The Burrow

20/06/2020

Check out some exclusive behind the scenes content.

Thanks everyone for tuning in to the premiere of ‘Escalator’!

Watch the behind the scenes Q&A with the creative team including Stephanie Gould (director), Billi Lime (performance artist/painter) and Zec Zechner (Double Vanity).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHCw62Cnzh4&feature=youtu.be

Leaps and Bounds Music Festival Billi Lime Psychic Hysteria

20/06/2020

Getting ready to launch the video for Double Vanity’s new single ‘Escalator’.

If you’re in the area, drop by for a socially distanced performance in the shopfront window at 5pm.

Otherwise jump online at 7:30pm to view the premiere on the Double Vanity Facebook as part of Leaps and Bounds Music Festival.

20/06/2020

Join us for the final weekend of Leaps and Bounds Music Festival 2020, and the final weekend of The Burrow at 83 Brunswick St in Fitzroy.

Take a stroll through the City of Yarra this afternoon and take in the first glimpse of 'Escalator' the new single and video from Double Vanity, which is screening as part of an installation in our shopfront window from 1:30pm.

Pop in at 5pm when the window comes to life with a performance from Billi Lime. We'll be watching from the street if you want to say a socially distanced farewell.

Then get comfy in front of a screen and tune in to the Double Vanity page for the premiere of the video for their new single 'Escalator' followed by a Q&A with the creative team including Zec Zechner (Double Vanity), Stephanie Gould (director) and Billi Lime (performance artist).

See you on the street and in the digital underground!

19/06/2020

We hope you'll take a stroll down Brunswick St tomorrow afternoon, to check out the installation in The Burrow window for Leaps and Bounds Music Festival.

Framed by blue velvet curtains, you can catch a sneak peak of the video for Double Vanity's new single 'ESCALATOR'.

The video features painter and dancer Billi Lime, who will bring the window to life with a live performance at 5pm.

And don't forget to tune in to the Double Vanity page at 7:30pm for the premiere of the video, as well as exclusive interviews with the creatives.

'ESCALATOR' is out now through Psychic Hysteria.

You can buy the track here: https://doublevanitymusic.bandcamp.com/track/escalator

Or stream it here: https://open.spotify.com/album/6lfSJOvR9iEjBiAphs3SG5?si=fsujuFyrQhSZTeV2BrROmQ

track by Double Vanity

10/06/2020

In case you missed it this afternoon, Triple R - 3RRR 102.7FM previewed the new Double Vanity single 'Escalator', which is out on Psychic Hysteria later this month.

Jump into the Out On The Patio on demand stream below to catch it amidst a great playlist and interviews with local artists.

And don't forget we'll be hosting the Escalator video single launch in our shopfront window and online as part of this year's Leaps and Bounds Music Festival on Saturday June 20.

Mon catches up with Sweet Whirl and Jess Ribeiro.

18/05/2020

In response to COVID-19, we closed the doors of our much-loved Fitzroy arts space in March 2020. After the subsequent loss of door-share and bar-sale income that the venue needs to survive, it is with heavy hearts that we announce that those doors will not reopen.

Since launching in 2016, we have worked tirelessly to provide a platform for independent arts practice, hosted more than 400 artists and ensembles working in a diversity of forms, and presented more than 200 events and productions.

Our aim in doing so was always to create the conditions and context for the dynamic exchange between artists and audience, which was never more present than within the sacred walls of our small performance space. Over time we built a community and each year thousands of people made their way to The Burrow, to share in unique arts experiences, and to be part of that exchange.

We received support from far and wide, as people donated what they could and came to assist with building and painting, working behind the bar and the tech desk. They took risks with us, they experimented and explored with us, they talked and sang, they drank and danced, laughed and cried and came on the journey with us—we couldn’t be more grateful.

But for all that we did manage to achieve in the last four years, we weren’t able to secure funding in order to create a sustainable base from which to operate. We ran the venue entirely on door-share and bar-sales, and didn’t pay ourselves for the countless hours we put in. The reality is that with very little support available for independent presenters and a high level of personal financial investment and risk, we must say farewell to 83 Brunswick Street.

While the loss of our small venue may seem insignificant in the wake of the greater crisis, it signals the beginning of a much larger problem faced by the arts industry in Australia. Government support has been declining for a number of years, and live performance venues, both large and small, are facing the same difficult decision that we have made.

As more of our venues close or struggle to recover from this crisis, a generation of artists will lose access to the formative experiences that these spaces provide, their work will lose the benefit of the transformative exchange that only occurs in a live context, and we will lose those diverse voices that are more important now than ever. We hope that the Government will provide the necessary support, long-term strategy and policy that is desperately needed by our industry, before it is too late.

While it is disappointing to let go of something that you have invested so much of yourself in, this is certainly not the end for The Burrow—we are out but not down. For all it is a difficult time to be working in the arts, it is what we love, and we couldn’t imagine doing anything else. We are artists and producers, space holders and place makers, facilitators and programmers. We love creating the context for performing arts to exist.

While we are saying farewell to 83 Brunswick Street, we are looking forward to welcoming a new era as The Burrow Underground; bringing communities together to share online arts experiences, creating pop-up venues and activating disused spaces, and continuing to support independent artists as producers and presenters of events, arts projects and tours.

