Movie theatres, books and comics are full of little lost orphans who depend on themselves, pluck up the courage for adventure and make a few wisecracking friends along the way. Of course, in reality, not everyone gets a happy ending.

Australian company APHIDS make a lively new space to reflect on personal and universal experiences of loss, from Melbourne to Leeds.

With the help of some familiar faces – from a wide-eyed fawn alone in the forest, to a powerful ice princess whose parents are lost at sea – this performance moves away from the idealised orphans of fairy tales to contemplate the reality of coping with bereavement, all with a sense of humour and a dash of pop culture.

Part of Transform 23 international festival.

This project was commissioned through RISING’s 2020 A Call to Artists initiative, a program supported by Creative Victoria and City of Melbourne. Commissioned and produced by RISING. Co-commissioned by Transform. This project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body, the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, the City of Melbourne and the Besen Family Foundation.

APHIDS, OH DEER!. Photo: Tommy Thoms