by Thomas Ingleton
This September, the Bluestone Church Arts Space in Footscray turns into a hub of dark humour and stinging social commentary with Lana Schwarz’s latest show, The Term-inator.
The award-winning western suburbs performance artist is back with another subversive look at modern life that tells a story intertwining songs and shadow puppets.
The second in Schwarcz’s trilogy of “unsellable shows”, The Term-inator is theatre about abortion and comedy.
“I was inspired by the election of Trump in 2016, and I think I saw the writing on the wall, and I just went. I don’t like the look of this, and I could see where it was going, and I was not very happy to be correct. But, ultimately he stacked the supreme court and Roe v Wade was reversed,” Schwarz said.
She explains while the show is a spectacle for entertainment purposes, the audience should walk out feeling more educated on a taboo subject.
“Yes, it’s the show I was most deeply concerned about,” she said.
“I really didn’t want to put people off, I didn’t want to create more division. I was really conscious about not making jokes about something that should be serious, it’s a subject that is very close to my heart and close to a lot of people who own a uterus’ heart and it was very important I didn’t screw it up.”
Schwarz spoke about the depiction of dark humour in the show as a tool to help flesh out the intricacies surrounding abortion.
“It’s a magnificent tool to use and it has proven to be successful in a lot of ways, and let’s not beat around the bush there are a lot of people who do get upset when you seem to be making light of something but in no way is it making light of anything, it’s finding that humour to be able to allow us to discuss the deeper things.”
Details: www.maribyrnong.vic.gov.au/arts-and-culture/Events/The-Term-inator-by-Lana-Schwarcz
