BURNOUT PARADISE

Imagine you’re on a treadmill. Now go a bit faster. While you’re there, could you also whip up a three-course meal? Write an application or two? And don’t forget to be healthy and meditate! But whatever you do, don’t stop running. Everyone’s watching.

WORDS RITA HORANYI

IF THE ABOVE sounds like an apt metaphor for your life, then Pony Cam Collective’s physically demanding and wildly entertaining race around the clock, Burnout Paradise, might be just the show you need to see.

Featuring four actors on treadmills performing increasingly absurd and punishing feats, Burnout Culture skewers our culture’s obsession with productivity and performance, and the sometimes impossible expectations placed on us all.

“Burnout [Paradise] came from a particular moment in time where we were doing three projects at once, we were delivering an online project somewhere in regional Victoria, we were about to open a brand-new show in the city, and were also managing a bunch of other admin. And then Melbourne Fringe came to us and were like, ‘we would love for you to pitch us a show – applications close at midnight tonight’,” says Pony Cam Collective’s Dominic Weintraub.

“And eventually, I think it was Claire [Bird, member of Pony Cam] who was like, ‘I’m sick of doing these projects and having these schedules that wreck my body and wreck my ability to care for myself, and that prioritise outcome over care and body. So I want to make a show where I get fit’... Then we bought four treadmills and made this show that does the exact opposite of what Claire asked for.”

Drawing audiences into the madness with plenty of improvisation and live interaction, each performance of Burnout Culture is a one-off experience, with audiences often helping the overwhelmed cast, creating a community of care and support.

“Having that real relationship with an audience in a theatre is something that we really strive for as a company ... I can remember a dozen or two dozen times where people have come up and they’ve just held my body or they’ve just been there ... helping me with a little thing, but really just there as an emotional support. And that’s really lovely,” says Pony Cam Collective’s Hugo Williams.

Don't miss this playful and unpredictable theatrical experience set to challenge your expectations, and remind you that we are not alone in our struggles.

Burnout Paradise
WHEN THU 21 – SUN 24 AUG | VARIOUS TIMES
AT BROWN’S MART
COST $46 | $42 CONC
INFO darwinfestival.org.au

_{Image: Darren Gill}