‘On Heat’ // Metro Arts and Brisbane Festival
‘On Heat’ was furious.
Full of energy, hilarity, violence and intensity, ‘On Heat’ was an hour of extremely physical performance art that engaged the audience from the opening comedic voiceover to the harsh lights-up finale, forcing the crowd to consider our individual roles in what the creator has called the “supposed post MeToo landscape”.
Creator/performer Leah Shelton and her team (UK director Ursula Martinez, sound designer Kenneth Lyons, lighting designer Jason Glenwright, conceptual collaborator Daniel Evans, dramaturg Saffron Benner and production/stage manager Freddy Komp) produced a high-concept, cultural reference-filled extravaganza that used every sound, light and set piece to its absolute fullest potential.
Described as a “Pandora’s box of ancient myths, porn, pop-culture, the manosphere, instructional records, and revenge movie heroines”, Shelton started in a full-body latex suit with blonde wig and hot pink lips, nails and heels. As she took on various characters throughout the show (lecherous old man, panting young redhead, the wild, shaved-head Britney Spears of 2007, a 1950s housewife and eventually her own hair and face wiped clean of makeup), we saw the “centuries of misogynist myths and stories” embodied through her wigs, creative costuming and lip-synced characterisations.
Though tricky to catch every audio reference as some of the male voiceovers were layered over one other, the use of sound and music was effective to keep the pace of the show. Transitions between scenes were excellent; what seemed innocent-enough old-timey songs were contrasted with the violence experienced by many women during those times. “Women are food,” the lecherous man character says. “Sugar, honey, sweetie…meant to be devoured.”
The lighting and overall direction was impeccable; from thunder and lightning in Pandora’s opening story, to the very eerie effects as Shelton was swallowed into an alien-like bed-turned-pool. And the discomfort felt as Shelton ceased lip syncing and began speaking directly to us in her own voice; listing local Brisbane places where violence against women has occurred, was matched by the choice to bring the lights up in the house. She took her time in the discomfort, meeting eyes with the crowd as she slowly looked us over. “Imagine no more wreckage…imagine desire without fear…imagine not having to imagine.”
Not for the faint of heart, ‘On Heat’ earned a standing ovation on opening night, and was a truly original, full-body display of the experience of being a woman in modern times.
As Shelton told Theatre Haus in a recent interview, “it’s a combination of homage, critique, anger, riot, and celebration.”
‘On Heat’ performed at Metro Arts as part of Brisbane Festival from Wednesday 30 August to Saturday 2 September. Visit the festival website here or Leah Shelton’s page for more.
