HUMAN ACTIVITY by Katie Pollock
@ KXT ON BROADWAY, Sep 2023
Director Suzanne Millar, Production Design Soham Apte, Lighting Design Benjamin Brockman, Sound Design Jessica Pizzinga
Assistant Director Charlie Vaux, Stage Managers Andrew McMartin, Producers John Harrison & Neel Bannerjee. Images David Hooley.
Cast Claudette Clarke, Phil Lye, Atharv Kolhatkar, Trishala Sharma, Katherine Shearer, Teresa Tate Britten, Karina Bracken, Madhu Singh, Mason Phourimath, Josephine Gazard. Presented by bAKEHOUSE Theatre Company & Nautanki theatre
Commissioned by bAKEHOUSE as part of bACE - the bAKEHOUSE Artistic and Cultural Exchange
REVIEWS
“Shearer and Sharma are most at home in their characters, and the play seems to know it: when focused on their intersecting journeys, Human Activity is at its strongest.”
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD / CASSIE TONGUE
“There are ten actors. Katherine Shearer plays the homeless woman and has the most opportunity to demonstrate acting skills. She is excellent.”
SYDNEY ARTS GUIDE / DAVID KARY
“Memorable performances include actors Trishala Sharma and Katherine Shearer who bring valuable dramatic intensity to two women whose lives intersect, finding common ground where it had seemed completely unlikely.” SUZY GOES SEE / SUZY WRONG
“Shearer stunningly and energetically gives a genuinely authentic portrayal of the homeless who sleep on our streets, completely transporting us.”
THEATRE THOUGHTS AUSTRALIA / NATANIA MCLEOD
Vivid images remain, however, especially Karina Bracken’s impudent cockatoo and, as the beaten but not broken Jana, Katherine Shearer’s heart-wrenching revelations of why she’s on the street in – of all destinations – Angel Place. Recommended.”
STAGE NOISE / DI SIMMONDS
“As Jana, an unhoused woman sleeping rough on the streets of the CBD, Katherine Shearer delivers a searing monologue reflecting on the impossible situation faced by any woman who becomes trapped in an abusive relationship. She is trying to offer support to Arti, who arrived off a train without much more than a sock full of cash and an elusive medical appointment. Jana is putting together the pieces of what is happening at home for Arti and, as she speaks, the line between where Arti’s story ends and hers begins becomes increasingly muddled. It's a piercing comment on the pervasiveness of domestic violence.”
TIME OUT SYDNEY / ALANNAH LE CROSS
“A constant in the production is Jana, the homeless woman who emerges from the bundle of blankets. Strong despite her situation – nay, because of it – Jana is belligerently vocal but caring and wise. Katherine Shearer finds that strength and wisdom in the Jana she plays. She gives her a vitality and energy that spurs her and infects those around her..”
STAGE WHISPERS / CAROL WIMMER
“Sharma and Shearer, in particular, shine as Arti and Jana; their desperation and unlikely connection forming the heart of connection that Pollock espouses through her script.” PULP / SANDRA KALLARAKKAL
”The standout performance for me was from the homeless woman sleeping on the streets Jana played by Katherine Shearer. She was exquisite in her energy and delivery. The monologue she delivers at the end to Arti played with empathy by Trishala Sharma was truly one I will not easily forget. This was the moment I sat forward and was completely lost in her energy. The line “You’re in a war zone disguised as your living room” gave me goosebumps and there was a harsh silence amongst the audience at this very moment. Sharma and Shearer worked beautifully together and to me were like mirror images of each other. There were differences but the similarities were glaringly obvious.” THEATRE TRAVELS / NOLA BARTOLO
“One of the most powerful scenes in the play is a duologue between Jana and Arti. Arti is in pain, a danger to herself, and Jana embraces her to force her to stop. They crouch together on stage as Jana attempts to talk her down. Throughout the scene, though, as Jana gauges the extent of violence Arti faces and still plans to return to, Jana retaliates and tells Arti not to return… Jana asserts that they aren’t so different, and that under abusive conditions, “you get smaller and smaller until you can fit your whole life in a plastic bag”.
HONI SOIT / KATARINA BUTLER
"Ms Shearer in a fully committed and rigorous performance has transformed herself quite startingly to create for us. Like many a young artist in Sydney, Ms Shearer is showcasing her own talents, using her own resources, not waiting to be 'found', but getting on with it, and doing it. One can feel obliged, sometimes, to just get on board with these aspiring and yearning artists, and support them. One wishes the principal companies e.g. The Sydney Theatre Company & Belvoir, for instance, had the policy to hunt out these shows and find these artists who are risking more than their talents to be seen."
— RIP Kevin. Thank you for the kind words and teachings.
Kevin Jackson, Theatre Diary, BITCH BOXER, OLD 505 THEATRE 2015.
