BODY RIGHTS
Bear witness to the stories of bodies, as their owners struggle with issues of consent, aesthetics, perfection and pleasure.
“Autism itself is really difficult to explain. It’s not simply something that effects how I function; it is… how I am wired. Asking me how autism feels like is pretty much like asking a fish if it knows it’s in water. I guess that as I am autistic, but adapted slightly to the neurotypical world, metaphorically I am neither fully a fish (autistic) nor a land creature (neurotypical) but rather an amphibian.”
– Adam Kelly, 2019, on his contribution to BODY RIGHTS
Body Rights was presented at FRINGE WORLD 2020, and consisted of four works that each asked important questions. These four works provoked, inspired, entertained and left audiences re-thinking their own journey in the most marvellous and confusing of vessels that we call a body.
Adrian’s Soul
A two-part work that bookends Body Rights, functioning as a prologue and epilogue, audiences and performers reflect on the question: “What wisdom can I impart from all that I’ve learned in all my years in this body?”
Boxed In
The women of the WAYTCo’s Devisers’ Club ask, “what strength do I need just to walk safely down the street?” Boxed In is performed by up to 10 young women who seek the answer through recreational boxing. Guest directed by Phoebe Sullivan.
Will
10 boys aged 12-17 ask: “Who owns my body if I am not yet 18?” These young performers explore themes of agency and self-determination.
ARCO
WAYTCo stalwart Adam Kelly asks in his first solo work: “Who wants my autistic body?” Adam’s Show is about Autism, Rejection, Celibacy and Optimism and is performed in the round with an intimate audience.