Amanda Palmer is headed for Australian shores in 2020 with her show ‘There Will Be No Intermission’.
Last in Australia in 2017, Palmer has a loyal and engaged fan base here who have been clamouring for her return. This show is different to her others though – just her performing new songs from her 2019 record, old fan favourites and her stories; delivered on stage via piano, ukulele and her distinctive voice.Starting her stream of press interviews, Palmer jokes this is the first so the answers will be the least tired.
Intelligently and thoughtfully interviewing someone who has such a visible profile – and who has shared her world views, her rawest emotions, her crushing struggles and her incredible achievements – feels like a daunting task. Palmer makes it enjoyable and entertaining (who is surprised by this though?).
She listens intently, answers with depth and showcases an endurance for talking about similar topics over and over.
Asked to describe what her audience might expect from her longest-ever show (it’s 3.5 hours in duration), Palmer jumps straight in with gusto. “Well, anyone who's only ever seen The Dresden Dolls should probably be warned, it's a lot less loud. I mean there's still songs that are on the aggressive side, but it's a much more contemplative show.
“It is the first time in my whole career spanning Dresden Dolls (through ten years of shows) I have actually scripted a show. So it is closer to a piece of theatre or a piece of stand-up comedy than it is to a rock show.”
She pauses thoughtfully and adds: “It's a set of interconnected stories punctuated by songs from the record, some covers and other stuff that supports the thesis of the show. For the people who've just come and seen my drunken gigs in Melbourne where I take requests for two hours, this is different. It's a considered piece of work that has a beginning, middle and an end.”
She laughs and continues: “It's also the funniest show I've ever produced. There are moments of humour with The Dresden Dolls and there are always a few moments of humour in my solo shows.
"But this is a show throughout which people laugh constantly. It is also the most vulnerable show in which people in the audience cry. So, basically, safest to say, it's just the most emotional show I've ever done.”
It’s also the first tour she’s done as a mother and although it’s been incredibly fulfilling as an artist, the experience has been completely different. “Performing this show is fulfilling on a visceral level, but this is the first world tour that I have done as a mother. So the spaces in which I used to catch up on work and recover emotionally, and rest is now taken up with my other full-time job. This has been a real learning curve.
“Plus I'm constantly being asked, ‘Isn't this emotionally exhausting for you to get up and tell these kinds of stories every night?’ Night after night. And again, and again, and again. Talking about those painful events, talk about your miscarriage, and talk about your abortion, and talk about your friend dying. The answer is, ‘yes, of course’. Obviously it is.
“There were certain nights where I was literally so exhausted before a show I was just laying on the floor staring at the ceiling for 20 minutes, hoping that I would be able to perform and go on the stage. But also, I wouldn't have it any other way. I like things intense and I chose to do this.”
She adds: “I don't think I could if I'd written a record like this, or prepared a tour like this if I had a different type of audience, or a different type of community. And my community is the sort of community that can handle this level of material.
“And so they, in a way, are the unsung heroes of this tour. I've played for them enough times, I’ve tested the boundaries and the emotional riskiness enough times that I was able to kind of record like this and say, 'Okay, I'm going to roll up my sleeves and I'm going to do a stage show this vulnerable and raw because I can, because they will allow me to do a show that's honest'.”
And in many ways, art can only be as powerful as the artist is honest. If you’re wanting to see a show that will shake you awake and reconnect you to the deepest and most hidden parts of yourself, Palmer is your person.
Amanda Palmer 2020 Tour Dates
Mon 30 Dec - Woodford Folk Festival (Sunshine Coast)Thu 16 Jan - Mona Foma Confessional (Launceston)
Mon 20 Jan - Princess Theatre @ Mona Foma (Launceston)
Wed 22 Jan - Hamer Hall (Melbourne)
Fri 31 Jan - Brisbane Powerhouse
Sat 1 Feb - Brisbane Powerhouse
Fri 7 Feb - Canberra Theatre
Sat 8 Feb - Blue Mountains Theatre
Fri 14 Feb - Bonython Hall @ Adelaide Fringe
Thu 20 Feb - Enmore Theatre (Sydney)
Sat 22 Feb - Perth Festival
Sat 29 Feb - Darwin Entertainment Centre
