Andrew Morrish improvises at Dancehouse

Performance improviser at DancehouseNow in his mid-sixties, Andrew Morrish is one of Australia’s most experienced and cherished performance improvisers. After relocating to Europe in 2003, performing and teaching extensively in France, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland and the UK, he returns to Dancehouse in 2017 to continue his Oh Well series – presenting three extended solo improvisations. His tragicomic theatrical world is built through movement and text and generously basted with the spirit of direct communication.

 

The Oh Well project started in Melbourne in July 2015 and will finish with Part 26 at Tanzfabrik in Berlin in February 2018. In between there were Oh Well performances in Adelaide (S.A.), Ljubjana (Slovenia), Berlin (Germany), Bouxwiller (France), Zagreb (Croatia), Orbost (Vic), Paris (France) and Poznan (Poland).

 

Oh Well is a piece, a season and a practice. Each part of the Oh Well series is unique, a product of that evening, a search for what is necessary now.

 

“The real skill of improvisation is to deal with whatever is a happening for me in the in the experience of performing while being watched … I therefore make a commitment to dealing with what emerges for me as content, whilst I am performing,” Morrish said.

 

He believes performance improvisation is an arts practice that should not just be used to support other art forms – but to stand independently.

 

For more information on his Dancehouse performances on 25-27 August, visit www.dancehouse.com.au. Tickets are still available.

 

Photo: Andrew Morrish. Photo by David Beecroft.