Amber Jones

When pop princess Britney Spears received a GLAAD award in April last year for her continued efforts in promoting equality for LGBTQIA people she said, “to be accepted unconditionally and to be able to express yourself as an individual through art is such a blessing”. In return for her ongoing support, she’s gained an extremely devoted queer following. Sometimes scary devoted. How far will her fans go to meet her? Melbourne-based artist, writer, director and filmmaker Alberto Di Troia exposes the realities behind Britney’s rhinestone-covered legacy in his upcoming show Truly Madly Britney, a part of this year’s Midsumma Festival. Adam and Steve – pun intended – are boyfriends, Savage Garden doppelgängers and die-hard Britney fans. After their Vegas meet-and-greet tickets are inexplicably cancelled, they embark on a tour of the holy sites associated with her iconic 2007 breakdown – confronting their own relationship issues along the way. “It was kind of coming out of my own obsession with Britney Spears and her 2007 breakdown,” Di Troia says. “I was aware that a lot of other gay men, like myself, were fascinated with it.” After an intensive workshop at MTC in early 2018, the play will have its premiere at Theatre Works in St. Kilda. Di Troia is thrilled that the show has found its home at Melbourne’s annual queer festival. “It means that it’s in the context of something that it needs to be and will reach the audiences that it needs to reach.” He says the show definitely isn

Melbourne-based artist Phuong Ngo used to visit his GP before embarking on one of his ten day performances. He’s choosing not to this time around, after his doctor advised against the entire project. Why might a medical professional be so concerned? Ngo intends to endure starvation, hypothermia and sleep deprivation for his piece Article 14.1, part of Sydney Festival. Over the ten days, his only objective – apart from staying alive – is to fold as many origami boats as possible, inviting the public to participate while listening to oral recordings of Vietnamese asylum seekers. The title, Article 14.1, refers to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: “Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.” Ngo concludes his ten day feat – an attempt to relive his parents’ experience of immigrating to Australia in the early 1980s – with a boat burning ceremony, recognising those lost at sea. Ngo has performed this work twice before and believes both ceremonies offered something unique. Photograph: Eugyeene Teh “The first iteration in Melbourne, the public cried a lot; especially during the fire burning ceremony. For the second time, I did a lot of crying,” he says. Ngo believes the isolation is his biggest struggle when performing the work, folding boats well after the gallery closes and into the night. “At the end of the day, the doors are closed and I’m left there alone with nothing but my paper boats to fold. And that iso