“The highlight of the festival is Chants des Catacombes. We arrive at the gaol at 11pm. Lit by small candles, we walk the flickering perimeter and are led into a dark space. Out of smoke, three screaming prisoners appear. Above and under us, the women are close enough to touch (and we do). They merge their foreheads to ours, pleading. They crawl through our legs, begging. Their voices soar through the corridors and down the narrow stairs as we follow them: a French showgirl in a salon (we loll on her bed as she plays the harp); a courtesan dancing for the general; a surgeon (under pretence: a woman pretending to be a man). And just as I’m thinking, “why do female characters have to be so passive?” the work takes up this question directly, speaks of Desdemona and Othello, shifts a gear to take up the fight. The entire performance is told through contemporary song and dance, and undergoes a Baz treatment, morphing from the gender-bending Blur’s “Girls & Boys” to Nirvana to Portishead to Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” and even Kelis’ “Milkshake” for comic effect.

The three central performers Anna Boulic, Laura Burzacott and Zoe McDonald are murder victims trapped in the underworld and they raise hell with their voices. The choreography and lighting—as the musicians and actors lead you through the space—entrap and confront you with your own fears of madness and confinement. The audience is jittery. They hold back and are compliant. But the performers stay intimate and in-your-face, restless with violence and payback. It’s a performance I longed to see endlessly on repeat—in a space I couldn’t wait to be released from”

“IN the eerie surroundings of the Old Adelaide Gaol the very talented young artists of Melbourne-based Present Tense Ensemble have created a brilliant, engrossing site-specific show. ”

“Finally emerging from the cell-block into the open air and a party-like atmosphere was a powerful emotional catharsis. This highly original and dramatic production is not for the faint-hearted, but it promises a truly memorable theatrical experience. ★★★★★
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“I can’t remember the last time I was so entranced and absorbed by a performance. Everything feels charged, emotional, and real.”

“The live soundtrack is engaging, emotive and outstanding as Musical Director, Nate Gilkes, a versatile performer, leads the way on the keyboard. The playlist is a blend of classical and modern songs – even dropping Kurt Cobain into the mix – that along with clever lighting and the use of emotive fragrance forms a critical backdrop to the troubled stories of the three women involved. 4.5 Stars”

“I would love to see the show at the Fringe that has a better ensemble than this one. The three women were astounding in their own right, but so complete was the physical, vocal, musical, and spatial experience that it would violate the show to single one out. The extensive collaborative team are clearly across every gorgeous, brutal element of the Chants design, harmonising or dischording at will.

It was electric. I was sweating. I didn’t want it to end. Every image was captivating, and the confusing immediacy of emotion – either conveyed at feel-your-body-heat closeness or empathetically felt – rings and reappears memorially long after the performance is over.

Chants affects you how theatre is supposed to. Look out for the Present Tense Collective in the future.
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