A man returns to his childhood home, a small coastal town in post-civil war El Salvador— a place he swore to the ocean he’d never set foot in again.

HE is a coming-of-age tragedy about the treacherous waters of masculinity, homophobia, and love. About dad, the war, mum, the moon, the shadows of the past… still lingering. A story about sex, sin, Jesús, and the ocean

Conceived, written and performed by Salvadoran-Australian theatre practitioner Rodrigo Calderón Tobar, HE is physical, vivid and delirious storytelling, with a cumbia heart-beat.

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LATECOMER POLICY: No latecomers, there will be a lockout once the performances commences.
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Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'I found it! The gem every theatre critic dreams of.

What I will tell you is 'HE' is blindingly fantastic on all levels. The writing is glorious... It is not just the writing though. Calderón is a master actor and physical theatre afficionado.

He will have you laughing, crying, gasping in outrage, and lost in despair.'

Samsara Dunston | WhatDidSheThink?

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“Rodrigo's piece HE is strange, captivating and alluring. A beautifully textured and embodied performance exploring that great (and endless) mystery- the ocean. Somehow through the exploration of his relationship to the ocean, he takes us into an exploration of male sexuality, love, violence. It takes us into another world that we at once recognise and can't quite catch - a South American world of family, toxic masculinity, first love, and always present in the imagination and the story - the ocean.

An exploration of the forces that can't be controlled. The dark forces and the life giving forces- the erotic, the tender. The work is poetic and inexplicable - a quality that draws us in and keeps us putting together the pieces of the puzzle.

Surprising, sensual, political, visceral and delicate.

A piece performed with skill and passion.”

Dr. Bagryana Popov | Theatre maker, Lecturer in Theatre and Drama
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"Rodrigo is an utterly compelling performer. He can hold an audience's attention with his visceral physicality. He is unafraid to tackle subjects that are taboo and has the intelligence and creativity to make bold and engaging work"

Susie Dee | Theatre Director
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"The Exploration of HE showed great potential. It was gentle, powerful, raw and insightful. Rodrogo's performance was both nuanced and commanding. I'm really excited to see how this work will develop and have every faith in Rodrigo as a maker of great integrity."

Caitlin Dullard | Artistic Director, LaMama Theatre
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"Clever, blunt, and poetic writing on a minimalistic stage. HE, written and performed by Rodrigo Calderon, is engagingly balanced by the simplicity of the stage with a complex, deep, and passionate delivery. Intimate storytelling and powerful characters immerse and eventually drown you into the invisible 20th century psychological crimes of western civilization."

Pablo Gonzalez | Brunswick Daily
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Conceived, written, staged, and performed Rodrigo Calderón

Dramaturgical consultations Edgardo Dib, Matthew Crosby and Damien Miller

Provocateur Kendra Keller

Photographer Daisy Et

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Rodrigo acknowledes he lives and works on the traditional lands of the people of the Boon Wurrung and Woiwurrung of the Kulin Nation. He acknowledges that his work is presented on unceded land. He pays his respect to Elders, past, present, and emerging.

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