Theatre / Mikelangelo In The Belly of the Whale by Michael Simic, and Ichor by John Fabry. At The Courtyard Studio until October 11. Reviewed by GRACE CASSIDY.

This week, two stories are taking over the same stage. In one, a musician navigates fatherhood while grappling with the ghosts of his childhood. In the other, a man discovers who he is when he’s not part of the collective.

We’re kicking off the first week of The Independents – Festival of New Works with a genre-defying double billing at the Courtyard Studio.

The evening begins with Mikelangelo In The Belly of the Whale, a show that toes the line between a work of theatre and a concert.

Michael Simic, who co-created the show with Tracy Bourne, takes to the stage with a bevy of instruments. Armed with an accordion, a guitar, a clarinet, and a spectacular red coat, Simic invites the audience on a journey through his childhood and on a voyage with his eccentric alter ego, Mikelangelo.

For one hour, Simic is two people. He is himself, a father trying to do his best for his children, but he is also the eccentric, seafaring Mikelangelo, encountering whales, giant squids and teaching the audience how to sing sea shanties.

There’s much to be admired about Mikelangelo In The Belly of the Whale – the music, Simic’s exploration of the balance between an artist’s true self and his alter ego, the way he deftly makes a rehearsed performance feel more like a chat among friends.

But my favourite part, by far, was the exploration of Simic’s childhood. In a compelling recount, Simic invites the audience into a few of his core memories, revealing a complicated relationship with his father. It’s pivotal, and well performed, but far too brief. Simic is a talented musician, so it’s understandable that his love of telling stories through song dominates the show, but his skills as an actor and a narrator are just as compelling. It would have been nice to see more of them.

The second performance of the night is Ichor by John Fabry. A physical theatre work, the show centres on Fabry and his castmates Matteo Panucci, Bayley Prendergast, Anthony King and Callum Stephens.

Together, they deliver an engaging, well-choreographed performance as a hissing, huffing, primordial group of men. Through movement, vocalisation and percussion, and complemented by excellent sound and lighting design, Ichor appears to dissect how men behave when they are alone compared to when they are together.

When one breaks away from the others, he is dynamic, curious and unselfconscious. As a group, they are aggressive, animalistic, and they move as one. It’s an intriguing work, but some of its more repetitive moments tend to drag. A slightly shorter runtime could lend to a stronger performance overall.

At first glance, Ichor and Mikelangelo In The Belly of the Whale seem like an unlikely pairing. If we’re going by genre and target audience, they couldn’t be more different, but thematically they occupy a similar space, with both works providing different examinations of identity and masculinity. While seeing both in one evening isn’t obligatory, it does, at the very least, create an interesting juxtaposition.

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