Alternative Media Group

THEATRE: SEVEN KILOMETRES NORTH-EAST

Author:

Tara Parsons

Posted:

Monday, 27 September 2010

seven kilometres north-east is the latest work by Sydney-based performance group, version 1.0. Written by and starring Kym Vercoe, and featuring the work of video artist Sean Bacon, the ‘completely factual’ piece is a provocative examination of a town’s denial of its history, and the moral questions surrounding this. Is it wrong for a place to smother its horrific past in order to move forward and survive? And what are our responsibilities as tourists?

“[It’s] centred on events that took place in the small and very beautiful Bosnian town of Višegrad,” explains Vercoe. “When I visited Višegrad … I was captivated by the beauty, the people and the Balkan music, and only later realised the town’s past hidden beneath the surface.” For the Višegrad resort that Vercoe had stayed at and enjoyed so much was also once a central detention camp during the Bosnian War, a place where prisoners were tortured, raped and killed.

“It’s the result of one of those times in your life when you discover something poignant and you can’t look the other way … This work looks at accountability and acknowledgment – and what happens when a town’s past is white-washed and history is altered,” Vercoe says. “[It also] deals with the decisions that we make around travel and tourism … and how we revise and reshape our past in order to move into our future.”

With its combination of live performance, atmospheric music and striking visuals, seven kilometres north-east promises to be, “A beautiful and unique night in the theatre” that explores confronting and controversial issues. “The video work is stunning [and] very much a part of the piece. I love travelling to the Balkans and particularly to Bosnia. So visually and musically, I want my audience to experience that love … I want my audience to come on the journey with me. And I hope that raises some things for them about their own adventures in life. Set in Bosnia, this story is still very relevant to us all here in Australia.”

Sep 30–Oct 16, TRS Old Fitzroy Theatre, cnr Cathedral & Dowling Sts, Woolloomooloo, $21–35 (beer, laksa & show), 1300 438 849, rocksurfers.org

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