Zone 4 / WE APOLOGISE (2016)

Testing Grounds Melbourne

November 11-20, 2016

Zone 4 is about young people and their relationship to art, authority and the transit system.  Four new staged works by young writers mentored through ATYP's Fresh Ink initiative.  Included "We Apologise" by Georgia Symons, "You Love It" by Holly Brindley, "Top Up" by Fiona Spitzkowsky and "Platform 13" by Angus Cameron; as well as music, street art, buskers, a sausage sizzle and bar in a festival atmosphere. Ride the rail networks of Melbourne in this funny, confronting, frightening night of theatre. Zone 4 awaits.

Directed by Peter Blackburn as part of the VCA Directors' Season 2016.

"WE APOLOGISE", written by Georgia Symons

Passengers are reminded to be alert at all times.

If you see any suspicious behaviour or unattended items, please inform a station official. Station officials can be identified by their fluoro vests, tidy trousers, and impeccable hair.

Please do not touch anything you find on the platform.

Please do not talk to anyone you see on the platform.

Please do not attempt to take any action of your own on the platform.

Please respect the rules of the platform.

Taking these steps will ensure your safety, and the safety of your fellow commuters.

WE APOLOGISE began as an exploration of intervention - when and how do we intervene when we see things that concern us in public space? I wanted to test the audience, seeing how much they could take before deciding to intervene. The experiment failed - perhaps predictably, our early audiences did nothing. Today, the image-machine is incredibly strong – with news media as with theatre, we sit through visions of terrible cruelty, trusting that someone else has it under control. With this iteration, we know you won't - can't - intervene in reality. But how will you imagine yourselves into these scenarios? What *would* you do? And is imagining enough?