HOW CAN WE FIND LIGHT IN THE DARK?

ARTIST: AINSLEE PALMER
PROJECT: READY OR NOT (RON)
PROJECT PARTNERS: HOTA HOME OF THE ARTS: HOTA HOUSE MATES INITIATIVE, REGIONAL ARTS DEVELOPMENT FUND GOLD COAST, WHITE RABBIT THEATRE, JUTE THEATRE COMPANY: DARTS INITIATIVE, BULMBA-JA ARTS CENTRE, LUX NOIR, ST LUKE’S AND PERSEVERANCE STREET.
DOCUMENTATION: ELLAMAY FITZGERALD, VIVID VISUAL CO.

Imagine it’s 1999, Destiny’s Child is pumping, and fairy bread is the #1 party snack…are you ready to play Musical Chairs?

Ready or Not is a theatrical retelling of the legacy that remains when innocence is taken away.

In Ready or Not Ainslee finds her voice in the character of Darling, a voiceless woman yearning for conversation.

Ready or Not is a highly physical, deeply personal fever dream of birthday parties, horse races and Stepfordwives, and an honest and often moving interrogation of what is left behind once ‘closed doors’ are opened.

Whilst the games and sunny dispositions of Ready or Not play with the audience’s imagination, the real game is in prompting the audience to consider the secrets we keep, the stories we survive, and the light that can still shine through into the darkest of places.

Ainslee worked with performance mentor Leah Shelton and director Lisa Smith to craft Ready or Not into a three night pilot season at HOTA in April 2024. The work went on to tour regional Queensland in late 2024 as part of Jute Theatre Company’s DARTS program with sold out performances at Bulmba-Ja Arts Centre in Cairns, Lux Noir in Townsville, St Luke’s in Bundaberg and Perseverance Street in Gympie.