traveled extensively, it may become a little tedious, and these sections could have certainly have been more tightly edited.

The lack of attention given to the metaphysical meaning of 'parasite' was, no doubt, audience-appropriate. 'Parasites' were physically defined- and maybe Atlanta relied on the audience to make their own connections to relationship and life equivalents.



For me, this was probably the most interesting aspect about the theme left unexplored: the absence of using 'parasite' to look at personal relationships, as well as Western-3rd World dynamics and global socio-economics kept the show 'safe'. However, this is very much a case of my own expectations unsatisfied: for the predominately medical audience, the show was informative, brazen and entertaining. Atlanta is an experienced and gifted orator and her subject knowledge and delivery of her own material was smooth, professionally executed and well-organised.



The 'genre' that Alanta has created, is perhaps the most fascinating part of the show and it is to the credit of Melbourne Fringe Festival organisers, that they backed it as a theatrical program and catered for niche audiences. The style is hard to 'pigeon-hole' which means that it shouldn't be categorised within existing genres: as 'comedy' or even 'one-woman monologue', there are holes. However, if you look at 'Parasites Lost' as a new genre entirely, as 'theatrical infotainment', then Alanta's work is successful and ground-breaking. Congratulations to Atlanta Colley for going out on a limb and designing a new way to present medical information and travelogues which has the potential to influence people's life path and career choices.

Parasites Lost's season at Melbourne Fringe Festival has now concluded but watch out for the show at other festivals throughout Australia.



#comedy
#festivals
#city
#performing_arts
#quirky
#travel
#september
!date 21/09/2016 -- 25/09/2016
%wnmelbourne
120745 - 2023-06-12 22:32:57

Tags

Free
Festivals
Outdoor
Music
Markets
Nightlife
Fundraisers
Family_friendly
Community
Arts_culture
Food_drink
Educational
Random
Theatre_shows
Shopping_markets
Copyright 2024 OatLabs ABN 18113479226