We have a few more socially distant events to announce before we officially say farewell to Fitzroy on June 30 so watch this space, and be sure to share your memories, photos and videos of The Burrow (and Aeso Studio as it was formerly known) with us here.

We hope that you’ll follow us down the rabbit-hole on this next stage of the journey, and that you’ll continue to be part of our underground community.

x Pip & Swiss

https://www.burrowunderground.com/

03/04/2020

It’s a tough time for all, and a particularly tough day for our industry, with the announcement of the Australia Council’s four year funding round leaving many of us heartbroken and wondering what the future holds for the arts. While not directly impacted by these decisions, The Burrow is part of this fragile ecology, connected to artists and producers, festivals and venues, and we feel the changes in our environment acutely.

We don’t know what the future holds for The Burrow, but as we weather the storm and prepare for what comes next, we’re starting to look back over the past three years and can’t help but feel proud of all the people we have brought together, the experiences we’ve co-created and the incredible artists and works that we've hosted during that time.

We’ve got a lot to do in the next few months to ensure that we can continue to build on what we have created at The Burrow, and we’ll be calling on our community to help us at every step of the way. The help we need at this stage is in creating an archive of everything that we’ve housed within our walls, so that we can begin to paint a picture of what we do, how we do it, why it is important and how we might adapt to better meet the needs of our community in the future.

So, if you’ve got photos, video, audio recordings, posters or other ephemera from events at The Burrow (or Aeso Studio as we were formerly known) that you are happy to share with us, please send to [email protected] with all appropriate credits. And if you’d like to share some words about your experiences at The Burrow (or a quote we can use in funding applications) we’d be more than grateful.

Stay safe out there (while we hunker down in the underground).

xo Pip & Swiss

PS – please tag friends who might be able to help us with documentation or recordings they're happy to share.

17/03/2020

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

In the interest of the health and safety of our audiences and artists, it is with a heavy heart that we announce the temporary closure of The Burrow from Tuesday March 17 – Sunday April 19.

We are devastated by the need to make this decision, however we feel an obligation to our community to act with a social conscience, and play our part to slow the transmission of COVID-19 by limiting all non-essential gatherings and contact.

PERFORMANCE CANCELLATIONS & REFUNDS:

The temporary closure of The Burrow means the cancellation of all remaining performances of Slut by Patricia Cornelius, as well as all performances programmed as part of our Melbourne International Comedy Festival season.

We are deeply disappointed for the amazing creative teams behind Slut, One Small Trip, Man v Dog, The Bikram Blogs, Dark Web Mystery Box, Perhaps Next Time, Sit on my Face and Super Relatable Content, who have each invested an incredible amount of time, energy and skill to bring these works to life.

The decision to cancel a show is not an easy one, and the current situation has been and will continue to be the cause of financial stress for independent artists and venues, with the cancellation of events and gatherings across the country.

Ticket holders booked to attend performances and events at The Burrow over this period will be contacted and refunds offered. However we ask that if you’re in a position to do so, you consider donating the cost of your ticket to ensure that the artists can continue to create in these challenging times and to allow the doors of The Burrow to reopen when it is safe to do so.

If you are not in a position to donate the cost of your ticket at this time, we will gladly refund it. Contact us via [email protected] to organise your refund.

PLAY YOUR PART:

Go on, now play your part. We recommend keeping up-to-date and following advice from the Australian Government Department of Health, particularly regarding isolation protocol.

Stay safe. Be patient. Be gentle. Be kind. We'll see you on the other side.

x Pip & Swiss

14/03/2020

To our valued community,

The Burrow is following advice from the Australian Government and Victorian State Government regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and will continue to do so as the situation develops.

At this stage, we are not being advised to cancel shows, and all performances scheduled this week will continue as planned.

However, the health and safety of our audiences and the wider community is important to us. If you have purchased a ticket for a show this week and feel uncomfortable about attending, you are entitled to and can request a full refund. If you are unwell, we ask that you do not attend and request a refund.

We also ask you to consider the impact of event cancellations and isolation protocols on independent artists and venues. If you are unable to attend and are in a position to do so, we encourage you to pay it forward, by donating the cost of your ticket rather than requesting a refund. This small gesture on your part will help keep artists and our industry afloat in these difficult times.

Please look after yourselves and each other, and we’ll keep you posted if there are any further updates.

x Pip & Swiss

04/03/2020

A powerful indictment of misogyny from one of Australia’s most celebrated playwrights, Slut by Patricia Cornelius opens this week at The Burrow.

Inspired by true events and interviews with young women about their sexuality and the ‘slut’ label, this play is a searing exploration of the female experience that is horribly, undeniably Australian.

Season: 5 - 21 March
Time: 8pm
Tickets: $28 Full | $25 Concession

Written by Patricia Cornelius
Directed by Rachel Baring
Performed by Laura Jane Turner, Lauren Mass, Jessica Tanner and Michaela Bedel
Stage Management by Jordan Carter
Lighting by John Collopy
Sound by Daniella Esposito
Produced by Michaela Bedel and Jessica Tanner
Image by Sarah Walker

There are only a handful of tickets remaining for performances this weekend and the season is filling up fast, so be sure to book your tickets via the link below.

Slut is a powerful, ensemble-lead piece written by one of Melbourne’s most celebrated feminist playwrights. It explores important contemporary issues surrounding female identity, gender and internalised misogyny, made especially pertinent with current conversations surrounding the movement ...