It has been a while since something as inventive and straight-out phantasmagoric as Mysterium has been seen on the Melbourne stage.
Playwright Sam Sejavka escorts us to the good ship DevilDam, a rat-infested barque becalmed in an indefinite past above a bottomless abyss. Here, fanatical characters labour at the mysteries of life. We find a scientist preoccupied with luminous primordial slime; a priestess in search of an invisible colour that underlies creation, and a superstitious Jack Tar safeguarding his ship against fabled sea-monsters.
Into their midst comes an inadvertent stowaway, a frank young girl whose native instincts throw the ship into turmoil. She charges the air with sexuality - becoming a catalyst for greed, unpredictable violence, and a truly Gothic climax. Mysterium explores the tension between the irrational and rational, science and religion, between compliance and sexual freedom. It is thought-provoking, comedic and fresh pervaded by the sensual, magical atmosphere generated by Sejavkašs mouth-watering language.
Sejavkašs other works include The Hive [winner Victorian Premieršs Prize, soon to be a ChamberMade opera], In Angel Gear, [Green Room Winner] and Lord of Misrule. He also works as an actor and can be seen in a forthcoming episode of Stingers. In the 1980šs Sejavka became infamous as the basis for Michael Hutchencešs character in Dogs in Space.
Mysterium will be directed by celebrated Ewa Czajor winner Lynne Ellis, whose collaborators have included Barry Dickens [Believe Me, Oscar Wilde; etc.], Andy Griffiths [The Day my Bum went Psycho & [coming up] THE BAD BOOK], and Sejavka with All Flesh is Glass and Mammothrept. A stunning, elaborate set has been designed by architect and installation artist Marc Raszewski; costumes by Georgia McCorkill [from Marianna Hardwick]; original soundscape by Nadav Rayman and Boyd Korab, who worked on Sejavkašs Lord of Misrule and Eaters of Filth.
With Mysterium wešre proud to present you something magical and fantastic indeed, just what some of us are craving for - the precise opposite of Reality TV.
La Mama at The Carlton Courthouse, 349 Drummond St. Carlton.
Wed. October 27 to Sat. November 13.
Tues/Wed/Sun: 6.30pm
Thurs/Fri/Sat: 8.00pm
Bookings: 9347 6142 - $17/$12
Please explore this site further for more info and images
Please direct media enquiries to:
Meredith Lewis on 0421 653 325 or meredith.lewis@rmit.edu.au or sejavka@comcen.com.au
