Member

Member 

 In the tiny fifty-seater performance space above the World Bar in Potts Point; master storyteller Ben Noble, Blood Moon theatre and Fairy Lucid productions bring Member to life in this thrilling one man show.

I was privileged to experience this multi-layered spellbinding yet spine-chilling tale on its opening night.

The play opens at the conclusion, gathering the threads and reasoning’s behind the unhinged emotions of gang mentality. Member takes the audience on a twisted journey into the minds and behaviours of a small minded community's reactions to homophobic attacks on teenage boys at Manly Head in the late 1980’s.

Spoken from the emotional perspectives of at least fifteen skilfully transformed characters. 

A particularly memorable and outstanding scene of a birth comes to mind, as Ben dynamically flipped from character to character, using impeccably timed pauses adjusting his vocal timbre and body language to create a harmonic and beautifully poetic rhythm. The simplicity of the staging and lights emphasise the significance of the sobering piece. However, odd moments of witticisms burst forth from many of the colourful characters throughout, lifting and bringing a balance to the complex plot.

This is a play, about identity; social acceptance, stolen innocence and the lack of support surrounding these assaults. Noble’s play exposes a society that turns a blind eye to these events by normalising homophobic grooming and amplifying aggression in Australian male stereotypes. Eventually spiralling into a cyclic causality of history once again repeating itself, unearthing the seeds of memories deeply ingrained, but never truly forgotten.

Riveting and bursting with emotional turmoil, Member had a strong impact and left me speechless and on the edge of my seat. I felt as if I were on a runaway train, waiting for the inevitable crash.

Member will be playing as part of the Mardi Gras celebrations up until the 4th March and is definitely one to watch.

Buy Tickets here

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