The Ironing Maidens Present:
An immersive, interactive experience; part installation, part performance, part banging dance party.
A surge of immersive sound design and projected, augmented interiors, performance art, dance, aerialists, an ironing board electronic band and banging beats.
“That was Brilliant! A thought provoking, at times heart wrenchingly so, innovative, clever, enjoyable installation and production. Thanks so much and congratulations Ironing Maidens!”
Hot & Heavy is an aural, visual and sensory experience that invites you to lose your friends, go deep and shake free. Explore this queer new world where domesticity has been made strange, appliances are defamiliarised and the casual horrors of human production lines and capitalist consumption are vividly transformed. In a landscape of real world glitches, the lines between performer and audience blur and break, bodies move en masse and the unifying power of a dance floor infects the crowd. Hot & Heavy is the yearning for multiple new futures within the banging beat of a broken down washing machine.
This event is an Auslan Interpreted Performance.
“Incredible night! Thank you! I was definitely immersed! Thought provoking, wildly entertaining and interactive! So much fun!”
“That was Fun! Didn’t know that I would be badly ‘dancing’ and protesting against capitalism and the horror of our zombie consumerism society - good to see a cross generation wake up call!”
“It sparkled my mind!”
The Team:
The Ironing Maidens - Melania Jack, Patty Preece, Choreography - Leigh Anne Vizer, Rigging - Lachy Shelley, Lighting - Cristine Felmingham, Stage Manager - Nic Hector, Dancers - Georgia Pierce, Lori Favaro, Nadiah NFuzion, Lauren Monica, Patrick Mays, Dance/Aerials - Asher Bowen-Saunders, Guest Musicans, Tegan Koster, Bo Koster, Karrina Nolan, Drag - Jay Wymara, Auslan Performance Interpretor - Allison Toft, DJ - Hip Hop Hoe. Thanks to the Cairns Community dancers.
Review - Cairns Festival - Tanks Art Centre
Philip Channells - Creative Director - Dance Integrated Australia
I’m a relatively new devotee of The Ironing Maidens (this is my second show - the first being their Electro House Wife show at HOTA in May for Pop Masters) so I wasn’t sure what to expect of ‘Hot & Heavy’ today at The Tanks, yet I never expected to immerse myself so deeply and wholly in such an unforgettable performance experience.
The procession of people were on entry to the tank swept into the expressions of capitalism - we were wound, bound and entrapped in the cycle of repetitions of washing, ironing, choring the daily grind. We were hustled from one site to another into the mundanity of our own consumerisms - which to me felt like commentary on the state of progress, the state of the planet and the fragility of nature and a nod to our own laissez-faire. ‘Hot & Heavy’ was a call to action to shake up, rumble and clear out the system.
I was impressed by how every aspect of the production was so interconnected (with dance, theatre, a series of video and sculptural installations, Queer cabaret, circus, the band and a kick ass DJ set - all in all The Ironing Maidens took the audience on a frenzied ride of fragility and hope for the future. I loved that the Auslan Interpreter (Alison Toft) took centre stage when the band kicked off and embodied the sense of the electronic music through her whole body physicality.
I was delighted to see the celebration of bodies of all shapes and gender expressions throughout the work and was thrilled by the arrival of the drag performer, Rhiannamation (Jay Wymarra), who took the spotlight in the mountainous cardboard landscapes revealing yet another idea of how ‘we made this, and we can change this’. She slayed the show with a commentary on white goods and consumerism reflecting back on the experience of being Blak and queer in this stolen country.
The mesmerising skill of aerialist Asher-Bowen Saunders was another high point, literally as she navigated the hills hoist choreography resting, entangling and climbing as it swung so ferociously swinging and circling across the stage, veering into the lyrics of the musical track was another unexpected highlight which was a welcome scene in the floor show in front of the Hot & Heavy Band.
The way the audience was so well guided and trusted to be part of the choreography in several concentric circles and the way the choreographer, Leigh-Anne Vizer so magically and enthusiastically signed everyone up to unknowingly be the global warriors and planet activists for this moment, was the icing on the cake for the show. It felt like it gave us the reason we were meant to be there - everything made sense, and I believe it’s for this reason the show, despite the heavy content matter was so hot and I think it will make a massive impact now and in future years to come.
It’s a fantastic festival event that everyone can enjoy and connect to. Go see it, be part of the experience.
I loved it so much, I cried 3 times and bought the merch!
Philip Channells. Creative director- Dance Integrated Australia
Booking and Media enquiries - contact melania@shinyshinyproductions.com
This new work has been developed in Cairns through commissions from the Local Giants Program; a partnership between Regional Arts Australia, PAC and Performing Lines, and the Tanks Arts Centre and Cairns Regional Council. Development funded by the Australia Council for the Arts. Community engagement funded by Cairns Regional Council through the RADF Major Round. The project is funded and managed by Shiny Shiny Productions, a feminist, queer led, regional production company.