ACTING SHOWREEL
“ Actors make good collaborators as they often care deeply about being represented in ways authentic to their own experience and want to create content to match.”
Selected Theatre Reviews
"Ms Shearer in a fully committed and rigorous performance has transformed herself quite startingly to create for us. Like many a young artist in Sydney, Ms Shearer is showcasing her own talents, using her own resources, not waiting to be 'found', but getting on with it, and doing it. One can feel obliged, sometimes, to just get on board with these aspiring and yearning artists, and support them. One wishes the principal companies e.g. The Sydney Theatre Company & Belvoir, for instance, had the policy to hunt out these shows and find these artists who are risking more than their talents to be seen."
Kevin Jackson, Theatre Diary, BITCH BOXER, OLD 505 THEATRE 2015
"Katherine Shearer is a suitably beautiful Dementia and an equally beguiling Rivera. Another splendid scene occurs between Shearer and Miller when Galactia won’t be rescued by the benevolence of a critic who thinks she’s far too clever – a scene that struck uncomfortably at my heart!" http://lisathatcher.com/2014/05/20/scenes-from-an-execution-tooth-and-sinew-belt-us-with-a-rich-serve-of-howard-barker-theatre-review/
"Katherine Shearer, as Dementia, one of Galactia’s daughters, is strong and as Rivera, the critic, even better." Daily review crikey
Rollicking Berkoff rendition with a perfectly filthy female lead.
"Shearer was absolutely divine throughout, with both her characters consistently displaying their own physical and vocal quirks." http://ff.moobaa.com/?p=5016
"The performances by Katherine Shearer and Rowan McDonald are tremendous. They play two couples, one upper class and one lower. And these twin characterisations are superbly playful" https://theatrered.wordpress.com/tag/katherine-shearer/
.."experienced, engaging actors .. who each perform two characters; a script oozing with striking imagery and authentic, well-drawn characters.The acting is certainly committed and physical, particularly an amusingly orgiastic hunting frenzy” (Katherine Shearer) http://staging.ripitup.com.au/lifestyle/article/review-decadence#.VRktSyjF_zI"
“Shearer excels in both her class roles utilising sexuality and an amazing array of facial expressions." http://www.thebarefootreview.com.au/menu/theatre/119-2014-adelaide-reviews/881-decadence.html
“Katherine Shearer’s infectious playfulness endears her instantly to the audience. There is an old-fashioned sensibility to her mode of performance which is full of allure, and perfectly suited to the era in which the action is set. She brings a joy to the stage, providing a welcome counterbalance to the dark cynicism of the writing.” http://suzygoessee.com/2013/12/04/decadence-apriori-projects/
“Serhat Caradee’s direction is deceptively simple and very effective, and Rowan McDonald and Katherine Shearer both deliver outstanding performances.” "http://theatrefromthebackseat.blogspot.com.au/2013_12_01_archive.html"
“Shearer and McDonald switch between characters without missing a beat... they slouch and swagger as the nouveau riche... only to stiffen and grow disdainful as the upper class....slathered in butter and devoured by Katherine Shearer” http://yaniblog.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/fringe-decadence.html
“Berkoff writes these privileged upper-class twits as grotesque caricatures, and rather than play against that, or try to humanise the characters in any way, Shearer and McDonald embrace their monstrous nature wholeheartedly. Every aspect of their facial expression or line delivery is exaggerated and somewhat larger than life, whilst still being varied and nuanced.” http://www.theatreguide.com.au/current_site/reviews/reviews_detail.php?ShowID=decadence&ShowYear=2014
“In the stand-out performance of the night, Katherine Shearer’s Amanda gives a strong portrait of a hard working, controlling, conservative woman.”
http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-glass-menagerie-the-genesian-theatre-sydney-australia/
“The complex, contradictory Amanda Wingfield is one of the great roles of the American theatre. Katherine Shearer truly inhabits this intriguing matriarchal monster, finding a natural dynamic across all her swings and shifts. Her determined grip on fantasy is potent, while her second act transformation, to once again become the Southern belle, is a joy. Shearer’s Amanda is an unintentional monster, naïve, with only the best of misguided intentions for her children. She also finds the pathos of a woman bound to the past, deserted, and destined to be deserted again.”
http://www.stagewhispers.com.au/reviews/glass-menagerie"
“Katherine Shearer is compelling for the restraint she shows as Curley's faithless wife: rather than play a full-on Monroesque seductress, she taunts with feigned (or perhaps real) innocence, rather than girly coyness. But one button on her blouse too many left undone and a certain languid posture carries the role."
http://www.australianstage.com.au/201006143591/reviews/sydney/of-mice-and-men-%7C-epicentre-theatre-company.html?directory=3
"Katherine Shearer's Di, who is dynamic and mischievous"
Suzy Goes See on Brad Checked In. http://suzygoessee.com/2013/08/29/spring-comedy-double-bill-blancmange-productions-sydney-theatre-review/
