Performance review: Future Proof, Darebin Arts Speakeasy

A newly-devised physical theatre work from Melbourne-based ensemble Gravity Dolls, Future Proof assembled performance vignettes using spoken word, circus and movement, to navigate themes of climate change, pollution and Gen Z uncertainty about the future.

Co-created by Tim Rutty and Harlow Carey, and directed by Carey, the piece opened with each of the six performers moving across a rotating stage. They wore relaxed clothes in bright colours – yellow, green, red, blue – as they changed direction, stopped and moved with and against the stage. As they moved, they each cried out a short phrase, a “what if” question – some absurd, some indicative of a concern about the state of the world or the environment.  

Two large cross-hatched metal structures at the centre of the set allowed performers to climb, being suspended or hanging themselves by their legs, clipping into rope throughout various vignettes. The set was completed by two moveable structures draped in translucent floating fabric, which were used with fans to generate movement, evocative of water or wind. 

Although peppered with moments that were deeply moving, as well as some truly astonishing physical feats, as a complete work, Future Proof missed its mark. Like many circus-based works of physical theatre developed on the basis of the skills of its individual performers (likely limited in its development by time and budget), the separate parts felt disjointed, like a collection of individual acts rather than a cohesive piece of physical theatre.

There was a section of the show involving a version of limb puppetry, which (due to the technical elements of lighting, staging and costuming that didn’t completely sell the illusion) ended up a bit confusing. It took this reviewer until halfway through the piece to work out why there were people climbing the structure dressed in black with their faces and legs or arms showing.

As an issues-based work, Future Proof also regularly fell into the trap of feeling a touch earnest, while not containing enough dramatic guts to pull it off. Where the show was more successful was when the vignettes incorporated physical work with elements of absurd storytelling, allowing the tension between the physical movement and story to generate the drama.

In the most effective segment, performer Cassia Jamieson told the audience a long, increasingly absurd story about cow collectivism. Around her cows rose up and started advocating for their rights, all while she picked up the rag-doll bodies of the other performers draped around the stage, hoisting them onto her shoulder and flipping them around. As she huffed and sweated through her actions, the story seemed to take on layers of meaning – the endless work of advocating for civil rights, the weight of social and civic responsibility – wrapped up in a silly story. 

Read: Exhibition review: Leonardo da Vinci – 500 Years of Genius, THE LUME 

Future Proof had some really beautiful moments, steeped in stories of a generation feeling left behind, and stuck with the remnants of a world in climate-catastrophe, in a society that hasn’t held up its end of the bargain. The meat is there, but perhaps a rethinking or redevelopment of the work to bring out its stronger moments, a deeper connection between the layers of meaning and the physical movement and a more cohesive arc, would elevate the overall work. 

Future Proof
Gravity Dolls
Darebine Arts Speakeasy

Co-creators: Tim Rutty and Harlow Carey
Writer/Director: Harlow Carey
Set and Costume Design: Tim Rutty
Lighting Design: Richard Vabre
Compositions/Sound Design: Ian Moorhead
Stage Manager: Solina Diallo   
Cast: Nina Robertson, Karina Schiller, Easa Min-Swe, Cassia Jamieson, Tim Rutty and Harlow Carey

Future Proof was performed from 14-16 March 2024.