Presenting three plays and a performance art piece created and staged by some of Sydney’s most promising emerging playwrights, 2023’s second Artslab season, Artslab: Drifters has delivered a slew of entertaining, thought provoking diverse stories.

The program, which sees up-and-coming writers receive an industry mentorship and the opportunity to stage an original work, happens twice a year. This one, staged through September-October 2023, has focused on artists from Western Sydney. Anna Krywyj Moore, Irelish Barker and Adam Yoon produced Red Soup, Curbsquatters and Sensations of Maintenance respectively, which can be seen on their own or altogether in one entertaining evening.

First up is Anna Krywyj Moore’s Red Soup, exploring the impact of war and displacement on Ukrainian people who lived through WW2 and the current Russian perpetrated conflict. A woman flees the Ukraine via boat and lands in Australia in 1948, prematurely delivering a child on the way. Decades later her granddaughter, running from the intergenerational trauma of her grandmother, is forced to pause, face it head on, and acknowledge her heritage in the face of the war in the Ukraine. As is often the case, it is food that proves both the reminder of the past and the healer, bringing comfort and appreciation for her background. It was a poignant piece of storytelling for being only 45min for a very serious and complex subject, Gabrielle Bowen achieving immense depth of emotion in her role as Oma (grandmother) but Krywyj Moore would thrive with a longer time allowance that would allow further exploration of the complexities of her story.

Irelish Barker’s Curbsquatters offers a snapshot of the escapades of different people on the same drunken night out in Wollongong, where Barker went to university, and reminds us of our own adventures and the way seemingly small moments and mundane conversations influence who we become. As a UOW graduate myself, I enjoyed the nostalgia of the bar and pubs being named that used to be my locals, but I’ve also never been so aware of how stone-cold sober I was as I watched the performers give some very convincing portrayals of various degrees of drunkenness on stage. Among the girls who go from strangers to besties in a matter of minutes, played endearingly by Breanna Boyd and Casey Cleary, awkward conversations between friends on their first ‘official’ date, Jack Taylor and Cleary, and dancing of varied quality, Barker weaves in more serious moments of harassment and vulnerability. The presenting of the story in its series of vignettes suited the 45min time limit really well and was original in its perspective.

Finally, Adam Yoon’s Sensations of Maintenance is a high-concept, dreamy movement piece with minimal dialogue or explanation, playing with the concept of impermanence in varied forms like childhood, memory, climate, dance. It’s a beautiful piece, performed with grace and attention to detail by Millie Hing. You will enjoy it most by not trying to think too hard, but rather letting it do the thinking for you, enveloping and washing over you in all its ethereal contemplation.

These kinds of programs are so important and wonderful in their creation of opportunities for emerging artists, providing high quality, original shows at a fraction of the time and financial commitment of more established productions. A great way to experience more of Sydney’s theatre scene!

Purchase your ticket to Artslab here.

Grenache, Shiraz, Mataro (GSM) | Wine Pairing

Three shows, three varietals, one delicious combination drop!

Artslab: Drifters, Q Theatre and Shopfront Theatre Co | Tasting Notes

Aussie Season	18 to 22 Oct 2023, 107 Projects Redfern | 9 to 11 Nov 2023, The Joan, Penrith
Ticket $	$$15-25/show or $40-60 for the lot
Writer	Multiple
Director	Multiple
Theatre Type & Genre	Short stories, concept art
See it if you like	Supporting emerging artists
Wine Pairing	GSM
Criteria for Wine Pairing	multiple varietals creating one delicious drop