QRAVE: The Performance

"An agitation, scratching at the surface of queer histories."

A stirring performance that draws on themes of struggle and pride, across four nights QRAVE: The Performance transforms QRAVE: The Exhibition into an intimate space where truth is told under the nightlife beats, awash in the flashes of coloured light.

A solo performance by celebrated artiste, journalist and storyteller Jessi Ryan, QRAVE passionately recounts moving stories which blur the boundaries between embodied performance and graphic installation, holding space for intimate reflection and the forging of brave new connections.

“Histories are messy, never painting between the lines; more so, they are the lines which connect us to all those that have come before us, whose legacies light our way, and on whose shoulders we stand.”

What begins by the pulling of a single thread, ends in the unravelling of a rich tapestry of intersectionality. In QRAVE: The Performance, we stand in bare intimacy, with our faces to the wind, breathing new life into histories that otherwise risk fading from our collective memory.

Inspired by the individuals who have gifted QRAVE their memories of time and space, the project spans 50 years of histories that continue to emanate from the Birrarung and the City of Yarra. From the 1970s Gay Liberation Movement to the many ways tragedy struck amid Melbourne’s more recent lockdowns, these stories are retold in an hour of semi-improvised contemporary performance, physical theatre, dance and spoken word.

QRAVE: The Performance follows Ryan’s comedic debut Functional Bottom as part of Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2024. With a sold-out encore in August, it was most recently programmed by MELT Festival and toured to Brisbane Powerhouse. QRAVE: The Performance, marks a return to performance styles which have seen Ryan tour as far as India, Malaysia and Indonesia across the past decade.

As a journalist, Ryan most recently has been published by Crikey and ArtsHub. QRAVE in both its exhibition and performance draws upon their extensive history of published articles and interviews.