Award-winning tech collective Counterpilot present exciting digital theatre work, 'Breaking’.
Playing online and presented through Brisbane's Metro Arts, 'Breaking' is a collaboration with acclaimed Australian playwright Maxine Mellor, touching on the turmoil of recent events through the eyes of unrehearsed guest actors performing as TV news anchors.
As it progresses, the news bulletins get more absurd, and the newsreaders follow instructions from an unseen automated teleprompter system.
'Breaking' is designed for delivery through the digital realm – this means it can be witnessed from anywhere in the world.
Counterpilot have previously presented ‘Truthmachine’, ‘Crunch Time’, ‘Statum’ and more.
Before Counterpilot's digital theatre experience 'Breaking' hits the web, Maxine Mellor pens an open letter to people who hate the news.
“Dear people who hate the news,
Have you stopped tuning in? Has the quality of news never quite been the same since the Lego-haired Ray Martin and the sleepy-eyed Jana Wendt left our screens? Does commercial news these days prioritise too much dashcam footage over, say, impending financial and environmental doom? Does the constant barrage of the 24/7 news cycle leave you overwhelmed to the point of apathy? We hear you. And yet, we’re making a show about it.
'Breaking' is a bold experiment. It’s a livestream performance where the news is delivered each night by unrehearsed guest anchors reading from an automated teleprompter from their own homes. Each news bulletin is increasingly more absurd and more urgent than the last as the anchors face the authentic challenge of being the bearers of constant bad news. And, broadcast live, anything could happen!
Who doesn’t love seeing a reporter take a flying fish to the face in the middle of a seaside weather report? Or a toddler stumble into the background of a serious BBC interview about South Korea (followed by a baby in a walker and a frantic mother trying to pull them out of frame)? Perhaps because the news is supposed to be solemn and serious, we enjoy witnessing the moments when the façade drops; when polished professionals reveal themselves as human, all too human.
As a playwright who loves black comedy, I’ve teamed up with award-winning techno-troublemakers Counterpilot (known for daring hybrid-arts adventures such as 'Truthmachine' where an audience member is hooked up to a live polygraph test, and 'Crunch Time', where public figures play head chef for patrons customising their meals from a projection-mapped dining table) to explore this weird and wonderful world of nightly news.
Born out of COVID lockdowns when our beloved live theatre was being safely distanced into non-existence and the term ‘doomscrolling’ was Macquarie Dictionary’s word of the year, 'Breaking' was purpose-built to be made and enjoyed from the comfort of home. You watch your TV in your track pants from your couch – why not theatre?
In developing this show, we’ve come to appreciate the detail that goes into making the news. From the opening themes that become as recognisable as anthems (and are remixed into bangers like Pendulum’s take on the ABC theme), to the structure of segments, the seamless camera-switching, and the precise wording of the news tickers, we’ve had to learn and build everything from scratch in our quest to become well-meaning, mini-Murdochs.
As much as it is a technical and performative feat, we want 'Breaking' to break open the idea of news itself. What even is the news? It’s so ubiquitous and yet we rarely question it. Who is deciding when a single death trumps a massacre in a far-away village? Why is an iceberg melting less newsworthy than a football match? How is it that we know the outcome of an election in another country but we don’t know the name of our neighbour? Should we, as philosopher Alain de Botton asks, sometimes switch off from the eloquent turmoils of humankind to find the headlines of other creatures that make up our wondrous planet?
Love it or hate it, the news isn’t going anywhere. It will find its way to you even if you switch off (the gym, the doctor’s office waiting room, the petrol bowser!). So, tune in with us as three brave performers find our breaking points. How much is too much bad news?”
Have you stopped tuning in? Has the quality of news never quite been the same since the Lego-haired Ray Martin and the sleepy-eyed Jana Wendt left our screens? Does commercial news these days prioritise too much dashcam footage over, say, impending financial and environmental doom? Does the constant barrage of the 24/7 news cycle leave you overwhelmed to the point of apathy? We hear you. And yet, we’re making a show about it.
'Breaking' is a bold experiment. It’s a livestream performance where the news is delivered each night by unrehearsed guest anchors reading from an automated teleprompter from their own homes. Each news bulletin is increasingly more absurd and more urgent than the last as the anchors face the authentic challenge of being the bearers of constant bad news. And, broadcast live, anything could happen!
Who doesn’t love seeing a reporter take a flying fish to the face in the middle of a seaside weather report? Or a toddler stumble into the background of a serious BBC interview about South Korea (followed by a baby in a walker and a frantic mother trying to pull them out of frame)? Perhaps because the news is supposed to be solemn and serious, we enjoy witnessing the moments when the façade drops; when polished professionals reveal themselves as human, all too human.
As a playwright who loves black comedy, I’ve teamed up with award-winning techno-troublemakers Counterpilot (known for daring hybrid-arts adventures such as 'Truthmachine' where an audience member is hooked up to a live polygraph test, and 'Crunch Time', where public figures play head chef for patrons customising their meals from a projection-mapped dining table) to explore this weird and wonderful world of nightly news.
Born out of COVID lockdowns when our beloved live theatre was being safely distanced into non-existence and the term ‘doomscrolling’ was Macquarie Dictionary’s word of the year, 'Breaking' was purpose-built to be made and enjoyed from the comfort of home. You watch your TV in your track pants from your couch – why not theatre?
In developing this show, we’ve come to appreciate the detail that goes into making the news. From the opening themes that become as recognisable as anthems (and are remixed into bangers like Pendulum’s take on the ABC theme), to the structure of segments, the seamless camera-switching, and the precise wording of the news tickers, we’ve had to learn and build everything from scratch in our quest to become well-meaning, mini-Murdochs.
As much as it is a technical and performative feat, we want 'Breaking' to break open the idea of news itself. What even is the news? It’s so ubiquitous and yet we rarely question it. Who is deciding when a single death trumps a massacre in a far-away village? Why is an iceberg melting less newsworthy than a football match? How is it that we know the outcome of an election in another country but we don’t know the name of our neighbour? Should we, as philosopher Alain de Botton asks, sometimes switch off from the eloquent turmoils of humankind to find the headlines of other creatures that make up our wondrous planet?
Love it or hate it, the news isn’t going anywhere. It will find its way to you even if you switch off (the gym, the doctor’s office waiting room, the petrol bowser!). So, tune in with us as three brave performers find our breaking points. How much is too much bad news?”
'Breaking' plays online through Metro Arts 14-17 December.
