Daddy - Joel Bray

"A candy-coloured camp extravagance, which meshed the impact of colonisation with the quest for love in the Grindr era." ABC

Joel has daddy issues. And his insatiable cravings for father figures always leave him wanting more. Daddy is the latest work from one of the most electric new figures in Australian dance, probing one of the paradoxes of our age: when so much is on offer, why are we left so hungry? From the sugar-coated idyll of childhood reminiscence to the glazed excesses of queer adulthood, Joel’s story proves that a sweet tooth is a dangerous thing. And like a kid in a candy store, an imperial hunger for Aboriginal Australia consumes all it encounters – land, women and children – like fistfuls of sugar. 

Hilarious, provocative and heartfelt, this Performance Space co-commission tickles the nerve endings of desire while prodding the cavities left by colonisation. Featuring Joel Bray’s trademark confection of conversation, dance and all-you-can-eat audience participation, Daddy is a sweet feast with a deadly aftertaste.

Duration: 75 minutes

Contains coarse language, adult themes, nudity, explicit sexual content, and is suitable for audiences aged 18+. Haze, strobe lighting, low lighting, and powdered sugar are used in the performance. 

Patrons are advised that audiences are invited to move around the space for the duration, with limited seating available. If you require a seat, please speak to our friendly front of house staff at the venue.

Dive deeper...

How do you turn complex personal stories, lived experience and autobiography into compelling movement and choreography? Joel Bray's Dancing Autobiography workshop on Friday 18 October is for dancers, choreographers and performing artists keen to hone the physical and movement aspects of their work.