"POLITICAL THEATRE AT ITS ELECTRIFYING BEST"
CAMERON WOODHEAD | THE AGE
The Audition will be published as part of ‘Staging Asylum – Volume 2’ by Currency Press in 2023.
“The stage is a country in itself. With its own rules and regulations”.
The Audition peels back the layers of the audition process to uncover what it means to seek asylum. The asylum seeker shares something in common with the artist in Australia. They are both outsiders of uncertain status.
The Audition is inspired by two artists, Milad Norouzi and Sahra Davoudi who were also asylum seekers while developing and creating the work.
As creators and performers they imbue the show with a tension and truth that is palpable, poetic and at times absurd.
Director and Concept Irine Vela
Writers Milad Norouzi, Sahra Davoudi, Tes Lyssiotis Christos Tsiolkas, Melissa Reeves, Patricia Cornelius and Wahibe Moussa
Cast Mary Sitarenos, Milad Norouzi, Peter Paltos & Sahra Davoudi
Musician Vahideh Eisaei
Dramaturgs Irine Vela and Maryanne Lynch
Lighting Design Gina Gascoigne
Design Adrienne Chisholm
Photos Darren Gill and Miguel Ross
SHOW TITLES
The Doll | Patricia Cornelius
Woomera | Tes Lyssiotis
Seven Days | Sahra Davoudi
Ava and Vida | Christos Tsiolkas
You Made Us a Promise What You Told Us Today Would Be True | Melissa Reeves
Beautiful Jail | Milad Norouzi
I Can Be Her | Wahibe Moussa
Developed with support from Australia Council for the Arts, Creative Victoria, City of Melbourne, Besen Family Foundation, Lord Mayor Charitable Foundation, Inner North Community Foundation and La Mama Theatre.
Reviews:
“Irine Vela seamlessly directs The Audition to create electrifying theatre… the work shimmers, mirage-like, between asylum seekers claiming protection and actors preparing to audition, with cognate politics and piercing resonance.”
-CAMERON WOODHEAD | THE AGE
“The humour is double edged, the emotions piercing. This is political theatre that rises far above...”
“Ms Davoudi... proves herself a quite astonishing talent: her pointed comic timing combines with an ability to convey depths of pain – to which her interlocutors are oblivious. And she is one of the writers here too.”
-MICHAEL BRINDLEY | STAGE WHISPERS
“The Audition is unforgettable. Actors, asylum seekers and immigrants remind us of perpetual expectations... Outstanding newcomer Milad Norouzi’s inspirational work Beautiful Jail is moving.”