Thursday, September 26, 2024
‘A very brave thing to do’: all-nude play about boomers v gen Z to premiere at Sydney’s Griffin theatre
The Guardian: Boomer naturists will face off with a gen Z influencer in an all-nude comedy at Sydney’s Griffin Theatre Company next year, one of five new Australian plays premiering in its 2025 season.
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Creating shocking art pieces can really affect viewers' relationships with the world around them, which is why we as a society struggle with people banning books, imprisoning artists, and reducing the accessibility of art that questions society to the general public. The actual plot of this production sounds incredibly funny and like it can raise some interesting and important questions, but when you add in the aspect of it being a piece done in the nude you add a whole other layer to it. I believe that using nudity to explain how humans and the environment exist with an ever-changing relationship can be incredibly useful, especially when added to comedy. With live nudity, it forces you to pay attention because it is so shocking. I think that using it as a tool, with the proper precautions to ensure the safety of the actors, can be really helpful to telling the story. Shocking art pieces are just as important to society as comfortable art, and I think that there should be more of them in society and we should be more open to using them as a tool to challenge each other and our preconceived notions about life.
If I was an actor, this would be my nightmare! Good thing I am not an actor, or anywhere near this show. But, I do wonder if there are any specific lighting design choices made with so much skin onstage. And if there are, how would the LD account for different skin tones? Lights are going to look way different on peachy skin than dark brown skin. Anyways, I think this show is a hilarious commentary on the gap between generations, especially now. Hundreds of years ago, you were living exactly the same life as your grandparents. Now, there's such a generational gap. I think this show is interesting because it turns that on its head-- usually the younger generation is stereotyped as being progressive and out-there and the older generation is stereotyped as orderly and conservative and prude. So, if you have a show where the older people are the ones making a nude cult in the woods and the younger generation wanting nothing to do with it, I think that creates some very interesting commentary on the tension between generations today.
Personally I don’t think I’d want to work on a nudist theatre piece but I think it sounds interesting. I feel like advertising the main selling point of the show being they’re all naked might attract people for the wrong reasons or for shock value and detract from the literal play though. I thought the section about dealing with unwanted photos or videos was complicated since nowadays audience members have a phone to snap a photo of anything. The infra red cameras is a good idea even if you’re lying to the audience you actually have that technology just to scare them from attempting it. I respect actors who do theatre like this because you have to be REAL comfortable with one another and especially yourself to perform nude theatre every night to hundreds of strangers. I imagine the crew must also be hired based on comfortability working with nude actors.
Come for the intrigue of a fully nude production, but stay for the comedy and the relevant social commentary. Its always interesting to see shows like this that have specific gimmicks. As someone who has worked on various types of shows I am inspired by these actors comfort and ability to put themselves and their bodies out there for the audience to see. Body positivity is one of my most important values and seeing shows like this be unapologetically out there is refreshing. It is also important to look at the context of how this show presents itself, It is taking nudity usually seen in a more serious setting and using it to enhance the comedy of the performance. I can see how it would be a jarring experience for the actors up on the stage without any clothes to protect them both physically and emotionally from their surrounding.
I find this article to be very intriguing. I find the idea of the Gen-Z stumbling upon the nudity of Boomer nudists to be very comedic, and an interesting premise. Personally, I know that if that happened to me I would be horrified and likely scarred for life. However I think using this comedy to help promote awareness and a feel of need for action about climate change is very honorable. I also found it kind of interesting how in the article, Artistic Director Declan Greene says "I think nudity can also be funny and ridiculous and joyful and playful" which funnily enough is an opinion I think that many actual nudists also would hold.
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