25 - 30 MAY 2021
A.S.S.
We welcome you to our After School Sports program – most affectionately known as ASS.
ASS is your extracurricular program line-up at the Old Fitz that varies from cheeky one-night stands to multi-evening, multidisciplinary rendezvous.
Each ASS encounter will differ greatly (like they should) in content, form and style, but each should feel like an unexpected and at times surprisingly profound late night, curbside, D & M of sorts. Kebab optional.
Despite the definitely unintentional sexy acronym, not all ASS shows will be sexual in content, but an intimate spotlight on some of the most exciting artists and their craft.
Which is actually still very sexy, in our opinions. So why not come join us, for some late night ASS at the Fitz.
By the Pop Artist Willing
ALIBI
'A tour-de-force of writing and performance.'
- The Australian
Stars in his eyes, a derelict ageing twink moves to the Unreal City on a theatrical whim. Chaos ensues, his life becoming an intoxicating vortex of sex, drugs and deceit. His gateway to this treacherous world is the mysterious PC, an international man of mystery, a money launderer and a fraud. He promises fame but delivers breakdown. Meanwhile the people are revolting, on a scale we’ve never witnessed before, and it is his relationship with Nick, the young revolutionary, that just might save him.
ALIBI (OR SOMEPLACE ELSE) is a play for a society in crisis. His most confessional piece, it is also Willing’s most dishonest, for the central concern is the magnetism of the theatrical lie in a world that is done with truth.
But at its heart this is a love story. A queer romance that swings from violence to tenderness in moments, dealing with issues of addiction, punishment and ultimately the radical act of forgiveness.
Creative Team
Director Siena Stone
Lighting Designer Tim Bonser
Set Designer Kate Beere
Sounds Willing and Yaws
About the Artist
Willing is an interdisciplinary queercore recording artist and playwright whose sound and steeze is a game of of reconciling oppositions. The theatre and the club. The feminine and the fuckboy. The horny banger and the bruising ballad.
His raison d’être is the pursuit of transient utopias in a constant state of emergency, oscillating wildly between pure romance and utter devastation. In short, he makes gay pop.
Since the release of his debut EP, Small Cruelties, Willing has built a cult following in Melbourne’s queer underground. Described by Subvrt Mag as ‘vibrantly saucy’ he is now, according to Wickedd Childd, ‘getting ready to take over the world’.
Achievements include headline spots at Midsumma and Gaytimes Festivals, being a finalist in the Hot Vox Isle of Wight Competition in London, and radio play on BBC 6 Music as well as a bunch of Aussie stations - 3RRR, Unearthed Radio, FBI, Radio Adelaide, 4ZZZ, PBS, SYN and of course, JOY. He has also released music videos for four of his singles Hungry, Collusion, I Swear We Won’t Get Caught, and Arsenal.
2020 saw him release his second EP, Pure Romance, which CultureFix UK labelled ‘an eclectic slice of queer pop heaven.’ A B-side to this project, Utter Devastation, is in the works.
He also has an extensive career writing and performing for theatre. His musical the Gathering (**** The Age, ***** Theatre People) had multiple Melbourne Seasons, and toured to New York for NYMF. Gaga V Assange gained notoriety when Julian Assange himself tweeted it and earned raves ‘A brilliant musical fantasia’ (The Australian). Most recently, he premiered his one-person play, Alibi at Theatre Works. The Australian called it a ‘tour de force of writing and performance’. A Sydney season at the Old Fitz is imminent. All his theatrical works include original music.
Dates + Ticketing
Season 25 - 30 May 2021
Performance times Tue - Sat 10PM, Sun 8PM