Launch!26

Five Explosive New Works
Perth’s independent theatre scene is about to get a major jolt of fresh energy. From 12–14 November, The Blue Room Theatre hosts Curtin’s Theatre Arts LAUNCH! ’26, a limited season showcasing five innovative new works created by a new generation of theatre artists stepping into professional practice.
Ranging from body-horror burlesque to celestial drama and gripping domestic tension, LAUNCH! ’26 highlights the striking diversity and artistic vision of Western Australia’s upcoming creators. The works have been developed under the mentorship of celebrated Boorloo/Perth artist Gita Bezard.
Now celebrating six years as a springboard for groundbreaking performance, LAUNCH! continues to establish itself as a vital incubator for original theatre. Previous works debuting in the program—including Red Ticket and ملعقة (mil-aa-qa)—have gone on to critical acclaim and inclusion in major annual venue programs.

ONE SMALL STEP by Bec Moore
The bathtub is empty. The pipe drips. Twenty-two sees the ghost of her sixteen-year-old self and wonders if she will become an astronaut, or if her sixteen-year-old bad feelings are coming back to haunt her again.

CAST
Twenty-two – Sarah Patroni
Sixteen – Estella Glencross

PRODUCTION TEAM
Director/ & Lighting Design – Bec Moore
Production Design – Setare Moqarabin
Sound/AV Design – Rory Geddes
Set Assistant – Myra Heath

Warning: Haze
20 minutes

LOOKALIKE by Jaz Sims
The Searcher dances alone. Under the faint glow of neon lights. First to arrive. Last to leave. Another night they won’t remember. Another morning they’ll regret. But a face they can’t seem to forget.

CAST
The Searcher – Jess Palokangas
Lookalike 1 – Oliver Gavery
Lookalike 2 – Ryan Yu
Lookalike 3 – Sky Kay

PRODUCTION TEAM
Director – Jaz Sims
Sound/AV Design – Riley Sheehy
Lighting Design & Dramaturg– Maya Smith

Warning: Flash Warning, Strobe Warning, Coarse Language Warning
15 Minutes

GROUNDED by Ciedele Mezger
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year” until two brothers’ Christmas lunch spirals from video games, sibling rivalry and questionable cooking into something far more heartbreaking.
A funny, tender story about family, growing up, and the ache of wanting to be seen by the people who know you best, this Christmas, someone isn’t making it to dessert.

CAST
Little Rock – Harry Spackman
Rock – Callum Hunter

PRODUCTION TEAM
Director – Ciedele Mezger
Sound – Kirra Francis
Lighting – Harper Freeman
Production Design – Tasha Fraser

Warning: Mild swearing, Death
15 Minutes

ROT by Sian Griffiths
In the dressing room of Saggy Suzie’s, Betty and Kitty navigate the chaos of their nightly routine with sharp tongues, dark humour, and an unbreakable bond. But as the countdown to their performance ticks away, something goes terribly wrong. ROT offers a mix of burlesque, comedy, and visceral horror whilst showcasing the terrifying reality of what happens when the show must go on.

CAST
Adah Hill & Emilia Malinovic

PRODUCTION TEAM
Director – Sian Griffiths
Production Design – Adah Hill
Sound Design – Rory Geddes
Lighting Design – Riley Sheehy
Set Assistant – Oliver Laurent
Special Effect Designer – Hexe Harvey

Warning: Body horror, strobing lights, coarse language
15 Minutes

A SOCIAL CONTAGION by Arthur Brown
There’s a sickness going around, one that affects previously normal young girls. In four self-contained stories, women find their lives turned upside down by the arrival of the incomprehensible. But as the sickness takes human form, their symptoms begin to lead to an inevitable transformation. And one has to wonder – is this a horror story at all?

CAST
The Worker – Premila Ganeson-Oats
The Student – Aydee Bull
The Mother – Topaz Knodel
The Contagion – Oliver Laurent

PRODUCTION TEAM
Director – Arthur Brown
Sound Design – Theodore Lloyd Blackwell
Lighting Design – Riley Sheehy
Costume Design – Nate Tonkin

Warning: Horror, body horror, mentions of blood/injury, transphobia, misogyny, allusions to violence and suicidal ideation
20 Minutes