Celebration is often perceived as something we only do in times of joy when in actuality it is often a way of marking significant milestones within life - from weddings, births and to death; religious festivities and memorial days.

Whether it is an occasion for merriment or one for commemoration, there are often undertones of sadness to the way we celebrate and, in the many different cultures around the world, it is often celebration that enables us to cope.

Western Edge Youth Arts, under the guidance of Director Cymbeline Buhler, have decided to explore the theme of celebration with their new interactive, multimedia theatre production entitled Frolic.

Western Edge Youth Arts is a not for profit organisation that works with young people in the western suburbs of Melbourne. Their performers get involved through referrals from youth services and outreaches in various schools. They are also heavily involved with students from Footscray Community College.

The group set out to discover what exactly it was that made people celebrate. Their findings were documented in a range of ways - photographs, recordings and transcripts, and these findings became the foundation for the performance.

From the Nigerian Christmas to the Sudanese ‘Hen’s Night’, the different customs of celebration from societies around the world are to be showcased by 28 performers, aged from 13 to 26, who come from places as far afield as Sierra Leone, India and The Philippines, to name but a few.

Director Cymbeline Buhler said of the theme, “We tend to think of celebration in general as being something that’s purely superficial, something that we do when we’re feeling good but actually it has many other dimensions as well.”

“It has dimensions of something that people do during times of difficulty, or very sad times. For example, when we lose somebody, we celebrate their life and celebrate that we’ve survived. “

This subject matter seems particularly relevant to a group that is dedicated to working with culturally diverse young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, many of whom have gone through their own personal passage from completely different circumstances and from all corners of the globe.

“A lot of these young people have gone through tremendous difficulty of various different kinds and it’s so clear what’s important to them now is celebration so that their focus is so much on the fact that they’ve got this wonderful circle of friends and they’ve got a tremendous wealth of opportunity here in Australia” says Cymbeline.

Frolic takes place in the style of a journey whereby the audience are divided into groups and taken to separate, smaller performances. They are then reunited, giving the overall atmosphere of an elaborately constructed party. It is an interactive style of performance and the audience will be able to engage on quite an intimate level.

It will be performed inside Signal which is an old Flinders Street signal box that has been converted into a venue. The space has been added to by the set design of Katherine Branch, someone who Cymbeline says has been integral to the production.

Asked whether they encountered many difficulties bringing so many different people together Cymbeline said that it was chaotic but that the benefits to the people involved were great.

“That young people are just so used to adults taking charge of everything and taking responsibility so there’s a little bit of a tendency for them just to resist that… In a way I would say that’s what is so wonderful when young people get involved in performance is that there comes a point where they have to take responsibility, it’s the only way it can happen.”

When asked how they will celebrate the final performance Cymbeline said that they would be going on into the night, but also looking towards the future, giving positive feedback and “inviting everyone to join us to continue to work together on something new.”

Frolic
Signal Youth Arts Centre,
flinders walk north bank yarra river
Fri 20, Sat 21, Fri 27, Sat 28 Nov. 8.30pm
Tickets: $10 /$5 admin@westernedge.org.au or: 9362 0046.