Come and enjoy a rest

 

Independent artist Daisy Sanders is inviting audiences to enjoy her new work - as both a participant and an observer. 

Called A Resting Mess, it is the outcome of eight years of creative endeavour while she was recovering from chronic fatigue syndrome. This time included working on it in 2018 as an international dance residency artist at Routa Company, Finland, and in New Zealand in 2023 while undertaking a Caroline Plummer Fellowship in Community Dance. (She is only the third Australian to have held the fellowship.)

A Resting Mess is described as "a joyous, chaotic and tender performance", in which 10 performers will dance with elation and exhaustion, slipping and sliding over mountains of "mess". By "mess" she means the literal mess (recyclables and household stuff) and also "the mess our world is in".

"It feels more important than ever that we come together to dance, grieve, play and rest in order to face the chaos and pace of our world," she says. "This work suggests we can begin tackling urgent social and environmental issues by building powerful community bonds.”

In the evenings, A Resting Mess is a 75-minute performance adventure. Dance and theatre scenes move from softness to focused choreography, serenity to riotous participation. The spell is enhanced by music played live by Josten Myburgh and Pavan Hari. Whisper-quiet soundscapes mix with ethereal saxophone chants and moments of wild percussion. Original songs by Felicity Groom are sung in chorus by the whole cast.

In the afternoons, A Resting Mess exists as a community reflection space. Audiences can join the dancers and musicians for sessions of genuine rest. “Audiences can enjoy the wondrous world of A Resting Mess in two different ways,” Sanders says. “Drop in to the free afternoon sessions and stay as long as you need for deep rest and reflection. In the evenings, they can buy a ticket and be transported by a highly physical and immersive performance of dance, theatre and live music.”

Having a snooze is more than welcome!