I’M READY TO TALK NOW

an experimental one-on-one piece exploring chronic illness and identity

Set inside of a hospital room, audiences experience the work one at a time, alone with the artist, as he tells the story of being diagnosed with a rare, severe and chronic immune condition - in his very first year of starting testosterone.

Through music, projection, and physical theatre, this radical act of connection blurs the lines between audience and performer, theatre and installation art, and stands boldly outside of ordinary theatrical conventions. With access as its core guiding principle, each performance can be spontaneously altered: offering relaxed performances, tactile tours, audio description and closed captions on demand. 

Audience members can leave the space at any time.


★★★★★
’Through projections that would look just as at-home in a gallery as in a theatre, I come to better understand the liminal isolation of an extended hospital stay. Via creative and intricate physical theatre, lighting and in-headphone narration, Ayres crafts a devastatingly emotional encounter that lifts the curtain on his experience as a disabled, trans theatre-maker, reorienting a tiny corner of Trades Hall into a slice of pure loneliness…In its newly expanded form, this immersive experience cements Ayres as a forward thinking creative to watch.’
- TimeOut

‘…a meditative 30 minutes as Ayres reflects on his diagnosis with a disarming honesty paired with graceful physical theatre…a technically impressive experiment into a way of relating to audiences that elevates Ayres’ vulnerability until it thrums with fragility and power in equal measure.’
- The Age

‘This is such a difficult performance to describe properly. Everything that works does so because it is meticulously crafted, and many of the techniques are so subtle. If I described it in the best way possible and someone else came in to replicate it, the show would likely fail. I’m Ready to Talk Now is the sort of audio-visual feat that might be better suited to the NGV than Fringe, will be difficult for many to experience, and worth taking the risk on.’
-Theatre Travels

'Creating art requires a level of vulnerability and openness, and with I’m Ready To Talk Now, Ayres has found a beautifully gentle but honest expression of doing so which results in a unique experience for his audience.’
-My Melbourne Arts

creative team 2023

Performed and Created by: Oliver Ayres
Designer: Gabriel Bethune
Producer: SKINT
Dramaturg: Penny Baron

creative team 2024

Performed and Created by: Oliver Ayres
Sound and Set Design: Rachel ‘Stoz’ Stone
Lighting and AV Design: Isabella ‘Iz’ Zettl
Producer: SKINT
Dramaturg and Choreographer: Penny Baron

‘What an honour to experience Ollie’s work, where every little detail is designed with intention and purpose.’

‘I will be thinking about this show for the rest of my life. Thoughtfully, lovingly, painfully, beautifully created.’

‘Ollie has created a masterful, unique piece that was truly a privilege to experience as a disabled, chronically ill theatre goer.’

‘Uniquely crafted and expressed, a show that’s as much about art making as it is the self.’

‘Ollie ushered me through an intimate journey of the intersections between disability, chronic illness, transition and complex identities. Brilliant.’

‘Powerful and honest!’

‘Everyone should see this. Everyone. A beautiful, safe space created by Ollie from start to finish. Truly a life-altering experience’

‘Oliver's work is so deeply human that, in the right moments, it crosses over to godliness.’

‘Such a thought provoking work exploring shared humanity and experiences of loss, grief and hope.’

2019

  • Discord Festival, Victorian College of the Arts, VIC, Australia

2023

  • Melbourne Fringe Festival (Fringe Hub), VIC, Australia

2024

  • FUSE Festival (Darebin City Council), VIC, Australia

  • Melbourne Fringe Festival (Fringe Hub), VIC, Australia

TOURING HISTORY

AUDIENCE TESTIMONIALS

‘Beautiful, vulnerable and intimate.’

‘Impossible to describe. Achingly beautiful and vulnerable. Changed the way I think about storytelling.’

‘A beautiful and complete moment of theatre. I don’t know that I have ever experienced anything quite like it.’

‘It didn’t matter that I was an audience of one: Oliver transported me out of that small space and into a world of inspiration, peace and beauty.’

‘I felt invited into the center of Oliver’s grief and catharsis and was deeply moved by the experience.’

‘Such an honest performance, and so well crafted - Oliver Ayres has a future in this performance medium.’

‘It was just absolutely beautiful, really stunning, very very spiritual and strong vibes and I feel really blessed and happy to seen it.’

‘I felt connected. Seen. Visible. Care. Terror. Awe. Warmth. Hope. Optimism…Oliver is a genius and you should follow his work closely.’

‘Oliver has created something so transportative, managing to say so much in so little time. It’s not something that I can honestly capture in words. It’s a window into him, but it’s also a window into you. Ollie’s presence in the room is like being held.’