investigating the rise of a politics of fear from a uniquely australian perspective
about tts: australia
if we are ‘alert’ and ‘alarmed’ all of the time, how will this benefit the political dominancy of those already in power?
tts: australia was a quadrilogy of site specific performance works that took place on board a 22 seater bus and the city streets of four australian cities. originally titled ‘terrorist training school’ then later abbreviated, the work investigated the rise of a politics of fear [post the 9/11 terror attacks] as a deliberate strategy to win elections.
created for perth [tts: route 65], sydney [tts: route 76], melbourne [tts: route 30] and adelaide [tts: route 21]. tts invited audiences to sign up, board a 22 seater bus and experience an alternative sight seeing ‘terror’ tour of their own metropolis. with live on-site performers littered around the cityscape, audiences became increasingly unsure of what was part of the work and what was ‘real life’. the bus was physically chased for 90 minutes by a pvi runner on foot, clad in red paint whose head mic picked up his breathing when in range of the bus.
a surreal, darkly anarchic work, tts navigated its on-board audience through the dark underbelly of a city that is ‘alert’, ‘alarmed’ and in a heightened state of anxiety. working with an incredible line up of local performers and artists in each city who co-devised on-site performances, temporary projections and collective actions, the bus tour unsettled audiences and ruffled political feathers.
tts: route 65 was originally commissioned by the wa artrage festival for their 2002 season. four days prior to opening the bali bombings occurred, resulting in a negative backlash from members of the public, press, festival sponsors and relatives of victims who saw the subject matter as too sensitive. out of respect for those who lost loved ones, pvi postponed the show and remounted in dec 2002.
testimonials
tts was impressive, a logistical and performative challenge involving all kinds of police, council and security negotiations and management of a cast of extras from the sydney performance scene.
there were striking images, like the red man and the initial impression of our tour guide, or the extras dotted across the already dramatic sydney cityscape, or our own performance beneath the opera house.
The presentation successfully makes you feel like you are there in a new world - and maybe even partly responsible for its creation.
This is undoubtedly one of the most interesting and intelligent pieces of entertainment that you can experience in Adelaide, if not Australia, this year. Be aware though, this is a piece that will be in some way disturbing, and some audience members may even find it upsetting. It will challenge what you think about yourself, the government, the media and your fellow citizenry, and set your pulse racing.
Emema SifaIn certain countries ordinary people are blown up on buses. A seat on a plane has never been a sure thing.
In Moscow, a ticket to a Russian Musical could be fatal. But back on the bus, as I rotate my popstick to indicate I believe there were 35 bus stops between here and the CBD, not 30, I feel quite safe. Steve is driving. We are not speeding. This is Perth. This is performance. No one will die tonight.
Josephine Wilsontts: route 65 | perth
devised and performed by: pvi collective
soundscapes by: jason sweeney
on site performers: khristo newall, tomas ford, alexis millar, lauren kamasz, lui sit and robear rault.
security by tom sioullas
tts: route 76 | sydney
devised and performed by: pvi collective with special guest entertainers, version 1.0
soundscapes by: jason sweeney
cd player bomber belt by: sarah contos
karaoke on screen performance by: bec dean
on screen pop quiz voice over by: charles mclaughlin
on screen bus safety briefing performance by: lara tumak
on site performers: bel macedone, cat jones, david borg, georgie read, lara thoms, matthew prest, michelle outram, teik kim pok, mish grigor and victoria hunt
photos: heidrun lohr
tts: route 30 | melbourne
devised and performed by: pvi collective with special guest entertainers, cicada.
soundscapes by: jason sweeney
cd player bomber belt by: sarah contos
karaoke on screen performance by: bec dean
on screen pop quiz voice over by: charles mclaughlin
on screen bus safety briefing performance by: lara tumak
on site performers: craig peade, deborah garden, jeff khan, martyn coutts, tanya smith, anwyn jones, klare lanson, magdalena morena and ivan thorley
photos: paul armour
tts: route 21 | adelaide
devised and performed by: pvi collective with special guest entertainers, drive by shooting
soundscapes by: jason sweeney
cd player bomber belt by: sarah contos
karaoke on screen performance by: bec dean
on screen pop quiz voice over by: charles mclaughlin
on screen bus safety briefing performance by: lara tumak
on site performers: paul capricorn, julian crotti, andrew heggart, lachlan tetlow-stuart, liz dooley, stella dooley and catherine blanksby.
photos: sam oster
show info
performance history
tts: route 65 – artrage festival, perth, wa, dec 2002
tts: route 76 – performance space, sydney, nsw, 17 – 27 mar 2005
tts: route 30 – gertrude contemporary arts spaces, melbourne, vic, 14 – 24 apr 2005
tts: route 21 – carclew arts centre, adelaide, sa, 12 – 22 may 2005
links
of terrorism and tourism jeff khan, realtime #53.
terrorist training school, josephine wilson – artlink: fallout. 2003.
pvi’s terror australis – pip christmass, realtime #65, may, 2005.
pvi: tts: austraila, tour of duty, review of tts: route 76, realtime magazine #66, 2005.
audience implication, bec dean – artlink: hybrid world. 2004.
terror takes to the streets, the age, 2005.
tts: austraila, route 21, emema sifa, db magazine, 2005.
making art to counter surveillance, west australian newspaper, 2008.
in the city, kelli mccluskey, photofile.