Review: Poetry Double Bill

More often than not, poetry is seen as a contrived convolutedness, written in strings of pretty words that made up nonsensical sentences. I’ve been to enough poetry readings and gone through painstaking poetry workshops to know that, unfortunately, there are a lot of poets out there who embrace these wholeheartedly. But then again, there are a few that make me believe that the heart of good poetry is in its honesty, and that words can be woven into meaningful experiences that stay with you long after you left the venue.

Bronwyn Lovell and Darren Parker’s Poetry Double Bill did exactly that for me.

Bronwyn’s ‘Poetic Delights’ and Darren’s ‘Mura Gadi Nengi Bamir Gindanha – Pathways for searching to see far laughing’ 
couldn’t have been more stylistically different if they tried. The readings were performed in the same room – in Mudclub, with pretty lights and colourful fabrics covering the ceiling – but they put the audience in completely different places.

Bronwyn’s performance was warm and welcoming. It was enhanced by the simple, yet beautiful hand-drawn illustration projected on the screen, as well as sounds that gave each piece another layer of context. Some pieces had a more naïve tone than others, which I found endearing. It felt as if we were sitting in her kitchen and having a cuppa while she retraced her memories and personal experiences and retold them to us in a her gorgeous storybook-like style.

Darren’s performance felt a lot more candid, in comparison. He started it by saying that he’s Aboriginal "I often get told, you don't look aboriginal, to which I reply yeah and you don't look like a fuckwit"  –  It set the tone for the rest of his performance – painstakingly honest, with lots of ‘fuck’ thrown in for good measure. Darren’s point of view of the subjects in his pieces was political and personal, and it was so refreshing and hilarious. At times, it made me feel uneasy, because he was so blatantly open about the things and the thoughts he chose to share with his audience – it was a confronting experience, but also a good one.

To me, the one and half hours that I spent in Mudclub felt more like one long conversation, rather than a watching of performances. It started with Bronwyn and Darren saying, “Hey, there’s something I need to share with you, can we talk?” They thanked the audience for being there and listening, but in all honesty, it was a privilege that we got to listen to their stories.