afterburner (theatre production company)

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afterburner
Formation2001
Websitehttps://m.facebook.com/afterburner-758538540872533/

Afterburner (styled afterburner) is a New Zealand-based collective of theatre professionals working with light and sound. The company was founded by Martyn Roberts in 2001, and specialises in productions hybridising installation and theatre performance.[1][2] Afterburner's 2016 production Dark Matter contributes to a small number of performing arts work in New Zealand that centre creative work by lighting designers "as a work about light".[3]

Martyn Roberts (also known as Marty Roberts) is one of New Zealand's leading lighting designers including winning Lighting Designer of the Year five times in the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards.[4][3] Afterburner was founded by Roberts and he has been part of the creative teams for most of the afterburner projects. An early work of afterburner was The Telescope (2002). When presented at the FUEL Festival, reviewer William Peterson described it as fitting in with the New Zealand tradition of theatre practice of "a willingness to cross interdisciplinary boundaries".[5] The Telescope involved composers Sebastian Morgan Lynch and Steve Gallagher present on stage while their music interacted with light and the performers' actions.[5]

Between 2008 and 2011, afterburner created and presented a trilogy of work about astrophysics and human nature. The Cell Trilogy included Man on the Moon (2001), The Telescope (2002) and The Singularity (2008).[6] The Singularity received mixed reviews; the design rated highly with the set and light "telling a story of its own" and the soundscape by Matthew Hutton adding value, but the script was described as "too cryptic".[6][7][8] The Singularity was written and directed by Miranda Manasiadis, from an original story by Miranda Manasiadis, Roberts and Jason Whyte. The actors were Danny Mulheron, Jessica Robinson, Rose Beauchamp and Jason Whyte. Set design was by Roberts, lighting design by Roberts and Rob Larson.[9]

The production Dark Matter won two Dunedin Fringe Festival awards in 2016, and Best of Fringe 2017 in the New Zealand Fringe Festival in Wellington.[10][11] Dark Matter was also featured in the 2018 Dunedin Arts Festival and at the 2019 Prague Quadrennial as a virtual reality exhibit.[1] Dark Matter came from Roberts' master of fine arts thesis.[12] Designer and critique Sam Trubridge places Dark Matter amongst the work of other lighting designers in New Zealand such as Tony Rabbit, Marcus McShane and Helen Todd (and her work with Lemi Ponifasio), who treat light as "an art form that is expressive in its own right".[3] In Dark Matter the audience starts in complete darkness "unable to even see their hands in front of them" and so visually impaired it creates a "heightened sensory experience". The sound was created by Dr Jeremy Mayall.[13]

Fission, produced by afterburner, was performed over five nights in March 2019 at the Allen Hall Theatre, telling the story of Lise Meitner, who discovered nuclear fission but was overlooked for a Nobel Prize despite being nominated 48 times.[10][14] It was an arts and science collaboration by theatre-makers and scientists that had a focus on process and learning. One of the frameworks of the project was a "bicultural performance process", and the project investigated connections between science and mātauranga Māori.[15] There were a number of workshops with reflection, research and meetings in between. The first workshop was in December 2016 with Rua McCallum (theatre-maker and Māori researcher), Megan Wilson (dancer), Roberts, Anna van den Bosch (technician ), Hilary Halba and David O’Donnell (theatre directors) and scientists David Hutchinson and Dr Ian Griffin. Other collaborators were added to subsequent workshops.[15] At the time of the 2019 production Fission the team of 19 theatre professionals held 19 awards between them.[10] A summary of the research in the creation of Fission is stated in a paper published in The Theatre Times:

In this work, a scientific theory such as quantum entanglement can also become a dramaturgical and aesthetic principle. Fission also demonstrates the considerable potential of collaborative devised theatre in opening up connections between Indigenous knowledge and scientific theories. (2020 – Hilary Halba and David O’Donnell with David Hutchinson, Rua McCallum and Martyn Roberts)[15]

Productions

Productions include:

Fission credit M Roberts
  • Man on the Moon (2001)
  • line:near (2001)
  • The Telescope (2002)[5]
  • crossing the concourse (2004)
  • Fog and Mirrors (2005).[1]
  • Radiolight (2005)
  • Pathlight (2006)
  • The Singularity (2008) BATS Theatre. Written and directed by Miranda Manasiadis. Co-designed by Martyn Roberts and Rob Larsen.[1]
  • Nag (2010) Toi Pōneke, 61 Abel Smith Street, Wellington. By Marcus McShane with Peter Stenhouse, Andrew Shaw, Erin Banks, Thomas Press, Joseph Nicholls and Adri Lamprect[16]
  • Dark Matter (2016) Dunedin Fringe Festival
  • Dark Matter (2017) New Zealand Fringe Festival in Wellington.
  • Dark Matter (2018) Dunedin Arts Festival
  • Dark Matter (2019) Prague Quadrennial (virtual reality exhibit)
  • Fission (2019) Allen Hall Theatre, University of Otago, Dunedin[17]
  • Last Resort Cafe at the Allen Hall Theatre

References

  1. ^ a b c d School of Performing Arts. "Martyn Roberts". www.otago.ac.nz. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Transforming the Dark: Using Colour to Compose Sound in Dark Matter". Critical Stages/Scènes critiques. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Trubridge, Sam (18 February 2017). "DARK MATTER – Sculpts darkness as if it were a thing of immense solidity and form". TheatreView. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  4. ^ O'Donnell, David (24 February 2017). ""Dark Matter": An Interview With Lighting Designer Martyn Roberts | The Theatre Times". Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Peterson, William (2005). "Fuel Festival of New Zealand Theatre (review)". Theatre Journal. 57 (4): 737–742. doi:10.1353/tj.2006.0039. ISSN 1086-332X.
  6. ^ a b Atkinson, Laurie (14 April 2008). "T h e S i n g u l a r i t y – Puzzling, cryptic – and creepy". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  7. ^ Freeman, Lynn (16 April 2008). "T h e S i n g u l a r i t y – Singular piece of theatre". Capital Times. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  8. ^ Smythe, John (12 April 2008). "T h e S i n g u l a r i t y – Allusive and elusive exploration of inescapable truth". TheatreView. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  9. ^ "PRODUCTION INFORMATION: T H E S I N G U L A R I T Y". TheatreView. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  10. ^ a b c University of Otago (March 2019). "Fission". University of Otago. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  11. ^ "NZ Fringe Festival 2017 Awards". The Big Idea. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  12. ^ Fox, Rebecca (11 February 2016). "Into the void". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Transforming the Dark: Using Colour to Compose Sound in Dark Matter". Critical Stages/Scènes critiques. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Fission : Dunedin Fringe Festival". www.dunedinfringe.nz. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  15. ^ a b c ""Fission": Entangling Science, Theatre and Mātauranga Māori". The Theatre Times. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  16. ^ "Afterburner presents: Nag". Scoop Media. 9 February 2010.
  17. ^ Malloy, Hannah (28 March 2019). "FISSION – Light and sound and matter made accessible". TheatreView. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
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