The Chair and The Cello - UniSC Research Project Performance Event

UniSC Theatre and Performance presents The Chair and The Cello, a research project performance event.

Devised by Hannah Banks, Nicola Hyland and Briony Luttrell with Carl Walling and Lucy Orkild

The Chair and The Cello is a new creative work which was devised as part of the research project “The Chair and The Cello: Developing industry guidelines for practicing creative safety.” This project began in 2025 and is funded by a UniSC Internal Research CONNECT Grant, supporting us to collaborate with an international scholar, AProf Nicola Hyland (Te Atihaunui-a-Pāpārangi and Ngāti Hauiti) from Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington, in Aotearoa New Zealand. The purpose of this research project is to develop an innovative best-practice industrial framework of practitioner wellbeing within the Creative Industries. This autoethnographic research is investigating creative safety in the rehearsal process by developing a new live theatrical performance.

The Chair and The Cello is set over the course of one night and explores ideas of loneliness, isolation and academia. The human need for connection is confronted by the inanimate object: sexy cellos, fascist chairs, and piles of doom. When we are overwhelmed with to-do lists and easy-clean DIY dystopian capitalism, when we are confined in a liminal and uncanny space, what is it that we need to survive?

This event will begin with an introduction from the project’s Chief Investigator Dr Hannah Banks, followed by a presentation from AProf Nicola Hyland about the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of performance from an Indigenous perspective. Then there will be a short break with some light refreshments, before the performance of The Chair and The Cello commences at 6.30pm, with an approximate run time of 50 minutes.

This event is free and will be held in the K1.G.09 Performance Studio on the Sippy Downs campus. It is next to Carpark P6 and the Art Gallery.

Running time: 2 hours with an interval

Content Warning: Coarse language; sexual references; and content that may offend some people.

Theatrical atmosphere effects (haze/fog) and low-level flashing lights will be used during the production.

Other information: Late arrivals are permitted, but please endeavour to arrive early. Doors open 15 minutes prior to the presentation beginning at 5.30pm. If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact Dr Hannah Banks (hbanks@usc.edu.au)