Tarps down, goggles on and gloves off. Two women in their 50s bathe in deep pits of domestic detritus to investigate the body’s relationship to systems of power.
Exposure is a visually striking, one-hour in-theatre performance created and performed by two women over 50. The work brings together Branch Nebula’s long-term investigation into endurance, vulnerability and attention with the cultural and conceptual rigor of acclaimed Australian performance artist Latai Taumoepeau.
Developed as a close collaboration, Exposure centres the ageing female body as a site of force, resilience and cultural inscription. The performers submit themselves to sustained physical and environmental pressures, creating a work that unfolds slowly and precisely, asking audiences to witness duration, strain and transformation in real time.
Latai Taumoepeau’s practice, grounded in Tongan cultural knowledge and political performance, brings a distinct perspective to the work. Her engagement with notions of duty, labour, climate, extraction and the body’s relationship to systems of power informs the dramaturgical frame of Exposure without didacticism. The collaboration deepens the work’s cultural and ethical stakes, situating physical endurance within broader questions of responsibility, visibility and survival.
This season of Exposure is part of a national tour across Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The Melbourne season is part of the inaugural Australian Dance Biennale, hosted by Rising Festival.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Branch Nebula is a distinct voice in Australian performance culture. Led by founding artists Lee Wilson and Mirabelle Wouters. Wilson has 35 years’ experience performing, directing and choreographing, having trained at the University of Western Sydney’s Theatre Nepean. His credits include Post Arrivalists, Acrobat, and dramaturgy with Nick Power’s dance productions. Wouters is a Belgian/Australian designer, educated in industrial design with 23 years’ experience making work for large-scale outdoor and indoor theatre with her signature use of found space, recycled costume and light. Together they have developed an astonishing body of work that has toured festivals and presentation houses around Europe, Asia, South America and Australia.
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Performers: Latai Taumoepeau & Mirabelle Wouters
Performance Facilitator: Lee Wilson
Sound Design: Phil Downing
Lighting Design: Karen Norris
Lighting Realiser: Sam Read
Stage Manager: Madelaine Osborne
Producer: Michaela Coventry
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Where: PACT Centre For Emerging Artists, 107 Railway Parade, Erskineville NSW 2043.
Getting to PACT:
By train: Erskineville Station (250m), Newtown Station (900m), and Macdonaldtown Station (1km)
By bus: 355 Bus Stop (250m); Newtown (900m)
By taxi: Erskineville Road Taxi Stand (300m)
By car: Railway Parade has unlimited free street parking -
PACT is an accessible venue, with level access throughout the public areas of the building and non-gendered, ambulant and wheelchair-accessible toilets. There is accessible (non-dedicated) street parking on Railway Parade. The nearest accessible train stations are Erskineville (5 minutes) and Newtown (15 minutes).
For additional accessibility support, please contact us – info@pact.net.au
We encourage you to contact us with any access questions and to discuss your requirements with us. -
Smoke/haze, partial nudity, loud sounds