Natural Order

Who or what determines our lot in life? How do we get to where we are? Is it all a consequence of the choices we make? Or is it determined by something bigger than us … Fate? God? The Universe?

Natural Order was a new multi-artform, performance installation work by Milk Crate Theatre, looking where individual effort and universal law collide. We examined how much is really up to us, the systems that keep us 'in our place', and why, despite repeated and exerted effort, the human right to dignified security is still so far out of reach for some of us. How do we challenge this? What are the actual consequences of resistance? Can we ever really get past where we are today or are we destined to be tied to the natural world order?

Weaving together the Milk Crate Theatre Collaborative Artists' concerns and explorations with lived experience of homelessness, Natural Order crossexamined the personal, political, and philosophical. An immersive installation experience comprising live performance, film, visual art, sound and movement, Natural Order was creatively led by Artistic Director Margot Politis and facilitated by some of Sydney's most exciting and dynamic contemporary arts practitioners.

Natural Order was presented at the Petersham Town Hall in a non-traditional setting, with a set that moved around the audience and invited audiences to move among the work. After a two year crosscompany development, the performance took place during National Homelessness Week, August 2019.

Image Credit Left & right: Natural Order 'Cabaret' 2019, photo by Patrick Boland.

Director: Margot Politis Devisors: Milk Crate Theatre Collaborative Artists and Key Facilitating Artists Performers (Live & Film): Aslam Abdus-Samad, Peter Birbas, Shane Davis, Desmond Edwards, Flor Garcia, Owen Gill, Alicia Gonzalez, Lisa Griffiths, Sandra Hickey, Eugenia Langley, Yen Mekon, Ray Morgan, Matthias Nudl, Ruth Oslington, Darlene Proberts, Steve Simao, Pauline Trenerry, Lucy Watson, Georgina Wood

Assistant Director: Jacqueline Marriott Dramaturge: Felicity Nicol Key Support Artist: Lucy Watson Support Performers: Lucy Watson, Alicia Gonzalez, Aslam Abdus-Samad Film Artists: David Molloy & Kay Armstrong Sound: James Brown & Bella Martin Cabaret: Written by Milk Crate Theatre Collaborative Artists, Composed by Tim Hansen Set Design: Margot Politis & Emma White Lighting Design: Liam O-Keefe AV: David Molloy Producer: Lisa Walton Production Coordinator: Jessice Saris Stage Manager: Emil Freund Stagehands and Volunteers: Emily Calder, Brandon Tan Zhi Yang, Ben Stort, Oskar O'Sullivan, Amy Abbott, Craig McPherson

Key Facilitating Artists: Kay Armstrong, James Brown, David Capra, Sarah Emery, Tim Hansen, Vashti Hughes, Jacqueline Marriott, Margot Politis, Graeme Rhodes, Paul Walker, Lucy Watson, Scott Witt

Additional Collaborators: Margaret Baldwin, Chris Barry, Anita Canning, Marianne Cenno, Desmond Edwards, Michael Gooch, Sandra Hickey, Michael Immanuel, Benjamin Kellaway, Michael Kenny, John McDonnell, Helmi Nasir, Jemima Pal