Melbourne Fringe: Ignis

Grab a chair, a Cab Sav and swan through the majestic rooms of Toorak Manor at Melbourne Fringe Festival’s Ignis. While a dangerous bushfire rages beyond the city fringe, tensions of love, class, sex, politics and religion blaze for the characters of Ignis, the characters oscillate between truth and deception, loyalty and selfishness, desire and discipline. Written by Daniel Nellor, the unique and intimate drama pierces the surface and presents a contemporary dialogue of existing invisible boundaries in Australian culture. 

An immersive theatre experience, Ignis’ season lasts nine nights only with a very limited capacity per show. At the beginning of the show, the audience convenes in the foyer of Toorak Manor and each person is given a chair. Guided by the fabulous Caitlin Langridge, the group is transported to several rooms to watch the vignette in a very intimate setting. This creative decision pays off when uncomfortable moments between characters unfold and you, as an audience member, feel the walls close in around you.

Based on Arthur Schnitzler’s play La Ronde, director Bronwen Coleman and Daniel Nellor use the Austrian play as a backdrop to present the strata of Australian society united by a crisis (the bushfires). 

‘It was also a combination of wanting to make a show about desire in the Australian culture and feeling moved to comment on the fires of three summers ago, and how we dealt with them (or didn’t) as a society,’ says Coleman. 

Ignis opens with PhD student Jordan (Kulan Farah) picking sex worker Samantha (Catherine Morvell) from the street to a hotel room, playing a game of contract negotiation that becomes a knife fight. Jordan returns home, and his wife, Amy (Pia O’Meadhra), finds him pleasuring himself in front of the computer, and the couple explores the mechanics of sex and the importance to keep the spark alight. Amy then meets James (Sebastian Gunner) – the Federal Government Leader of the Opposition – who offers her a promotion in exchange for sex. Rejected by Amy and fearful of the legal and political ramifications, James enlists his wife Alison (Clare Larman), to publicly support him and deny the “allegations”. Ultimately, Alison leaves James and seeks solace in the arms of her former friend/sometimes lover Rita (Mikhaela Ebony), who is worried for her firefighter husband Gary (Jordan Fraser-Trumble). Suffering third-degree burns and recuperating in hospital, a medicated Gary spills his troubles to “bored” nurse Rachel (Sophie Muckart), who crosses the patient–nurse boundary. The show closes with Rachel and her in-the-closet husband and religious leader Tony (Ismail Taylor-Kamara), who is having an affair with Antony (Tim Clarke) and urges him to repent and find God. 

Developed by Anthropocene Play Company, Ignis presents as a rich tapestry woven together by an unwavering script and excellent acting. The cast was stellar, with notable performances by Pia O’Meadhra, Sebastian Gunner, Clare Larman, Jordan Fraser-Trumble and Sophie Muckhart. 

With limited availability, get in quick to see Ignis. 

Ignis
On stage till Sunday 23 October 2022
Toorak Manor, 220 Williams Road, Toorak, 3142
melbournefringe.com.au/event/ignis