Too Close To The Sun is a renowned international theatre company that comprises husband and wife team, Talya Rubin (Performer/Writer) and Nick James (Director). Teaming up with Metro Arts Brisbane they brought a spectacular performance to Brisbane city for our annual Brisbane Festival. The Bluebird Mechanicals is a unique visionary solo performance about the fragile state of the world, climate change and Chekhov. An Australia/Canada co-production, the disquieting and intricate solo work is about our collective loss of feeling on the cusp of global crisis.

 

What is so particularly marvelous and nerve-wracking about this performance is Talya Rubin’s ability to change her facial expressions subtly and suddenly change the mood, the scene, the movement, the beat of a single monologue. No costume changes, perhaps a prop or two, but her grimace, glazed over eyes and menacing smile transform her into a stage character flawlessly. It’s an incredible ability as a performer to be able to hold a performance in its entirety completely solo, and Talya is a master of the art.

 

Presented as an interdisciplinary solo theatre performance but transgresses multiple creative categorisations with use of puppetry and performance art, film projections and immersive theatre, sound and lighting, and mime. Talya Rubin as the performer, writer, and co-director takes on each of her roles, and in this case 'roles' does not refer just to the characters on stage; she also puppeteers and facilitates scene changes with a few manoeuvres and the flourish of a conjurer.

 

The Bluebird Mechanicals is a rare combination of being both expansive in scope and intricately detailed with abundant with pockets of meaning to leave the audience feeling shocked, but enlightened. This was a magical performance art that I would recommend anyone going to see if given the opportunity - a perplexing piece of work filled with engaging elements and interesting content.

 

By Brianna Denmeade