Going it alone: the art of the solo

Creating a one-woman or one-man show, whether in dance or theatre, is a significant undertaking.
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Gerard Van Dyck’s Picnic. Photo by Jeff Busby. 

For all the grandeur of working with a symphony orchestra, a large acting troupe or a major dance ensemble, there’s something about the intimacy of a solo performance that’s hard to be beat. The audience’s attention becomes fixed on a single artist, whether for a brief moment in time or the duration of the work, resulting in an often sublime experience that cuts to the heart of why we love the performing arts.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts