Hero image description: A predominantly yellow graphic with the text "Ground Zero by Brand X" sits in big capital letters which is right aligned on the image. Below is the Brand X logo and the dates "16-17 May at 7pm" listed. On the left hand side of the image there is an abstract art depiction of a woman whose eyes and face are surrounded by surreal graphics of hands, fingers, skulls and crosses in predominantly yellow and grey colours. Image by Shara Parsons.

Ground Zero is Brand X’s performing arts residency which supports and showcases performance makers with lived experience of disability. Over two nights, five Sydney-based performers will showcase a short 10 – 15-minute work in a cabaret-style evening at the East Sydney Community and Arts Centre (ESCAC), Darlinghurst.

The residency is a disability-led project with authentic storytelling, identity and community at its heart. Each of the five projects, whilst so diverse in artistic practice, are unified in their expression of protest and celebration. Each performance is a challenge to the status quo and a call for systemic social change. Each act is also an ownership of identity, an expression of crip joy, and a powerful insight into disability culture and community.

“Disability doesn’t make you exceptional, but questioning what you think you know about it does.” - Stella Young.

Show information: The Ground Zero performances take place Friday 16th and Saturday 17th May, 2025 7.00pm - 9.00pm. The shows will run for approximately 120 minutes with a short intermission.

There will be a Tactile Tour (TT) at 6.30pm and will last for 15-20 minutes; you are welcome to remain in the venue afterwards as part of our soft entrance. You can register for a TT when purchasing your tickets.

Both performances will also be Audio Described (AD) by Emma Bedford.

Location: East Sydney Community Arts Centre (ESCAC) 34 Burton Street Darlinghurst NSW 2010.

Ground Zero Performances:

Systemic

by Felicity Nicol

Systemic is a personal exploration of disability, the varied systems disabled people must traverse and the humour it takes to survive them. Using symptoms of Felicity Nicol's autoimmune disease, her ADHD and her strange journey towards diagnosis, Systemic draws parallels between bodily systemic failure and socio-political systemic failure. Watch as humour, autobiography and verbatim materials become weaponised in a bid to dismantle the fairytale of Australian universal healthcare and examine what it means to live at the intersection of "if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.".

Collaborators: Anthea Williams - Dramaturge
Access: Audio Description, Auslan, soft beginning and ending.

GLIMMER

by DEB ROACH

Saddle up for GLIMMER: A western space disco where one-armed outlaw Debzillah rides the galaxy, pole in tow, chasing the glimmers that spark joy. Think sequins, mirror balls, gravity-defying tricks, and star-lit line dancing, all set to a cosmic soundtrack. With horsing around and an immersive, accessible experience, Glimmer is a wild, intergalactic ride celebrating the magic of moving in an “alien” body. We hope it sparks joy for you, too!

Access: Audio Description, Auslan, soft beginning and ending.
Content warnings: Potential strobe lighting; movements that are sexual/sensual in nature (comedic manner); occasional lyrics may contain explicit language.

What it is Like to Have Undiagnosed High Functioning Autism

by JESS TURNER

This poem be for the time before. The time before, when any understanding, diagnosis or truth fell through my hands like rainwater fresh from the sky. The time before, when non-sense was only recognisable as nonsense, when the unwelcome trinity (anxiety, conformity and complexity) anchored an otherwise innocent story. This story is of the past, my past, but it may be better thought of as a present for the present - it is for all people who, like me, have not fully understood- that is, until they did.

Access: Audio Description, Auslan, soft beginning and ending.
Content warnings: None.

CURTAIN NEVER CLOSES

by BLAKE WILSON

Curtain Never Closes is shaped by my experiences within mental health crisis systems, driving me to seek bodymind healing beyond the constraints of institutional psychiatry. As a trans, Mad, and disabled person, I navigate the pendulum of hypervisibility and invisibility—applying for and maintaining NDIS means enduring medical surveillance of my bodymind. Through drag clown performance, I turn the gaze back, watching them as they watch me. Paris-based art historian and clown lover Remi Baert joins me as a co-conspirator. Curtain Never Closes reclaims agency over how I am seen and unseen by the public and institutions.

Collaborators: Rémi Baert - research and artistic collaborator.
Access: Audio Description, Auslan, soft beginning and ending.
Content warnings: There will be cameras pointed towards audience (the recording will not be used elsewhere).

This Horrid Practice

By Daley Rangi

"Though stronger evidence of this horrid practice prevailing among the inhabitants of this coast will scarcely be required, we have still stronger to give." - James Cook

Through literary cannibalism and sonic ceremony, Daley Rangi will examine how we turn storytellers into gods; hunting for the source of their power. There's something rotten in the state of the art.

Access: Audio Description, Auslan, soft beginning and ending.
Content warnings: Western canon

TOM NORTH: MC

Tom North is a Sydney/Eora based improv champion. He has served with a multi-year stint on various House Teams at Improv Theatre Sydney, as well as producing and performing in the narrative improv show ‘Silly Odyssey’. He’s performed and taught at the ITS Comedy Festival, BIF, Science Week, Sydney Fringe and more. Along with a mystery team of performers, he was crowned Improv Cage Fight Champion at the 2024 Brisbane Improv Festival.

Access: Audio Description, Auslan, soft beginning and ending.

Ground Zero Team:

TIFFANY WONG - Artistic Director

Tiffany Wong is an autistic director and artistic leader dedicated to creating inclusive, accessible theatre. Her directing credits include Atlantis (New Theatre), Boom (Slanted Theatre & KXT bAKEHOUSE), Short Blanket (Slanted Theatre & Meraki Arts Bar), Lady Precious Stream (Slanted Theatre & The Flying Nun at Brand X), Three Fat Virgins Unassembled (Slanted Theatre & KXT bAKEHOUSE), and Ching Chong Chinaman (Slanted Theatre). Tiffany has also worked as an Associate/Assistant Director at Bell Shakespeare, Sydney Theatre Company, and Hayes Theatre Co, contributing to productions such as King Lear, Top Coat, and Murder For Two. As the Artistic Director of Slanted Theatre, Tiffany has supported over 160 Asian-Australian artists, fostering diverse voices in the industry. She was a recipient of the Cosgrave Associate Artist position at Bell Shakespeare and has been featured as an Honouree in the Asian Australian 2022, 2023, and 2024 Lists. Tiffany is a proud member of Actors Equity and was part of Accessible Arts' Equip Leadership Toolkit, furthering her passion for inclusive creative practices.

PEARL JUNIOR - Stage Manager

Pearl Junor (she/her) is a graduate of Charles Sturt University in Bathurst with a Bachelor of Communication (Theatre/Media). Throughout her studies, she focused on building her skills in management and scenic/costume design practice, finding a passion for highly collaborative works with a community focus. In 2020, Pirates!, her original major work, created in collaboration with two other peers, received the Blair Milan Touring Scholarship. The company attended the Bathurst Arts Residency NSW in 2022 to further develop the show. Pearl works at the Majors Creek Folk Festival as the Artist Liason and Festival Design Coordinator, focusing on zero waste, high sustainability and community engagement. In recent years, Pearl has been involved in productions that centre on LGBTQIA+ and disabled, as well as Deaf/Hoh voices and stories. These include as a Stage Manager/Technical operator Sam I Am (Antipodes Theatre Company, La Mama Theatre), Before Breakfast (Sydney Fringe, 107 Projects), Ground Zero (World Pride, The Flying Nun by Brand X), and as Stage Manager/Associate Director, Teenage Dick (Divergent Theatre Collective, Flight Path Theatre).

NICK WISHART - Sound Designer

Nick Wishart is an interdisciplinary artist, musician, and inventor with over 25 years of experience exploring sound, light, and interactivity. His work fuses performance, music, and technology through custom-built electronic instruments and interactive installations. His Round Sounds wireless MIDI controllers earned him a finalist spot in the 2023 Guthman Musical Instrument Competition, leading to a USA tour. A member of Toydeath, he has performed internationally with the legendary circuit-bent toy band. His work spans GPS-guided audio projects like Trains by The Kids (NSW Art Gallery Hive Festival, 2024) and audio reactive light installations, including his Emerging Artist Award-winning piece at the 2024 North Sydney Art Prize. Residencies include Scene Shift (CAD Factory, 2023), where he developed a solar-powered weather-reactive light sculpture, and a self-directed residency at Hotel Saint Valerie (France, 2024).

Venue and season accessibility:

We welcome all visitors to ESCAC and are committed to making it accessible and inclusive for everyone. The venue is wheelchair accessible, with accessible car spaces available out the front on Burton Street. We accept companion cards and welcome assistance animals. Accessibility for Ground Zero will include Audio Description, Auslan and a soft beginning and ending.

If you would like to discuss access please contact access@brandx.org.au or call 8029 9040.

How to get there:

Car: On-street metered parking around the venue. There are also accessible park spots available out the front of the venue.
Bus: Oxford Street 2 minute walk (333, 373, 399, 392, 394 and M10 buses).
Train: Museum Train Station 10-minute walk.

For access information on the venue, please watch our video explainer below:

YouTube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYNX_m-vXZU

Affordable and Mob tickets:

This is a limited allocation of free tickets for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and people experiencing financial hardship. To access these tickets please email marketing@brandx.org.au for a no questions asked seat.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body, is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW, and the City of Sydney.