Performing Lines announces 2020 program

Dynamic and unique Australian arts production company Performing Lines are thrilled to announce their vibrant 2020 program, which sees them working with over 200 artists across 30 productions and 3 development programs. After almost four decades, Performing Lines continue their vital work supporting independent artists and arts companies to realise their potential, to make thought-provoking and inspirational live projects happen in Australia and around the world.

Performance highlights of the jam-packed next three months for Performing Lines include national and international tours of Jessie Lloyd’s Mission Songs Project, a sonic exploration of the human reality of the ‘missions era’ where Aboriginal people were removed from their homelands; the Australian premiere of Kamila Andini’s performance work The Seen and Unseen at ASIATOPA; and a Perth Festival season of Anthem by Andrew Bovell, Patricia Cornelius, Melissa Reeves, Christos Tsiolkas, Irine Vela – the long-awaited and critically-lauded follow-up to the iconic nineties theatre show Who’s Afraid of the Working Class?

Further Performing Lines efforts this year include the world premiere of Andrea James’ Sunshine Super Girl, a spirited, heart-warming tale about Aboriginal tennis champ Evonne Goolagong; Nathan Maynard and Jamie McCaskill’s Hide The Dog, a new First Nations work for children in development in 2020 for premiere at several major festivals in 2021, and Whoosh!, a national tour of the acclaimed immersive sensory theatre production for children with complex disabilities by pioneering theatre-makers Sensorium Theatre. The company has performed at New York’s Lincoln Centre, Singapore’s The Artground, Sydney Opera House and Arts Centre Melbourne, after Performing Lines helped the small Perth organisation transform into an international touring outfit. An additional 14 Performing Lines works are in development in 2020.

Performing Lines Executive Producer Marion Potts said, “Independent thought is at the heart of everything we do. Our 2020 Program includes fearless contemporary artists and carves out a space for those whose work may be excluded from conventional or institutional structures. Our experience and care empowers artists to think and work ambitiously as we provide important support in the artistic development of projects, find partners and allies to invest in them and seek out the most advantageous presentation opportunities – nationally and internationally.”

Performing Lines has a rich history of producing provocative contemporary performance, working for nearly 40 years with Australia’s most audacious independent artists – and often launching the careers of – esteemed artists such as Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman, Circa, Leah Purcell, Chunky Move, Nicola Gunn, Deborah Cheetham, ILBIJERRI Theatre Company, post (Zoë Coombs Marr, Mish Grigor and Nat Rose), Nakkiah Lui and Declan Greene, the Chooky Dancers and more. Performing Lines have successfully produced and toured over 500 shows since 1982, when they brought Robert Merritt’s The Cake Man to the World Theatre Festival, – the first Aboriginal theatre work to tour overseas, and contributed to the success of landmark works such as Seven Stages of Grieving, Bran Nue Day, Box the Pony, and Jack Charles vs The Crown. Their productions have been seen in over 12,000 venues and festivals in 24 countries. Though Performing Lines’ work is often done behind the scenes, their impact is unmatched by any other contemporary Australian arts production company; the depth and breadth of the groups Performing Lines has partnered with demonstrates their essential place in the Australian arts ecology.

Performing Lines is a national network of industry professionals under the direction of Marion Potts, one of Australia’s most respected theatre-makers, with core teams placed in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Hobart. Standing at the heart of the Australian arts landscape, Performing Lines is truly one of Australia’s most exciting and internationally acclaimed arts production companies.

“As a species, we’re moving through some pretty challenging times, and artists are professional imaginers. What they do is fundamentally hopeful. I firmly believe we need their help to navigate those challenges and help us imagine alternatives,” Potts said.

Performing Lines 2020 Key Performance Dates

12-16 February • Anthem • Perth Festival
Feb 20-29 • World Premiere The Seen and Unseen • ASIATOPA
Feb 20 – June 3 • Jessie Lloyd’s Mission Songs Project •
24 National & 11 Canadian Venues
Jul 13-18 • World Premiere  Will O’Mahony (WA) Minneapolis •
Subiaco Arts Centre
September  • World Premiere Andrea James’s Sunshine Super Girl •
Griffith Regional Theatre
Nov-Dec  • World Premiere Andrea James’s Sunshine Super Girl •
MTC, Melbourne