“Three works from a trio of incredible writers delivered directly into your ears – Acqua Profonda is the perfect treat for a wintry moment of solitude.”  Rachel Chant, Festival Director

world premiere

Acqua Profonda: A Trilogy is a unique listening experience; a trilogy of aquatic dramatic audio works designed to be listened to on the beach (or by any other such body of water/bathtub).

Written by three queer Sydney-based writers and scored by composer Oliver John Cameron, each story responds in its own way to the depths and truths our oceans and waterways contain. Pop in your ear phones, stare at the surf, trust the instructions, and be transported into three different worlds. This trilogy of audio works are designed to be listened to together or individually.

I – The Clam Before The Storm by Michael Louis Kennedy is a neurotic oceanic narrative odyssey through three distinct relationships, punctuated by heartbreak, malevolent sea creatures, feminine roadside pies, biohazardous dinner parties and forbidden love.

II – Sea Monster by Jules Orcullo is an interactive, participatory exercise in avoiding destruction at the hands/flippers/tentacles of an ominous and as-yet-undefined sea monster. Bring a paper and a pen and a sense of reckless abandon as you bring the monster into life.

III – Ocean Loops by Luke Patterson is an experimental audio poem staging a whirl of interlocking sonically fluxionary and fluidic text to settle the mind in a watery trance. When something emerges from the surf it threatens to destabilise all life as we know it.

Show Info:

• You’ll need an internet connection (4G or 5G) and your best pair of headphones
• You’ll need a pen and paper
• The work is designed to be listened to by the water. If you’re able to listen from a beach we encourage you to do so. However the work can just as easily be listened to by any other body of water, bath tub or basin.
• You’ll want to gather in your chosen location, put your headphones in and get settled before you press play
• The link will be available to listen to throughout the length of the Festival (1-17 July).

Accessibility Info:

• This is a Sight No Obstacle event.
• Click here for more information about Accessibility at Bondi Festival.

Presented by:

Producer/Playwright Michael Louis Kennedy (The Clam Before the Storm)
Playwright Jules Orcullo (Sea Monster)
Poet Luke Patterson (Ocean Loops)
Composer/Sound Designer Oliver John Cameron
Associate Producer Olivia Costa
Dramaturg Polly Rowe (The Clam Before the Storm)
Image Design Ben Howell
Cast
Liam Nunan (The Clam Before the Storm)
Mansoor Noor (The Clam Before the Storm)
Jules Orcullo (Sea Monster)
Luke Patterson (Ocean Loops)

Meet the Creators:

Michael Louis Kennedy is a playwright, writer and arts professional based in Sydney. He is currently one of the Curatorial Associates of the Arts program of Sydney World Pride 2023. In 2020 and 2021 he served as the Co-Director of the National Young Writers Festival, an annual festival usually based in Newcastle, NSW. His writing has been featured in Overland, Voiceworks, Brag, Going Down Swinging, Transportation Press, Baby Teeth, Sydney Morning Herald and more.

Jules Orcullo is a Filipinx-Australian playwright, theatre maker and producer. Her independent company, The Joy Offensive, supports online performance works-in-process with diaspora artists in Australia and the UK. She is currently writing a pop musical titled, Fraser Babies supported by Hayes Theatre Co. Jules is a founding member of Kallective working as a writer, director, and story developer for stage projects for the Filipinx diaspora – supported by the Australia Council and Create NSW. She is currently developing work with Sydney Theatre Company and is part of a digital theatremakers program with Salamanca Arts Centre and Checkpoint Theatre (Singapore).

Luke Patterson is a Gamilaroi poet, folklorist and musician living on Gadigal lands. His poetry has appeared in Cordite, Plumwood Mountain, Rabbit, Running Dog and The Suburban Review. He has also featured in the anthologies Active Aesthetics, Firefront: first nation’s poetry and power today and Best of Australian Poems 2021. Luke is currently a Wheeler Center Next Chapter fellow and Sydney Review of Books Juncture fellow for 2022. His research and creative pursuits are grounded in extensive work with First Nations and other community-based organisations across Australia.

Oliver John Cameron is an award-winning composer based in Sydney. Unafraid to tackle any genre, his output includes choral, musical theatre, sound-design, film, chamber, and orchestral works. Oliver devised, composed and performed in The Colour Orange: The Pauline Hanson Musical winning the Sydney Fringe Critic’s Pick Award in 2017 and the Adelaide Fringe Emerging Artist Award in 2018. His work, five lullabies for uncertain times, was the winner of the 2021 Willgoss Choral Composition Prize. In 2022, Oliver has been commissioned by the Australian Vocal Ensemble and selected to compose for the 2022 NEO Voice Festival in Los Angeles.