Outer Urban Projects Presents VESSEL

Babies having babies. Children lost at sea. Bonds that must be broken.

"I boarded the boat with 15 other family members, 9 drowned and 6 remained. We clung on to a plank of timber for 20 hours drifting in the water. Something I witnessed left a very strange impression, a baby with umbilical cord still attached to the mother was amongst those who drowned"-Testimonial from a survivor of the SIEV X (Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel X) tragedy

A journey from one side of the world to another, through generations, time and parallel realities, VESSEL is a dance theatre work about giving birth and the circumstances you are born into - it spans street, cultural and contemporary styles with text and an original sound score.

Outer Urban Projects Artistic Director and VESSEL director and composer, Irine Vela, explains that when developing this new work, the 2001 SIEV X (Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel X) tragedy came to mind - it was a dilapidated fishing vessel that sank carrying around 400 asylum seekers from Indonesia to Christmas Island.

"The experience of the families that boarded the SIEV X was a stark contrast to the way we perceive the modern Australian family of 2.4 children. 353 people died in the SIEV X tragedy, including 146 children, 142 women and 65 men. Some of the survivor testimonies are chilling and surreal. The words of one survivor are echoed in VESSEL by Iranian actor Sahra Davoudi," said Vela.

"The womb is a vessel that protects and nurtures an embryo to survive long enough to be born into life. Asylum seekers board a vessel to bring their families to safety and security. When and how does a parent let go of its child and the child of its parent?" questions Vela.

VESSEL features an intergenerational ensemble whose origins span five continents, including the Pacific Islands, the Middle East, South East Asia and Indigenous Australia.

Director and composer: Irine Vela

Choreographers: Thomas E. S. Kelly, Nebahat Eroplat and Demi Sorono

Dancers: Victoria Canning, Tehyali Malone, Damian Seddon, Simone Etheve and Josephine Pelman

Actor: Sahra Davoudi
Season 20 - 23 September 2017

Times Wed - Thu 10:30am & 1pm, Fri 12:30pm & 7pm, Sat 3pm & 8pm

Artist Q&A following morning and matinee performances.

Venue Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse Rehearsal Room

Address 100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne

Tickets $22 Bookings 1300 182 183 or artscentremelbourne.com.au Information outerurbanprojects.org/works/Vessel

Outer Urban Projects is a bold performing arts company that creates new forms of contemporary performance imagined from the life experiences of young emerging artists from the outer northern suburbs. The company gives voice to the unexpressed aspirations and creative potential of ghettoised, culturally diverse emerging artists whose origins span five continents.

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