An amoral revenge tale for the #MeToo generation.
“Five stars. Hands-down the best show this Fringe. Hilarious. Whip-smart. Bloody important.”
Great Scott Media, Adelaide Fringe.
Cockroach is a hilarious prose poem/grunge cabaret about female anger. Disrupting Kafka’s and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Cockroach addresses the issue of violence against women with more violence! There will be no apologies. We are done with smiling politely.
Fresh from Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne Fringe, Cockroach is an anthem for our times: furious, funny and hopeful.
When C wakes from a nightmare, she finds herself transformed into a monstrous vermin. For too long, she’s been told there’s something wrong with her. For so long, she’s yearned to behave badly. Tonight’s her night of reckoning!
Join C on a bloodcurdling bar crawl as this avenging exoskeletal anti-heroine rises from the ashes of abuse to become the true definition of a pest.
Part free-verse poem, part dance theatre, part grunge cabaret, this riotous urban-noir adventure subverts the patterns of rape in Kafka’s and Ovid’s Metamorphoses to explore the silencing that follows abuse and the transformations that occur recovering from it.
Writer/Director Melita Rowston and performer Leah Donovan find a loophole of laughter in the tragedy of abuse so healing can take place.
Featuring a live score by Benito Di Fonzo smashed together with percussion and Fender Strat, Cockroach is also about peeling off our armour so we can be seen.
Nominated: Best Performance - Melbourne Fringe
Nominated: Best Sound Design, Best Director, Best Cabaret Performer and Best Cabaret Performance - Broadway World Awards, Sydney.
Bank SA Support Act - Adelaide Fringe
“Donovan’s performance is intoxicating. She puts her voice and body on the line for the sake of maximum impact – Rowston’s words are in perfect hands.” (Adelaide Theatre Guide, Adelaide Fringe).
“Cockroach offers an honest and brutal perspective on gendered violence that will stay with you for days. An important and vital show in the midst of the #MeToo movement.” (The Upside News, Adelaide Fringe).
“Disfigured, alien-like and contorted, Leah Donovan is thrilling as she retells tales of sexual assault with new happy endings for a post #MeToo age.” (Fest Mag, Adelaide Fringe).
“Furiously smart.” (Sometimes Melbourne, Melbourne Fringe).
“Cockroach is a show that many have been crying out for... Leah Donovan is thrilling... Melita Rowston’s writing is spine-tinglingly brilliant.” (Arts Review, Melbourne Fringe).
“Athletic, balletic, ballistic, funny, crude, layered and human, it’s a work of strength and vital energy.” (Steve Smart, Melbourne Fringe).
“Powerful, creative and unapologetic.” (Broadway World, Sydney Fringe).
“A writhing, free-versatile, deep theatre, punk immersion... The very organs of history, myth and literature are brought into question.” (Syke on Stage, Sydney Fringe).
Writer/Director: Melita Rowston
Melita Rowston is a writer, director and performer. She’s a graduate of NIDA (Directing) and UTS (MA – Creative Writing). Recent credits: Cockroach (Writer/Director, Adelaide Fringe ’19, Melbourne Fringe ’18, Sydney Fringe ’18), Between the Streetlight and The Moon, (Writer, Kings Cross Theatre) ’17, Ljubicica: Wild Violet (Writer/Director, Casula Powerhouse, ’17, Melbourne Cabaret Festival, ’16, Winner BEST MUSIC Sydney Fringe, ‘15) THE GIANT WORM SHOW! Winner Adelaide Fringe Artist Fund Award, ’17 (Writer/performer, Adelaide Fringe ‘17, Sydney Fringe ‘16), 6 Degrees of Ned Kelly, (Writer/ performer, Adelaide Fringe ‘16, Sydney Fringe ‘15, Melbourne Fringe ‘15) Hey! Yeah! It’s Molly’s Travelling Worm Show! (Writer/ performer, Malthouse Theatre) ’13, MilkMilkLemonade (Director, New Theatre) ’13. www.melitarowston.com
Performer: Leah Donovan
Leah Donovan is an actor and theatre-maker, she has trained and performed internationally, gaining her BA Hons in Acting from LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore and later attending SITI Conservatory, training in Suzuki and Viewpoints in NYC. In NYC, she created a theatre collective – Future Husband – performing devised works. Credits: Cockroach (Adelaide Fringe ’19, Melbourne Fringe ’18, Sydney Fringe ’18), Ringside (National Museum Singapore) MilkMilkLemonade (New Theatre), Modern Jesus (Fledgling Theatre Company) NYC: Wake (Future Husband, HOT Festival) Happy Days (SITI Lab) Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally (One Year Lease Theatre Company, Edinburgh Fringe Festival) 2016, Winner The Stage Award for Acting Excellent, Edinburgh Fringe.
Composer/live music: Benito Di Fonzo Jr.
Benito Di Fonzo Jr. is a Sydney based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet and playwright. He performs in several bands including Huknee Puknee, The Suburban Bukowskis, and Polski Ogorki Portable Orkestra. As a playwright, he wrote The Chronic Ills of Robert Zimmerman AKA Bob Dylan which won Best of Independent Theatre 2010 and toured nationally, A Riff on Keef: The Human Myth, Griffin Theatre Company and Lenny Bruce: 13 Daze Un-Dug in Sydney, TRS. He has performed at festivals and venues around Australia as well as in London, Edinburgh, Bali, Paris, Berlin, New York and New Orleans. www.benitodifonzo.com
Accessibility
*Access to The Heyday Dome is via stairs, so please contact the BATS Box Office at least 24 hours in advance if you have accessibility requirements so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Read more about accessibility at BATS.
