ACOCo: Endure

ENDURE by ACOCo

You’ll enter the glorious domed foyer, be shown to an office space on the ground floor, and take your seat to bear witness to a procession of people dealing with bureaucratic process in seeking a Visa*.

Starring Emily Burke, Heather Fletcher and Christopher Hillier alongside emerging artists from Australia and UK, this 20 minute piece is repeated on the half hour for a non-stop six hours. Stay for 20mins or 1 hour – or longer, if you’re transfixed. If ever you wanted to introduce your friends to contemporary opera without the triple-figure time or cash outlay – this it it!

​The customer service face of policy – ‘The Secretary’ – meets people who are crying out for help. One by one they are told that they need to come back with another document.  Scenes blurring timelines between 1950 and 2023, deal with genuine frustration and incomprehension in the face of immovable policy: “computer says no”.  Despite obstacles, the human spirit continues to be driven by hope, empathy and kindness, with operatic storytelling dialling the emotional impact to 11.

​*While ENDURE explores the story of one person desperately seeking a visa, within its broader themes are numerous situations where policy prevails over humanity.