Asher Treleaven - Secret Door

A comically theatrical romp against blokishness

This article is from 2010.

Via ‘the sweet filth of John Waters, the dark, strange wrongness of David Lynch’, and a near-encounter with the secret theatre for madmen, Asher Treleaven grapples with the question, ‘what maketh the man?’ This is the core of his ‘anarchic romp through the minefield of sexual identity’, Secret Door. ‘The issue of masculinity is important because in Australia and, I believe, in the UK, it’s a very simplistic, follow-the-herd idea that is enforced with growing violence and a strong animosity toward difference and self-expression. For Treleaven, he is concerned that the herd is trying to scare and pressure others to be like them.

‘It shits me that I can’t walk down the street in most Australian cities late at night without worrying about being hassled for dressing a certain way. I find it distressing that drinking, violence and obesity are all normal for most masculine cultures, in the UK and overseas. Basically, most men are jerks and I want to make fun of them and their violent stupidity.’ A graduate of the Australian National Institute of Circus Arts and a lover of the burlesque, naughty and surreal, Treleaven was once flagellated onstage to ‘Private Dancer’. This ‘average, pound-shop dandy’ cannot help but intrigue.

Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 7–30 Aug (not 10, 17), 8.40pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9). Previews 4–6 Aug, £5.