NORPA is taking audiences on an adventure outside the theatre once again, staging its original work Wildskin in a warehouse space at Lismore Showgrounds. Wildskin inhabits an outrageous and unpredictable world that’s part bush-thriller, part road-trip and a whole lot of NORPA’s signature theatrical style.
First performed in 2018 in a traditional theatre space, Wildskin director and NORPA artistic director, Julian Louis and the team have turbo-charged the 2024 version –reinventing Wildskin as a totally new experience outside the theatre.
Seven spoke to the Wildskin team to talk about the old and the new.
What are the challenges and joys with re-inventing and re-imagining a show that has been performed before?
Julian Louis says you learn so much from the audience and from watching it with other people. ‘So when you get another go at it, you know the things you want to extend and accentuate, the things that didn’t work and you get a deeper understanding of the story. Our works are not text-driven, they are actor and image-driven, we play with different forms, so we get to learn about the impacts of those different forms in the storytelling.’
Set and costume designer on the new production, Charlotte Haywood says the scale of the space is a challenge and a joy. ‘There is a different cast and also the script has evolved to a new time, bringing a different dynamic. It is a much more immersive show as the whole night and site become a part of this iteration.’
What will the audience see/feel this time that is different from Wildskin’s first incarnation?
Julain says he feels like it is a totally different show. ‘We have made so many changes to the story and the way we tell it. There’s much deeper storytelling and the imagery is really heightened by the location. There’s more clarity and more emotion because of that. There’s a new ensemble of actors who all bring their different experiences to the work. There’s more depth and complexity and we also understand more as an audience.’
Charlotte: ‘Well it is a work that is created specifically for the site, encompassing the scale and inherent vernacular. This time hopefully it is about tapping into to the unseen just as much as the seen; exploring other senses beyond the visual. Creating the psychological through visual nuance, light and sound.
How have you approached developing the character/s you play in Wildskin?
Performer Kate Foster: ‘I believe that we all have a multitude of characters inside us, they just need to be let loose! We start by studying the words and the actions and that helps inform us about their backstory and motivations. Then it’s time to get in the body- how do they move, walk, talk? What do they wear and how does that inform the way they move? I like to focus on being a vessel and letting these characters emerge without judgement or restrictions.’
How does Wildskin resonate with you personally, and what do you hope audiences take away from the performance?
Melia: ‘We play multiple characters in Wildskin. I’ve been exploring playing a man, so there has been lots of people-watching, observing idiosyncrasies and physical play.
‘The rehearsal process has been a time of unearthing ideas. It’s been deeply consuming and very physical as we are working in a vast space that we’ve transformed into a theatre.’
‘I hope audiences resonate with the story of someone being bold enough to change their life and find new parts of themselves. It’s a self-discovery journey set in the Australian bush and it bumps into the genre of bush horror and this makes for a thrilling, adventurous night of original theatre.’
What have you enjoyed and what have you found challenging?
‘I really enjoy the process of devising theatre – this is NORPA’s unique approach to creating new work and it is collaborative and generous. Rehearsals have sometime felt like a brainstorming session where all offers are explored, ideas are birthed, and solutions are uncovered to determine the best way to theatrically tell the story. There’s a freedom to this which is expansive but also a risk which brings a certain charge and electricity to the room.’
Kate: ‘I’ve really enjoyed the movement, and learning stage fighting, but the physicality combined with a full-time rehearsal schedule is tiring and challenging.’
How does NORPA’s approach to creating theatre differ from other companies you have worked with?
Melia: ‘Being in a show with four other women and telling a story where the female protagonist is played by all of us is fascinating. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed observing my fellow actors and witnessing the character of Eva develop and stretch. There is also a fight scene where we have been learning the technical aspects of fight choreography which I’m truly buzzed on.’
Kate: ‘NORPA specialise in devised works, which has a completely different process to staging a written play. The process is very fluid and collaborative which I really enjoy. There are no wrong ideas or suggestions. Everything is considered and mined for interesting moments or imagery and those most interesting moments become the show.’
What do you think is NORPA’s signature style when it comes to theatre?
Charlotte: Devised works, physical theatre, site-specific locations and stories that resonate with local audiences.
What do you hope the audience takeaway is?
Charlotte: A night out of the ordinary!
Kate: ‘I really resonate with Eva the protagonist. We are of similar age, have grown up children and have worked in the corporate sector. She feels a need to throw her life to the wind and seek excitement and chaos and who hasn’t felt like doing that on occasion? I hope that audiences see the evolution of Eva and feel emboldened by her as she faces her fears and is ultimately reborn.’
Julian: ‘The incredible strength of this cast and the ensemble nature of the work – this is a really demanding theatre work – it has song, voice, physical theatre, multiple characters. I’m really looking forward to people seeing these actors do things they’ve never seen them do before, but also seeing actors being stretched in the most amazing way and rising to all those challenges.’
Are there any surprises?
Julian: ‘There are exciting reveals and twists that will shock the audience at times or at times it will be extremely funny,’ says Louis. ‘The surprise aspect to this work is there is so much in it. One moment you’re in a fight scene, in the next scene you’re in a bush bathhouse!’
Charlotte – Could be …
Wildskin presented by NORPA is at Lismore Showground from September 12 to 28 at 7.30pm. Tickets are $30 to $69. Bar and Roadhouse Diner open from 5.30pm. Wildskin is an all-weather event. For tickets and more information go to www.norpa.org.au.
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