MELBOURNE FRINGE: DISTRACTION SOCIETY

DISTRACTION SOCIETY, Bluestone Church, Footscray, 16–18 September, Melbourne Fringe Festival (15 September–2 October 2016). Photography by Pippa Samaya 

If you are a Melburnian and not engrossed in Aussie Rules football you are then most likely to be engrossed in performance art; so big is this year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival: the program boasts 64 pages advertising 574 performances and events and Distraction Society, a “physical dance work” is one of them.  Anna Seymour and Amanda Lever have created a work of athleticism and synchronicity, but with an ease and beauty, which is testament to their professionalism. 

“We crave physical human contact [yet] we crave to be connected to the world.” (Anna Seymour.)

Do you touch your device more than your partner? A pas de deux is a dance for two, so what is a dance for two with mobile phones? Love in the digital age is a common theme in contemporary performance and what is explored here is how intimacy is compromised by personal devices. But how do mobile phone tragics ever meet each other in the first place? Does a mobile phone give you more pleasure than your partner? 

Distraction Society is a nice idea but the creative team has only really scratched the surface and a 30-minute show only whets the audience’s appetite – it just gets going and then it’s over. There's a lot of room here to develop and since relationships and togetherness are so synonymous, dance is an apt form for this exploration. 

Seymour and Lever and are well supported by Gillian Lever (sound) and Bronwyn Prickle (lighting) and since the piece is supported by the Melbourne Fringe’s Mentoring program I hope this team is given further opportunities to develop the craft.