Gravity & Grace
GRAVITY & GRACE
BY ELEANOR BISHOP & KARIN MCCRACKEN
AN ADAPTATION OF ‘ALIENS & ANOREXIA’ BY CHRIS KRAUS
““Gravity & Grace is a triumph. Consistently funny, visually inventive and rich in ideas.””
Everybody fails, sometimes spectacularly. Few write a fearless book about it.
Brimming with intellect, humour and rich visuals, Gravity & Grace is a smart new theatre adaptation of acclaimed writer Chris Kraus’ book 'Aliens & Anorexia'. Her book 'Aliens & Anorexia' depicts her attempt to make the feature film ‘Gravity and Grace’ in New Zealand in the ‘90s, and its subsequent critical and commercial failure. Weaving in the writings of French philosopher Simone Weil alongside a free-wheeling retrospective of other “failed” artists, Kraus traverses Berlin, Andy Warhol’s New York, Marseilles and New Zealand in a bid to understand what it means to not succeed.
The work integrates slick and contemporary video and sound design alongside stand-out performances to create a daring and engrossing production.
Gravity & Grace premiered in March 2024 at the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts and the Auckland Arts Festival to critical acclaim.
AWARDS
Dean Parker Adaptation or Non-Fiction Award - Adam NZ Play Awards 2022
Production of the Year - Wellington Theatre Awards 2024
Actor of the Year (Karin McCracken) - Wellington Theatre Awards 2024
Set Designer of the Year (Meg Rollandi) - Wellington Theatre Awards 2024
Gold Award - Designers Institute of New Zealand Best Design Awards 2024
““Although focusing on the portrayal of spectacular creative failure, the show was, in fact, a masterpiece of contemporary intermedial design: seamlessly integrating performing bodies with setting, sound, lighting and moving image.””
Photo by Andi Crown
And always, there is the chance that this will fail.
That things will not work out.
Photo by Andi Crown
The development of Gravity & Grace (formerly called Aliens & Anorexia) was supported by Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts and is supported by Creative NZ. Thank you to Artificial Imagination for video system design and integration support.
Initial script development of Aliens & Anorexia was supported by BATS Theatre, through their Artist Residency programme and Wellington City Council.
CREATIVE TEAM
Created by Eleanor Bishop & Karin McCracken
Starring Nī Dekkers-Reihana, Simon Leary, Karin McCracken, Sam Snedden & Rongopai Tickell
Director - Eleanor Bishop
Performance Designer - Meg Rollandi
AV Designer - Owen Iosefa McCarthy
Music & Sound Designer - Emi 恵美 Pogoni
Light Designer - Rob Larsen
Producer - Melanie Hamilton
Production Manager - Pilot Productions
Stage Manager - Natasha Thyne
AV Technician - Rachel Neser from Artificial Imagination
Photography by Nick George
2022 Development artists - Moana Ete, Stephen Lovatt, Natasha James, Sylvie McCreanor, Shanell Bielawa.
Photo by Andi Crown