Flatpack presents Close To Home, a warm hug of a theatre experience.
A cast of three, Emily Shelmerdine, Chelsea Rabl, and Tyrie Aspinall begin the show by welcoming the audience home as they enter the intimate venue. They then proceed to take us with them for a day out at the zoo. The zoo provides the backdrop for our story, told in-the-round through a series of vignettes, focussing on different moments, themes and thoughts. The audience gets on board, ready to “dip into an ocean of possibilities”.
Created by Kate Cameron and Olivia Staff, along with a wider creative and ecological team, Close To Home provides a unique mix of storytelling, immersion, education, and connection.
The cast move between communicating with each other, themselves, and directly to the audience, making the experience feel entirely personal for each attendee. There is a feeling of free flow throughout the performance which takes a break from the more traditional theatre structure. Want to switch seats during the performance? Go for it. Take off your shoes? Why not! And don’t switch your phone off yet, we’re going to need that later! In fact, they’re going to keep checking in, allowing you to spend the time to make yourself at least “1% more comfortable”.
For the audience, on each seat is a gift bag of various items, each addressed throughout the performance. Something to note here, all audience participation throughout the 50 minute performance was both optional and explained clearly, again providing an at least 1% increase in comfort levels for those anxious about such things. The interaction with the items in the bag were easily a highlight for all.
With childlike excitement we all inspected and compared our items, and with them, became part of the show. This was an engaging idea and one that helped to break down the distance between performer and viewer. While we hear about the ways the animals at the zoo interact with their environments, we the humans, interact in our own unique ways as well with the items that had been provided.
The goodie bags even included some take-home items, including a Close To Home zine, printed on reused script papers. Other items were kept, to be reused for future performances, with the creative team practicing what they preach by reusing, reducing and recycling. The zine provides further “human enrichment” opportunities that tie-in with the performance, including associated reading recommendations, a music playlist, and bonus facts.
The soundscape was calming and full of nature sounds which provided an escape from the bustling sounds of Melbourne Fringe and the wider city outside the doors. The sound filling the space between dialogue left time for the audience to process what had been presented to them and their own thoughts in response. The performance is also fully captioned, providing further accessibility for all.
Close to Home reflects on what home can mean, when do you feel at home, and what can be representative of a home. We as humans interact with the world around us in many different ways and Close To Home reminds us that we do belong here, as part of small and large ecosystems. Observing our impact on the natural world around us and choosing our future actions with purpose, this is what is needed to continue our connection to this, our home planet.
Overall, Close To Home is a refreshing and calming experience, with gentle moments of thought provocation and education.
Close To Home is currently playing as part of 2024 Melbourne Fringe at Festival Hub: Trades Hall – The Square until Sunday October 20th.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://melbournefringe.com.au/event/close-to-home
Photography supplied.