In our 3rd year of development
What is the Parsifal Project?
The Parsifal Project is a contemporary reimagining of the famous medieval legend as a multimedia performance, brought into the living present through word, music, movement and art in community. Moreover, the play is woven around a threshold event and thus is a bridge to the spiritual reality of the Grail, and a sacred drama for our times.
What is our vision?
This new and innovative theatre production is distinctive: we have 30-plus acclaimed regional and international artists sharing collectively with local community members in its making; we are multicultural, inclusive of our Indigenous culture and those newer to Australian shores; and we combine traditional artistic mediums with modern digital technology. The Project recognises that the Parsifal story is a human story, mapping both our spiritual history and our modern soul development, and the production needs to reflect this with a mix of the contemporary and medieval media.
Our stages of development
Grounded in extensive research, we immersed ourselves artistically for the first year in all elements of the story – mythic origins, historical roots, medieval music, art and text – as part of our process to find meaningful resonance between the story and the challenges of our current world.
Under the direction of Ink Pot Arts Inc director Jo-anne Sarre, we then started building performance integrity with on-the-floor exploration of the essential Grail and Arthurian themes in a contemporary context while playwright Peter Oswald honed the script. A key challenge has been finding ways to invoke the spirit of the local Indigenous culture in harmony with modern multicultural Australia without losing the spiritual and mythic integrity of the original medieval legend.
Now in its third year of development, we are now ready to start the auditions and rehearsals.
What we hope to offer
Through our immersive, exploratory process, we anticipate offering new insights into our understanding of Parsifal’s quest for the Grail as a metaphor for modern life. If this story holds a key to our future, then its mythic tropes reimagined for a contemporary world could act as wayfinders for today’s youth.
We are ambitious, but believe this creative initiative is responding to a call of our times to embody the Grail impulse in modern Australia.
How can I get involved?
To be part of the ensemble, simply email Jo-anne with your CV, including 3 referees and a cover letter with your reasons for wishing to join the project. For interstate artists, we are exploring affordable accommodation.
How to support us
If you would like to support our initiative, you can donate to the project to help us launch our vision. Go to Give Now – Ink Pot Arts – 10 Reasons... https://www.givenow.com.au/inkpotarts10reasons Please include a note about supporting The Parsifal Project. Tax-deductible receipts automatically issued.
Find out more
For updates about the project, join our e-newsletter lists via quill@inkpot.com.au
Performance dates: Saturday 12, 19 October, Sunday 20 October 2024
at the Living Arts Centre in Mount Barker, SA.
We thank the Anthroposophical Society for their financial contribution to this initiative.
Featured image: Ghost Rider, h. koppdelaney ©flickr