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About KantankaRead the latest Kantanka NEWSTheatre Kantanka was founded in 1995 by Carlos Gomes and Michael Cohen. After combining forces with principal actor Chris Murphy, the company has produced theatre work based in classic text, strong physical skills and dynamic visual design. Since its inception Kantanka have developed performances for sites that do not traditionally stage theatre productions. AveAves their first major work was performed at the Bondi Pavilion Amphitheatre for Carnivale in 1996 and again at a converted velodrome amphitheatre in Wiley Park for the Canterbury Multicultural Festival in 1997. This was a large scale spectacle production with a cast of thirteen, giant fiery sculptures and elaborate costumes. In September 1997, Kantanka created Black Hair. This production featured life-size bunraku style puppetry accompanied by a traditional Chinese orchestra. The following year Waters of Brightness was a sell-out production that drew the audience through the Chinese Garden at Darling Harbour, Sydney. In October 1998, the company performed an installation based on The Birds for Open House, part of the Sydney Opera House's 25th birthday celebrations. The Eye, an adaptation of the tale of Cyclops from The Odyssey, introduced Dominique Sweeney, actor/musician, to the core company. The production premiered at the 2000 Telstra Adelaide Festival, initially playing a season the Old Adelaide Goal, it also toured to regional South Australia as part of the Festival. Subsequently this show toured to Brisbane's Livid Festival in 2000 and an offshoot has been The Sheep who appear regularly at festivals and other celebrations. Inanna's Descent explores theatre of the underground: tunnels, carparks, reservoirs, and train stations are all possible venues. This production investigated mythic tales of the Sumerian afterlife in a range of subterranean environments. CREATIVE RATIONALETheatre Kantanka's major works have three areas of common ground.1 They are all based around texts that deal with old stories. Kantanka believe that its theatre practice can explore the cultural resonance of classic, mythic texts in a manner relevant to contemporary Australian society. The company's work revives ancient stories while also investigating issues of cultural ownership that surround the translation and re-interpretation of folkoric myth. 2 They all investigate new sites for creating theatre. By approaching sites from everyday life for theatre use, Kantanka is able to imbue a mythic, fictional resonance into audience experiences of the "real world". At the same time, Kantanka's work exploits the echoes of the real world within the fictional world of the performance. 3 They all drive towards a Kantanka goal of visual poetics. In the last six years Kantanka has developed a highly visual style of theatrical metaphor in their performances. The productions explore the density of mythic imagery (e.g., the fiery eye of the Cyclops) in conjunction with representations of contemporary society (such as a news crew). Marrying the mythic and the everyday is therefore a Kantanka strategy to lead audiences into sensorial experiences that are inspiring, meaningful and exciting. |
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