street theatre

The Lying Rodent

Posted by hil

I’m in the same mind set as a net friend who recently said that he just wanted the electioneering to be over and to be able to cast his vote with grim determination. So I’m trying to let most of it pass me by. But the appearence of protestors in body suits added a couple of brief moments of levity this last week.

At the Perth campaign launch Howard was hugged by a large sheep, protesting the live sheep export trade. A few days later a large rat pestered Howard while he was electioneering on the streets in his home electorate of Bennelong, while other protestors called ‘Lying Rodent for PM’ from across the street.

The ‘lying rodent’ tag stems from a sworn statement a few weeks ago by a Queensland Liberal Party branch official, Russell Galt, that Liberal Senator Brandis said of Mr Howard in relation to the Children Overboard senate enquiry: “He is a lying rodent” and “we’ve got to go off and cover his arse again on this”. Senator Brandis denied the allegation on oath, but went on to explain with a barristor’s distinction:

‘He would only ever call Howard the rodent; never a rodent, because the former is a nickname, whereas the latter would be a pejorative term.’

According to the same article,

‘… the PM has been descriptively tagged as the rodent almost as long as he’s been ironically tagged as Honest John. The nickname dates from the long internecine war between Howard and Andrew Peacock some 15 years ago.’

It began as a reference to the way Howard ceaselessly gnawed at Peacock’s leadership, and was adopted by John Hewson supporters for much the same reason.

Some people in the Australian Rodents Fanciers Society are offended by the slur:

“We would have to say that it’s quite funny that it’s not technically correct,”

“Unfortunately, most rodents, we have around 30 at our place, actually have a little more integrity than prime ministers and politicians.”

Spare Parts Puppet Theatre at the Joondalup Festival

Posted by hil

In Perth, Spare Parts Puppet Theatre in partnership with the City of Joondalup will celebrate World Puppetry Day with the spectacular opening of the Joondalup Festival. The project, Animus Maximus, is supported by Healthway, the Heart Foundation’s ‘Smarter than Smoking’ message and ArtsWA.

Spare Parts Company associates, Bryan Woltjen and Karen Heathey, will not only be bringing out the giant Wubba puppet, but are co-ordinating three festival parades comprising puppets made by the children, including large scale stilt walking creatures. Narelle Simpson, another talented multi skilled company associate has been doing stilt walking classes with children in preparation for the big event on World Puppetry Day. And Sanjiva Margio has also been working with the community to create large scale puppetry parade elements.

Overview:

“The performance is a spectacle street theatre event (devised by Bryan Woltjen and Karen Hethey in conjuction with Kinross College and Warrick Senior High School) based on the 2004 Joondalup Festival’s theme of Global Village. Through the project students have undertaken workshops in complicite’, performance development, introductory puppetry skills, and construction to bring to life giant multi-operated puppets on the streets of Joondalup.

Dillo the giant scaled shape changer, a magnificent glowing raptor the size of a two story building, a graceful stilt creature and the Five Fingered Puppet King will take to the streets of Joondalup to meet at the great cross-roads for a summit which will hopefully bring peace to the global village. A village whose clans have been left fractured and fearful from the great battle which has waged for four centuries.

The setting is the third Millenia, and the formidable Dillo the scaled shape changer, protected by the legions of Dillodians has dominated the clans through sheer force and numbers but the clans have grown tired, hungry for change. A small contingent of renegades, the Aeralians have held out against the all consuming might of Dillo. Through out time, woven into the mythological threads of the clans, a prophecy has for told of a time of change. Some think the prophecy to be nothing more than a children’s story or fools riddle, but the older wiser ones Annularis, Medius, Digitus, Index and Polex whose wisdom was born long before the clashing times know otherwise.

The prophecy fortold of a great winged creature
made from neither flesh nor wood or metal nor bone,
not feathers, skin nor wire alone,
whose force if harnessed and rode in flight
would turn the scales of wrath and might

A legion of Dillodians capture a great raptor. Is this the mythological beast of the prophecy? Is a time of change at hand? Or do the fates hold another story? Set to a sound track designed by Kingsley Reeves with SPPT company associate Nel Simpson playing the character of Arial, all is revealed at twighlight at the great summit of Animus Maximus, at the cross-roads of Grand Boulevarde and Reid Promenade in Joondalup March 21st.”