Artistic Director Kate Sulan Talks The Politics Behind Working In A Disability Arts Space

Thus was born Rawcus, the now critically acclaimed and award-winning ensemble of artists with and without disabilities that Sulan helms to this day. Fresh from their recent Dance Massive success, Rawcus have now been invited by Brett Sheehy and the Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) to take up a week-long residence in the Lawler Theatre as part of Neon, the festival of independent theatre. Aside from the obvious networking opportunities, the Neon residency will also be something of a creative luxury for Sulan and co. Rawcus generally only meet up weekly, the process of taking ideas from conceptualisation to performance often fraught and longwinded. “The difference here,” Sulan explains, “is that we get to spend a whole week together to develop and conceive the next piece with all the collaborators in the room. The other thing that’s exciting is the chance to develop a relationship with the MTC. The very fact that they’re thinking of a company like Rawcus means they’re thinking about who makes art. It’s really important that MTC opens its door to artists with disabilities.”

Like all companies working in the disability arts space, Rawcus needs to remain cognisant of the sometimes tortured ethics of disability and performance. That said, Sulan walks this line with a very uncluttered perspective. “As a director I just wanna work with people who inspire me... who take my visions and completely blow them apart. And for me they’re the artists at Rawcus, both with and without disabilities. It’s not a political agenda. It’s just about making art and who I wanna collaborate with at the moment.”

Indeed, Sulan talks a lot about “conversations” and “investigations”, as opposed to taking a more obviously activist line, precisely the kind of terminology that gloves well with an event like Neon, which is as much about bringing diverse creatives under one umbrella as being a showcase of indie theatre. Sulan adds, “I think it’s beneficial for both. It gives independent artists a really different platform, plus the marketing and the whole ‘mini festival’ thing, and for MTC, they get to see who’s out there and what’s possible in theatre.”