First Seen: Zebracorn by Hanna Cormick

In medical training, doctors are taught "when you hear hoofbeats, think horses not zebras", to prevent overdiagnosis of rare conditions when a common one is more likely, but rare disease patients are falling through the cracks.

In her late-20’s, living in Paris, Hanna becomes profoundly ill with a series of mysterious and rare medical conditions. This young adventuress is forced to return to Canberra, confined to living in a sealed room, trapped in a confrontation with her past and the rapid unravelling of her body, and at the mercy of an immune system that has become so alien the outside world could kill her. Intimate personal stories invite us into the hidden and denied realms of disability, weaving through landscapes of rage, sex, shame, death, beauty and ugliness.

ZEBRACORN is a physical- theatre video-art fantasia, taking us on kaleidoscopic journeys into the underbelly of chronic illness and rare disease; what it’s like living a life that can often feel closer to science fiction than reality, what it feels like to grieve for yourself, how your relationship changes when your lover becomes your carer. Moving from the personal to the political, reclaiming the right to a body, and the very right to be seen.

HANNA CORMICK

Hanna Cormick is a performance artist with a background in physical theatre, dance, circus and interdisciplinary art. She is a graduate of Ecole Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq (Paris),and Charles Sturt University's Acting for the Screen and Stage degree (honours class 1), as well as having trained with Ecole des Arts Chinois du Spectacle (Paris), Thomas Richards and Mario Biagini (the Grotowski Center, ARTA Paris), and Pan Théâtre (The Roy Hart Centre, Malerargues). Her performance practice has spanned close to a hundred productions over twenty years, with performances in Australia, Europe and Asia. For her recent performance artwork, The Mermaid, she was a finalist for the National Disability Leadership Award (Arts), and the ACT Chief Minister's Inclusion Award (Young Leader). Other recent works include Little Monsters, for Art, Not Apart, and Canary, for Climate Change Theatre Action 2019. Her current practice is a reclamation of body through radical visibility.      

Cast: Lloyd Allison-Young, Christopher Samuel Carroll, Chloe Martin

Theatremaker:  Hanna Cormick

Zebracorn is a fragrance free zone. Please refrain from wearing perfume, aftershave, scented lotions, fragranced hair products, and/or similiar products.

Read More: BMA (Hanna) | BMA (Zebracorn)

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About First Seen

Ever wondered about the steps a writer takes to develop works for the theatre? Or how new plays and performance works are chosen for upcoming seasons?

The ever popular FIRST SEEN: new works-in-progress offers Canberra audiences the opportunity to be part of our creative process helping The Street  progress performance works to production-ready stage. First Seen offers a unique insight into development and is a vital part of our planning for future years as we seek to bring original and diverse Canberra stories to the stage.

Each writer has a dedicated workshop offering time, space, support, and expertise.  Canberra audiences (that's you) are given the opportunity to participate in the development process through the public showings where we open up the floor for a conversation with playwright, director, dramaturg and the actors. By sharing your thoughts with the creative teams you help assist us progress the works to production and get a sneak peek into Canberra’s ingenious artistic community.

FIRST SEEN is a major investment in new ACT work and is supported by the ACT Government through artsACT.