Theatrical Bonbons UnWrapped At The Sydney Opera House

UnWrapped is a bi-annual series of bite-sized all-sorts from independent, diverse and multi-disciplinary creators presented by the Sydney Opera House.

The October – November program is a curation of contemporary Australian works responding to our fast-changing world, as well as beautifully crafted and compelling performance art, a kind of “theatre unplugged” that is subversive, unapologetic—adjectives that also describe two offerings this season: Takatāpui by Daley Rangi (they/them) and Queer As Flux by Stace Callaghan (they/them).

Rangi is a Māori anti-disciplinary artist. Their work, Takatāpui, does not conform to any genre, nor can it be categorised by subject matter. It is an enhanced monologue that explores the events on a particular night Rangi experienced around 10 years ago, essentially unpacking a sexual assault. 

Trauma And Memory

“That’s not what the work is about, that’s one of the events that happened within the night, but the entire work kind of unpacks different parts of a night out and how queermisia, homophobia, transphobia, racism – all these things can contribute to violence being enacted on a body,” explains Rangi. 

The story is told in five movements: getting ready at home; on a train heading into city; at a restaurant on the date; heading in a taxi back home; the assault, the escape, and dealing with it. It is an amalgam of truth and fiction, with facts grotesquely twisted using hallucinatory elements. 

“It’s kind of talking about how trauma and memory can be both allies and nemeses; how things that you remember one way might not be the case…” says Rangi, emphasising that it’s not so much about the details as how you remember the events. Rangi feels they are in a healthy place now and can talk about this harrowing incident, but is also mindful of people in the audience. 

“I kind of treat these traumatic events gently but honestly […] But also, for me the work is very colourful and bright and light and funny – like, I’ve written the work specifically with a lot of humour and kind of charisma to it.”

‘Gender Is Still A Frontier’

On stage, Rangi uses a loop pedal, vocal processor and microphone to create, which provides them with a lot of scope and variety for world-building. 

“So I kind of tell the story using a multitude of voices and sounds and kind of cavernous, mountainous, loop soundscapes that I create,” says Rangi. “The way I describe it, it’s kind of a storm of story and sound […] I could almost do the show in the dark and it would work.” 

It would be a shame if Rangi did do the show in the dark because they wear a really high pair of leather heels. They also feel being visible gives them a better, warmer connection with the audience. 

Rangi hails from Perth and is thrilled to be performing in the Sydney Opera House Studio – not least because it has 18 speakers. They love the UnWrapped program, which shows that marginalised artists can take up space. They hope Takatāpui contributes towards societal change. 

“Gender is still a frontier, not only within the wider community but in our own communities too. I think we still don’t know how to let people be themselves.”

Queer As Flux

In Queer As Flux, multi-award-winning writer/performer Stace Callaghan and director Leah Mercer examine how everything is always in a state of ebb and flow. 

“The show is about normalising change and normalising what seems like a very complex thing for people to understand in terms of gender transitioning,” explains Callaghan, “to help people recognise that we’re all doing it all of the time. All species do it – it’s actually a part of life. Life continues to evolve and change form. That’s how we survive.”

Callaghan’s stage persona is a drag queen fairy Godmother called Polly Tickle, who is a wordsmith with razor-sharp wit. The content of their show can be confronting and using humour helps deliver it in an uplifting, less threatening way. 

“I talk about humour as a palatable weapon… it’s both disarming and dis-armouring. So, disarming as in: ‘put your weapons down, there’s nothing to fight here’, and dis-armouring as in: ‘take your breastplate off …I want this to open your heart.”

Callaghan shares their personal journey through various forms of transition, especially gender transition. 

“It really is, for me, just showing one person’s story that has its share of challenges and obstacles; a whole lot of – I won’t give it away – but a whole lot of transitional moments if you like.”

Transcestors

An important aspect of the show is acknowledging the crucial but mostly uncredited role trans people have always played in queer activism as part of a wider community. 

“It’s really honouring what I call our transcestors, and that being part of the story – and also our not so queer ancestors and recognising that …who I am is a conglomeration of all these brave people who have gone before me.”

Callaghan is thrilled and amazed to be performing Queer As Flux as part of the UnWrapped program. Twenty-one years ago, they did a show called When I Was A Boy for the Mardi Gras Festival. It was held in the modest dimensions of the Performance Space. Never could they have imagined putting on a show like Queer As Flux in the iconic Sydney Opera House. They feel it’s valuable to be able to take a show and message like this to a wider audience. 

Callaghan describes the feedback from their show in other cities as extraordinary. 

“Like, people after the Brisbane show, everyone was coming out overwhelmed and in tears, but uplifted, like really moved. People came out and said they were really changed from it.”

They promise this and more for Sydney.

“It’ll be a fun night out.”

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