Fusion Theatre brings The Weathering to Theatre Works this October as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival, delivering a raw exploration of climate crisis through physical theatre, original sound, projection and puppetry.
The planet’s breaking down, extreme weather is ramping up, and one of Melbourne’s most inclusive theatre companies is turning it all into something urgent and alive.
Directed by Darcy McGaw and Jo Raphael, The Weathering blends experimental theatre with urgent environmental themes, turning survival into art. The performance moves between moments of turbulence and stillness, destruction and rebirth, creating a vision of environmental breakdown through movement and sound, with performers embodying the physical force of extreme weather while finding strength amid catastrophe.
It also centres voices often excluded from environmental conversations, with a diverse ensemble of 24 artists, the majority of whom identify as people living with disability.
The Weathering
- What: Physical theatre exploring climate crisis through inclusive performance
- Where: Theatre Works, St Kilda
- When: 16, 17, 18 October, 7.30pm
- How much: $28-$40
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An act of resistance
The Weathering positions itself as an act of resistance and regeneration, merging scientific reality with artistic storytelling. By centering performers with disability in conversations about the climate crisis, Fusion Theatre is challenging who gets to speak about environmental catastrophe and survival. The hour-long performance will explore how communities respond to ecological disaster, finding moments of hope and laughter even as the world crumbles around them.
The Weathering runs for three nights only during Melbourne Fringe Festival, which returns from 30 September to 19 October across multiple venues.
Fusion Theatre’s immense pedigree
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Fusion Theatre has been creating original work for 28 years, co-founded in 1997 by disabled artist Alex Litsoudis and artistic director Jo Raphael. The company operates with actors with disability on the governing board, with ensemble members collectively deciding creative direction. Their radically accessible practice includes integrating support workers into the core artist collective, breaking down participation barriers for those who might not otherwise access the arts.
The ensemble represents diverse backgrounds including cultural and linguistic diversity, neurodiversity, and members with disability. This production marks another chapter in Fusion Theatre’s commitment to boundary-pushing work that centres marginalised perspectives in conversations about global crises.
Theatre Works in St Kilda hosts this limited season, with Auslan interpretation and audio description available for select performances. The venue is wheelchair accessible and the production is described as having no language barrier.
For more information, head here.
This article was made in partnership with Fusion Theatre.
