Described as universal, uniting and empowering, Christopher Bryant is bringing his critically acclaimed show to Melbourne Fringe and we were lucky enough to have a chat ahead of the season:
Tell us a bit about New Balance.
New Balance is a contemporary performance about the intersection of queerness and disability: about navigating the world as a queer person with disability, about being a marginalised queer person who experiences further marginalisation through disability. Its script is woven together from intersecting anecdotes from the queer-disabled community about the universality of growing up deemed ‘different’.
What celebrity would love this show?
John Waters! Well, I don’t know if love is the right word, it might be too sincere for his tastes – but do I quote him in the first five minutes of the show, so hopefully he’d appreciate that.
How would you describe your style of comedy/performance to someone who’s never seen you before?
Intimate and relational. The whole thing is me performing a version of myself (which sounds incredibly “drama school”, but at least I’m aware of it!), and intended to be like secrets you might share with friends at a sleepover.
What was the initial inspiration to create this show?
Myself and Emma (the co-creator/director of the show) are both queer and disabled. I acquired my disability at 25 – and in doing so, found myself having to “come out” for a second time. As we began to talk about the ways these two distinct parts of our identities mirrored and repelled each other, we realised we’d happened upon the idea for our next show!
How do you want audiences to feel after seeing your show?
Held, amused, curious. Shows centred on identity can often turn into diatribes or just yelling at an audience – more than anything we wanted to make an entertaining show, something fun and enjoyable to watch… that hopefully makes you think.
If you could perform this show anywhere, where would it be?
Minack Theatre in Cornwall, England – it’s this beautiful open air space on the cliffside overlooking the sea. It’s absolutely the wrong venue for the show, but it’d be an amazing experience!
Do you have any pre-show rituals? If so, what are they?
A lot of stretching, humming, a giant Red Bull – all the regular warm-up stuff. I live with a traumatic brain injury which affects my memory, so I generally do a quick run of the entire text to make sure it’s still in my head. (Five years on, it almost always is – but never hurts to make sure!)
You can catch Christopher at Melbourne Fringe Festival at Trades Hall – Solidarity Hall kicking off 14 October. Tickets on sale here! You can also follow Christopher on Instagram
