BE SUBSERVIENT TO MY AMBITION
aA RADICAL ACT OF DEFIANCE
"Hooper's aerial straps routine is frantic, astonishingly quick and impossibly dexterous. To watch it is destroying.”
Rebekah Ellerby, A Younger Theatre
Be Subservient To My Ambition is a radical act of defiance embodied through a woman’s ambition to ascend.
Subverting the inherent masculinity of vertical space (high-rises, steeples, hierarchical systems) and the associated patriarchal structures, Be Subservient To My Ambition redefines verticality through a woman’s radical act of ambition, suspension and endurance - exploring the perpetual negotiations of power with self, audience and society.
Performed entirely on straps, this work pairs an exceptional circus-informed physical performance (Bridie Hooper) with a u
nique multi-channel composition (Kelly Ryall), to create an intimate, immersed, live-art experience.
Staged at the center of a circle, the action unfolds on a single set of straps, surrounded by audiences in close proximity. A multi-channel soundscape envelops the space, immersing the public as they observe the pursuit of this singular body as it twists, turns, coils and glides in a relentless effort to ascend.
This intimate arrangement offers a rare proximity to offering a rare proximity to circus and a powerful perception of the tangible efforts of the body at work.
Director, Choreographer, Performer- Bridie Hooper
Directorial Eye- Susie Dee
Composition and Sound Design- Kelly Ryall
Lighting Design - Jenny Hector
Costume Design/Creative Mentor- Libby McDonnell
Creative Mentors - Guillaume Biron, Billie Wilson-Coffey
Be Subservient To My Ambition is supported by the Australian Government through Creative Australia,
its arts funding and advisory body. We are grateful to have received
additional support from Women's Circus, the National Institute of Circus
Arts (NICA) and Circus Oz.