Inspired by a quote from renowned sleep scientist Allan Rechtschaffen: “If sleep and dreaming does not serve some vital function, it is the biggest mistake evolution ever made,” Perth performance makers Ian Sinclair and Dr. Renee Newman have reimagined Sleeping Beauty for a contemporary audience.
Sleeping Beauty follows Tahlia (Renee Newman), haunted by reoccurring nightmares that infringe on her waking life, and Oscar (Ian Sinclair), a web junkie, who’s obsession with online fantasy games has led him to believe ‘everyone in the real world is fake’. They check into the Dream Motel, a sleep clinic, wherever even the most stubborn of daydreams, night terrors or reveries can be removed, permanently.
A stripped back, self aware, lo-fi fantasy, Sleeping Beauty de-Disney-fies the beloved fairy tale to explore the universal human anxieties about loneliness and the need for a “happy ever after”. Drawing on recent scientific research into the effect technology has had on human sleeping patterns, the science of sleeplessness and bizarre true life accounts of patients undergoing radical sleep therapies, this production seeks to question our relationship to sleep, science and the world around us.
Dr. Renee Newman (Those who fall in love like anchors dropped upon the ocean floor) and Ian Sinclair (Proximity Festival, The Little Mermaid) will team up with Perth based singer-songwriter Mei Saraswati (From the Rubble) and lighting designer Chris Donnelly. Whilst they will also draw upon the expertise and support of an artistic team consisting of Californian bio-artist Loren Kronemyer, physical theatre expert Sarah Nelson and performer Hayley McElhinney.
Sleeping Beauty comes to the PICA Performance Space as part of the award-winning Blue Room Theatre Summer Nights Program at Fringe World Festival from 2nd to 6th February 930pm.
Tickets are available now from Fringe World
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