SICK

Filled with wonder and awe, SICK follows the creative mind of autistic artist Ryan New. From dreams to nightmares, this colourful show is not what you expect. 

As part of Midsumma Festival this year, SICK is colourful, made to take the audience on a journey through music, dancing and visuals. Created by Ryan New, the show permeates the notion of what it means to be an artist with a disability. 

‘Sick’ for Ryan New means the impulse to act out of the ordinary, which is exactly how the show is portrayed. Nothing is what you would expect, and you never know what is coming next. The two actors, Phillip and Ryan, flipped the term ‘sick’ on its head and referenced it more towards the slang connotations of ‘cool’. 

With bold costuming and daring moments, SICK follows Ryan New, Phillip Adams and Bo Svoronos. The electrifying show takes the audience on escapades through the view of someone with autism, showcasing both the negative and positive connotations and associations of what it means to have a physical or mental disability. SICK takes the audience on a simplified journey of what a person with said disability can experience. Filled with dark humour, music, monologues, quirky tricks and dancing, SICK truly is a one-of-a-kind show. 

A unique choice of 70s Hammond organs provides the audience with an out of the ordinary musical tone. Moments of beautiful music are overlapped with intentional blundering of the instrument in an attempt to convey what it feels like to have autism. If you have sensory issues or struggle with sensory overload, this may not be the show for you. It’s loud and it doesn’t falter throughout the duration of the show. 

The costuming is a mix of grunge and 80s punk, with a slight nod to the ballet world. It’s bright and fun and gives the audience a striking visual to complement the show’s quirks. Never knowing where to look or what’s about to happen, SICK is an absolute buffet of peculiarity.

SICK
Midsumma Festival 2022
midsumma.org.au/whats-on/events/sick

Images: Jeff Busby