Part hopepunk, part climate-fiction, and part visit to the zoo, Close to Home is an interactive performance that questions the domesticity of humans and what defines a ‘living space’. 

Led by Kate Cameron, Close to Home is a unique performance experience being created in collaboration with a team of artists, ecologists, and audiences. The work invites audiences to consider the ecology of home and the essentials of home making. Featuring a teenager who finds solace with the elephants, the inherited choreography of a western lowland gorilla and a ritual pledge to the earth, Close to Home is about finding unexpected connections that dwell in times of displacement. 

The inspiration for this work came in part from Cameron’s time living overseas in the homes of strangers and taking care of their pets. After a year of fending off homesickness, Cameron re-evaluated what home meant to her. Some of Cameron’s writing from this time is just the starting point for an epic collaboration that brings together artists and scientists. Produced by flatpack, Close to Home celebrates art and science in equal measure and explores how the two disciplines can cohabitate in live performance. 

Founded by Olivia Staaf in 2023, flatpack is a collective of artists and scientists who are passionate about creating interdisciplinary creative works that champion care and sustainability in art making. 

CLOSE TO HOME

created by Kate Cameron | presented by flatpack. 

performed by Tyrie Aspinall, Chelsea Rabl, and Emily Shelmerdine

Dates: 16-20 October 2024, 6pm (5pm Sunday)

Venue: Festival Hub: Trades Hall - The Square

Tickets via Melbourne Fringe