Head | Thorax | Abdomen, at La Mama Courthouse

Three outlandish, revelatory stories told to an unseen voice, who pushes those in the proverbial hot seat to go on, to say more.

At first these tall tales appear unrelated and yet, as more and more is revealed, the threads start to weave together.

They intersect and congeal.

The yarns capture our attention and imagination from the get go.

Photos by Darren Gill

Head | Thorax | Abdomen is an intense, psychosexual thriller, tragic and darkly comedic.

Here is but the starting point for each strand.

Wendy’s (Amy Moule) husband makes faces and a specific sound while they are having sex, which is decidedly off-putting for her.

Isha (Emily Carr), who appears to be a prostitute, decides that she will no longer engage in pretend laughter. 

David (Tim Wortherspoon) is stuck in a stairwell with no way out, but has no recollection of how he got there.

What makes Head | Thorax | Abdomen so compelling is not only its focus on the bizarre and extreme, but its intensity of performance.

There is a total belief in what the players are selling and that gets down to strong acting from Moule, Carr, Wotherspoon and the listener/provocateur, Chris Tomkins.

They channel lust, frustration, anger, disappointment and satisfaction. 

Writer and director James Hazelden is playing with our minds in what is a surreal mystery, in which we are challenged to try to put the pieces together.

The name of the play emerged in unusual circumstances during a Melbourne hot spell.

Hazelden had accidentally dropped a small piece of apple into his computer keyboard and the keyboard became infested with ants.

And so Head | Thorax | Abdomen, the three parts of the insect (reflective of three interconnected stories), was born. 

Staging, just three small boxes on a bare stage, on and around which the trio of protagonists work, suits the piece perfectly.

It is complemented by creatively focused lighting and sound design by Allan Hirons.

Head | Thorax | Abdomen is a step off the deep end that requires concentration to follow.

Embrace its twists and you will be rewarded. 

Seventy minutes without interval, it is playing at La Mama Courthouse until 26^th April, 2026.