Talk of the Town: True crime, death and the live body
We are living through a cultural obsession with true crime.
Podcasts, documentaries and long-form ‘based on a true story’ series have turned death into narrative: something we follow, analyse and consume – at a distance.
Facilitated by celebrant and funeral director, Jordan Kadell, this conversation explores how contemporary theatre and dance artists are responding to our fascination with death – and what changes when these ideas are translated into live experience.
Why are we so drawn to stories of death and what happens when these stories shift from private consumption to a shared, live space? When death is no longer mediated, but present? When the body in front of us becomes the site of memory, ritual and reckoning? How do audiences sit with death when it’s present, immediate and unfolding in front of them and does a different kind of empathy that emerges in the context of live performance? What becomes possible when we acknowledge that death belongs to all of us?
Featuring artists working at the intersection of dance-theatre and contemporary performance, including Attic Projects’ Luke Murphy (Scorched Earth), The Farms’ Gavin Webber (No One Gets Out Of Here Alive) and Merlynn Tong (Legends of the Golden Arches).
Dates & Times
13 Sep
Duration: 90 minutes
4:30pm - 6pm
Venue
South Bank Town Hall
Accessibility
- Auslan Interpreted Event
- Wheelchair Access
Credits
Image Credit: Sound of Photography
Artists
Luke Murphy
Luke is an Irish writer, director, choreographer and performer, working at the intersection of theatre and dance. Through his company Attic Projects, he has created and produced over twelve dance theatre works for stage, film, installation and site-specific/immersive contexts. His pieces have been presented throughout Ireland, the US, UK, Germany, Australia and Hong Kong. As a performer Luke worked with Punchdrunk from 2009-2022, originating roles in Sleep No More (New York) and The Burnt City (London), and with Wim Vadkeybus/Ultima Vez from 2014-2018. In addition Luke performed in projects with Pavel Zustiak/Palissimo, Martha Clarke, Kate Weare Company, Janis Brenner, Sean Curran, John Kelly, Alexandra Waierstall, Jonah Bokaer, Liz Roche, Ben Duke and others. He lives in Cobh Co. Cork and is currently Cork city Dance Artist in Residence at Dance Cork Firkin Crane.
Gavin Webber
Gavin is co-Artistic Director of THE FARM, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Throughout his career Gavin has worked between Australia and Europe and directed theatre, dance, circus, film and installation. He spent the majority of his early performance career with Meryl Tankard ADT and Belgian company Ultima Vez. As Artistic Director of Dancenorth he took the company from regional Australia to national and international touring and his work has received many awards including six Greenroom awards in a single year. He was co-founder of Collaborative ensemble Splintergroup and Animal Farm Collective, early incarnations of THE FARM, whose work has been seen across four continents.
Merlynn Tong
Merlynn Tong is a Writer and Actor. Some of her other playwriting credits include Congratulations, Get Rich! (La Boite Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company, Singapore Repertory Theatre), Golden Blood (Griffin Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company), Antigone (adaptation, Queensland Theatre, Mercury Theatre UK) and Blue Bones (Playlab Productions). Her one-woman-show Blue Bones by Playlab Productions, that she also performed in, has won 6 Matilda Awards including the Lord Mayor Award for Best New Australian Work, Best Mainstage Production and Best Female Actor in a Leading Role.
Jordan Kadell
Jordan Kadell is a celebrant and deathcare worker based in Ipswich/Tulmur who focuses on creating both marriage and end-of-life ceremonies, while celebrating what connects it all – love. As an experienced funeral director Jordan is passionate about working closely with families to create personalised rituals and ceremonies that are authentic, healing, and often fall outside of the norm. Jordan is an advocate for death education, especially when it empowers communities to rethink our mainstream approach to funerals and how we say goodbye.