THE DPS LAB 2024

Featuring original works by some of Brisbane’s hottest new performance makers, THE DPS LAB is a one-night only theatrical event. Showcasing three new visual theatre works by Dead Puppet Society’s Academy artists, this year’s bill includes Human Scaffolds Marvellous Creations by VOiiiD Collective, Survival on a Strange Planet by Darcie Rae Boatswain and Calum Johnston, and Small Planets by Julie Ritchey and Georgette Kelly.

With fresh vibes and beats at The Princess Theatre’s outdoor bar and behind the scenes tours of Dead Puppet Society’s Fabrication Workshop before and after the show, don’t miss this sizzling smorgasbord of unexpected and experimental theatre.

Human Scaffolds Marvellous Creations by VOiiiD Collective

This work follows a journey of self-discovery through a fantastical world. This immersive spectacle of dance, featuring an original sound score, recycled wearables, and AI visuals explores themes of loss, letting go, and the blurred lines between reality and fantasy.

Directed and created by Jade Brider, director of VOiiiD Collective, alongside an exceptional team of independent artists including Adam Plant as creative assistant and performer, Youssef Taouk as composer, live band Bcharre featuring Youssef, Matthew Mesaric and Thomas Kinsella, Belinda Sutton as co-costume designer, and performers Georgia Pierce, Asher Bowen-Saunders and Jack Wallace.

Small Planets by co-creators Julie Ritchey and Georgette Kelly

This original work invites babies and their caregivers to become intergalactic co-pilots on a journey through a universe where everyone is new. They will visit different planets through imaginative, collaborative play involving all five senses. During this shared adventure, carers will find opportunities to see their babies as leaders and inspirations. Designed specifically for the youngest among us (0-7 months), Small Planets is an aesthetic, sensory, and somatic experience that honours the emotions and wisdom of both babies and adults.

At its core, this voyage seeks to transform the anxieties and uncertainties of early parenthood into a sense of deeper connectedness. Audiences will experience a small taste of this special new work, with a video preview offering a brief glimpse into the elusive world of Small Planets, followed by a live Q&A with co-creator Julie Ritchey and Dead Puppet Society's Associate Creative Director Matt Seery.

Survival on a Strange Planet by Darcie Rae Boatswain and Calum Johnston

Following an unplanned crash landing into an Earthling’s apartment in 1994, an interstellar traveller must carefully plan their first steps into the outside world. Their only points of reference are an unresponsive human body and a collection of dated sci-fi movies.

Created by Darcie Rae Boatswain (Glitter Martini), and Calum Johnston, Survival on a Strange Planet looks at the concept of the Other created by the collective human imagination, as well as the Others we create in our own society, through playful circus, clowning, and puppetry.