Theatre and Dance at Rising
The backbone of RISING 2022 vissionary theatre and dance productions from home and abroad.
Across RISING's 2022 program you'll find remarkable new theatre and dance productions, from lauded local and international artists. Geelong's Back to Back Theatre—winner of the 2022 International Ibsen Award (considered the Nobel Prize for theatre)—hits the State Library; Malthouse Theatre embarks on a thrilling 250-year odyssey; and the five-star reviewed The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Sydney Theatre Company and Kip Williams, debuts in Melbourne. Read on for more essential shows.
The Picture of Dorian Gray — From Sun 5 June
Vanity, beauty, nihilism and sensuality collide with cutting edge tech. Oscar Wilde’s gothic classic, reimagined for the 21st Century.
The Return — 18 MAY—4 JUNE
An epic, 250-year fight to return home the captive bodily remains of First Peoples. The Return sees three intersecting narratives of a repatriation officer, a museum curator and a bone collector weave together
Anything & Everything — FRI 3—SUN 12 JUNE
Set in a TV studio, Anything & Everything is a live performance that glimpses into the intimate online and IRL spaces where young people navigate technology, identity, ability, connection and consent.
HIJRA'H — THU 9—SUN 12 JUNE
Gender approaches from Indonesia’s Sulawesi island are expressed in contemporary choreography that informs the present.
Maureen : Harbinger of Death — WED 1—SUN 12 JUNE
Jonny Hawkins transforms into Maureen: a razor tongued doyenne with stories to tell, inspired by Hawkins’ friend and self-described “working class glamour queen”.
HOW TO LIVE (after you die) — Fri 3—Sun 5 June
Emmy award-winning filmmaker and artist Lynette Wallworth brings her renowned storytelling skills to the stage in a surprising new work that sheds light on the seduction of cultish extremism. I
Janet's Vagrant Love — WED 8—SUN 12 JUNE
Janet’s Vagrant Love is a work 20 years in the making. Crombie shares her truth, telling stories of childhood trauma and the struggles of raising young Blak men as a single mum doing the best she can for her boys.
21 Pornographies — WED 1—SAT 4 JUNE
In 21 pornographies, Danish choreographer Mette Ingvartsen embarks on a no-holds-barred, one-woman exploration of power, submission and observation.
Set Piece — FRI 10—SUN 12 JUNE
Set Piece explores female intimacy through the relationship between screen and stage. The quick-witted script draws on real-life dinner party conversation, improvisation and ‘50s pulp fiction.
Rewards for the Tribe — TUE 31 MAY—SUN 5 JUNE
In Rewards for the Tribe, two of the country's most influential and innovative dance companies, Chunky Move and Restless Dance Theatre, collaborate for the first time. Together they ask, "is there such a thing as utopia by design?"
Single Channel Video — THU 9—SUN 12 JUNE
With echoes of Antiques Roadshow and internet unboxing videos, Single Channel Video sees Geelong’s pioneering Back to Back Theatre conjure an op-shop of the soul filmed live onstage.