One of the best pieces of theatre i’ve seen was in Natimuk Frinj back in November 2015.

I was in town working with Sam Downing and Leonie Van Eyk on the B.A.R.E. Body Appliance Revival Experience, and my friend Tim Ratcliffe was playing in “The Freda Experience“. His play was getting all the buzz around the festival, everyone was talking about it, and one morning at 7am i found out exactly why that was.

When we arrived, we were sorted into groups and given our climbing equipment for the day. We were now in the early 1900’s being trained to undertake a basic climb, clipping ourselves into a chain of climbers. Freda herself came in the room to have a discussion with the trainer, as there was some concern about an unmarried woman being accompanied on the climb by a man, and also about the nature of her attire.

This was an immersive theatrical experience, where one group hiked around to the reading group and another to the lecture; where we all ended up in a giant projection which moved from the walls of the mental institution to the huge tents of a mountain-bound camping party.

They’d developed the play in Castlemaine for the State Festival, but Natimuk was the perfect location for its second outing, given the climbing history of that place.

The production was magical and inspiring, heart-breaking and confounding; Freda was well known in New Zealand where she was the first woman to climb several peaks, and the first human to climb others. In Australia however, it seems possible she was written out of the history books because of her sexuality. 

As the show finished, i didn’t want to leave, but i was invigorated to continue my festival day at 9am on a Sunday in this tiny enchanted country town.

Jim Coad’s put up a video about the creative back-story to the play:

The Freda Experience