Please Wait Here
All Ages
1 October - 2 October
Thursday
1st October
Friday
2nd October
Yagan Square
40 minutes
Born in a Taxi
Free event
High-status, restrained and ridiculous, three security guards turn queuing and crowd control into an art form! Subverting status, passers-by are seduced, corralled, and sorted, turning the collective act of waiting and queuing into a series of interactive games that get increasingly absurd.
Lines are drawn and crossed, rules are made and broken, audiences are invited, and coercion into a participatory performance, uniting an audience of strangers in the spirit of play.
Company Biography
Established in 1989, Born in a Taxi is led by artistic directors Carolyn Hanna and Penny Baron. An independent, artist-run and award-winning physical theatre company whose artists are internationally recognised as masters of improvisation. Producing original, physically driven and participatory works in theatres, site-specific and outdoor contexts, that focus on real-time co-creation.
Born in a Taxi are in a perpetual state of research and discovery, uncovering deeper nuances in the relationship between performer, audience and place. Through the mediums of dance, theatre, live art, visual art, improvisation and sound.
Renowned for their immediacy, responsiveness, and playful interaction with their audience, Taxi increasingly shares their methodologies through teaching at institutions including VCA and Monash University and since 2014 have begun turning their expertise to social impact projects - big ideas through deep engagement. Their social and environmental projects have created partnerships with Zoos Victoria, Health Issues Centre, Council of the Ageing and RMIT.
In 2019 Taxi performed 150 works at home and abroad and celebrated its 30th anniversary. In 2024/25, they are developing multigenerational work Prime Time and touring their new children's work Velveteen Rabbit nationally.
Accessibility Guide
Lighting and Sound
Total blackout (audience)
Lighting level
Flashing lights
Loud sounds
Repetitive noises
Drums
High-pitched tones
Unexpected sounds
Background Music
Interactivity and Participation
Children invited on stage
There is no stage, and the audience is invited to join in playful activities.
Artist goes into audience
Sometimes we interact with the audience, but since we perform in the street, our style is informal.
Manual activity (e.g. read, draw, sing, paint, construct things)
Participants need to read along because the performers use signs to explain the games, since the characters do not speak.
Undertake direct movement
This approach relies on each person's abilities and never asks anyone to do something they are unable to do.
Participation in groups/pairs
Some games are with a group of strangers.
Parent/carer can support in participation
Capacity for a child slower in their movements to participate
Senses, Emotions and Effects
Distinctive smells
Special effects
Textures
Balloons
Characters express anger
Dialogue driven
Props
Attention Span
Intermission/break
Introduction
Children need to sit in one place
Appropriate to make noise/move around
