Wulgurukaba & Bindal Country (Townsville)
Tides
Theatre of Diversion
'Tides is a story that traverses online and physical mediums to immerse audiences in the hidden past and envisioned future of Townsville.'
Set in 2075 - when digital experience has drowned out the physical being - preservation and exploration of the past is seen as only a hindrance to progress. But when a heart gets broken, it's suddenly not that easy to just let the past disappear. Resisting the pull of the filtered virtual mainstream, one young researcher attempts to work through their own spectacular crash-on-the-rocks. Immersed among the voices and long-forgotten relics at the bottom of the ocean, they are tossed a lifeline; an opportunity to try again. But have they learned from the past?
About the Artist
Theatre of Diversion was founded in the unprecedented limbo of COVID restrictions in 2020. With borders closed and a return to university a distant possibility, the company was born out of a desire to rediscover the stories of their hometown, to enjoy creative autonomy and develop their practice as arts workers. As young people, the Theatre of Diversion duo felt overlooked and unheard in their respective spheres, but strongly believed that their lack of experience was not a lack of capability. To grasp the full experience of Tide, watch the prequel film Gothernburg here and see Jac's Stream alongside listening to the podcast series streaming now below.
Event Information
Listen to TIDES now
Episode 1 — Charlie's Choice
50 years ago they warned us that the internet would last forever. So what was the point in keeping anything.. solid.. anymore?” As our technology slowly catches up to our minds, will we slowly stop engaging with the physical world around us? It’s 2075 and Townsville is a prime testing ground for recreating virtual history; revisiting the murky past of a watery terrain abandoned by the world. But researcher Artie knows first hand that sometimes diving back into the past can be painful.
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Episode 2 — Theo's Choice
Charlie is baffled that she’s been outmanoeuvred after all her hard work in creating an underwater shipwreck experience. Feeling alienated from their most trusted friends, Artie looks to Keziah for distraction - but feels emotionally tethered to the landscapes of her memories. Meanwhile, Theo tires of being Artie and Xaveer’s go-between and is forced to choose between self-preservation or distance.
Episode 3 — Artie's Choice
Artie and Charlie slowly start to mend the rift between them, and Theo treats Xav to a trip down memory lane to the Townsville of their childhood. Keziah opens up to an unsuspecting Jac one night, who is disillusioned by the superficial nature of the Gothenburg development. Keziah reveals how deeply he feels for Artie, and suggests she remove themselves from the drama surrounding the Gothenburg shipwreck tourist development. He reveals his own history and warns Artie against investing so much of themselves into making right the wrongs of the past.
Episode 4 — Xaveer's Choice
After condemning Artie and Xaveer’s betrayal, Theo stops responding to communication. His absence causes a deep cerebral void for them both and they attempt to reconcile for his sake, with a few crucial caveats. Charlie struggles to imagine how it must feel being in the ocean, and the shipwreck rendering stalls as a result. She goes through Artie’s memories to try and better understand the experience, but stumbles on something more private instead. Meanwhile, Jac returns to the bar in the hopes of chatting to Keziah, but he is surly in the wake of Artie’s silence.
Episode 5 — Jac's Choice
Theo’s absence causes alarm in all his friends, who fear he has disappeared for good. When they finally discover him, they are baffled at his complete detachment from the physical world. Artie reaches out to Keziah for help despite their recent distance from each other, but when face to face with her other friends he turns into a completely new person, with a frightful agenda. Their friendships are tested as they risk Theo’s safety. Jac delves deeper into Keziah’s past at Charlie’s request, as they attempt to uncover the motives underlying his attention to Artie and the world of stream creation.
Episode 6 — Finale
Keziah pulls back the curtain on his grand reset plan, inviting Artie to abandon the world with him and his reset on the injustices and tragedies of history. Artie must trust in their instincts and accept an inevitable truth as she risks becoming another voice lost to the bottom of the sea. Jac tries to reconnect to document Keziah’s story as a warning to other disillusioned young people, but Artie chooses to instead focus on the story that helps them to reconcile and heal in the natural world.
