Review by Benjamin Lamb
There’s not too many performances out there like Anything and Everything. It’s something pretty special, and will truly make you think.
The show makes its way to ACMI as part of the RISING Festival, a collection of some of the most unique and interesting performances to grace stages anywhere across the world.
Anything and Everything isn’t your standard performance, it sits somewhere in between an immersive experience and a play, truly keeping the audience intrigued.
Taking place at ACMI, it’s the perfect location for a show like this, they are able to use the space to its full capabilities.
One of the many ways it sits apart from other shows out there through the cast being made up of young female and non-binary performers between the ages of 11-21, and their journeys through life to date.
One of the main premises of the show deals with the unhealthy standards placed on young people in this day and age, and the idea that imagery can hold a lot of power in the world.
Without spoiling too much, the performance begins before audiences enter the theatre, each cast member takes it in turns in front of a camera, talking about their day, it’s a nice way to invite people into the space, and stops any awkward phone checks while you’re waiting for the show to start.
It's clear that this portion isn’t heavily scripted out, you’re able to truly see the personality of each of the cast, and what makes each of them tick.
It's hard to dive too deep into the show without spoiling elements, the show surrounds the group, and we dive into each of their lives through the 60 minutes, getting to know each of them and what they’re about.
Balanced throughout the show, each performer is interviewed by their fellow castmates, giving a bit of an insight into their interests, and basically how they see themselves out there in the world. There’s stories of meditation, music drawing and farms, the classic things younger Aussies are interested in.
The whole premise of the show surrounds each member being interviewed while the others play around with video cameras and film a little personal video on each, we then see the finished video at the end of the play.
Closing out the performance is also a powerful audience participation moment (but don’t worry, you don’t need to speak or anything), that’ll leave you thinking about the way you see yourself, and will hopefully make you think about things in a different way.
While it is definitely targeted towards a younger demographic, there’s something in this show for everyone, no matter who you are or where you’re at in life, you’ll be able to get something out of it, and will be able to hopefully have a bit more love for yourself. It is important that you do some prior research before heading to a showing of Anything and Everything, just so you fully understand what’s going on.
Image Credit: Sarah Walker