‘Loco Maricon Amore’, or ‘Crazy Faggot Love’ in ye plain olde English, looks at the story of Salvador Dali and Federico Lorca in a devised theatre production co-presented by Metro Arts and The Danger Ensemble.

The work explains the relationship between tragedy and surrealism. It combines dance, image and song in the backdrop of a surrealist wake that mourns the loss of love and lovers.

“’Loco Maricon Amor’ isn’t about any one thing,” says artistic director of The Danger Ensemble Steven Mitchell. “It is about love and death and their interconnectedness. It is about the power of memory as death approaches, and the power of the love that survives death. It’s about the collision of tragedy and surrealism as embodied by two great artists.

“Lorca and Dali," explains Steven, "were both men who were constantly questioning the state of their own culture of art and particularly for Lorca, the political world.”

Polly Sara, who plays the role of ‘Love’, explains how the show works. “Rather than slapping on a surrealist motif on a realistic work, which I think would be easier, we’ve tried to use a surrealist process when creating the work.

“So for example, we’ve used a lot of Lorca’s writing,” she says, “we’ve looked at Salvador Dali’s artwork and tried to use that as a way of informing and generating material. We’ve also done absurdist things like word association to get ourselves out of a really logical way of thinking and use that as a way of finding a logical way of thinking.”

It might sound all too overwhelming but one thing is clear, ‘Loco Maricon Amore’ speaks to the political climate in which it exists.

“The political climate in which Dali and Lorca existed cost them their life,” says Polly. “It feels so far removed from the place in which we live in now in Brisbane and yet it’s not. People are fighting for their rights. We are slowly seeing them taken away. Our government in Queensland is just too afraid to represent its people.

"I’m not just talking about sexuality. I think Campbell Newman has revoked a lot of things. Still, I don’t want this show to be a personal attack on him because I think it’s much bigger than that. The show is asking the audience to be honest with themselves and to engage with the work in a brave and honest way.”

‘Loco Maricon Amor’ runs from August 17 to September 1 at Sue Benner Theatre, Metro Arts.

Sydney-based Afropop band Jinja Safari have just returned from touring the UK, and will soon hit the road again for a triple headline tour with Opposum and White Arrows.

The ‘Blind Date’ tour will take Jinja Safari to every Australian capital city bar Darwin throughout most of August.

“We think it’s a good idea not to tour with bands that are probably too similar in sound,” bass player Joe Citizen says, “so it’s nice that these two bands are from different parts of the world.

“It’s exciting and adds more value to the night. It’s three different bands with three different sounds that I think will gel together as a show."

Jinja Safari are about to release their debut album but Joe says he can’t give much away.

“We’re right in the thick of it. It will be finished but I can’t say much about where it’s at or where it will be. There are a lot of different things in the album, a lot of influences and a lot of styles that we’re into as a band.

"The range of sounds that we like listening to and that we like playing is scarcely represented by the amount of songs that have been released so far. The more that we keep working on these things, the more we get out of them and the more these new sounds start to come out.

“I think it still does have that Jinja Safari vibe,” Joe continues, “but there are a few curveballs. Some songs will hopefully make people sit back and maybe feel like they are listening to a different band. We would hope to surpise people a bit.”

They’ve been working on the album with New York producer Chris Zane. “The work that he has done has been really really incredible,” says Joe.

“The difference has been massive. It’s kind of funny, in relation to our own production — there is a very vast gap between the amount of stuff we can produce on our own and the level that someone like Chris Zane can take it up to. It’s kind of exciting to send it off to a real pro and get the file sent back. It just really takes it to the next level in a way that we can’t.”

Jinja Safari play The Hi-Fi on Saturday August 18.

If you’re a bartender, you can help raise funds for Queensland’s Leukaemia Foundation by being U.G.L.Y.

That is ‘understanding’, ‘generous’, ‘likeable’ and ‘you’. From July 21 bartenders across the state will battle it out for the U.G.L.Y. Bartender Of The Year honours.
One of the participants, Natalie Lehman from Grand Central Hotel, has set out to raise as much money as possible. “On their website they’ve only got me down to raise $1,000, but I’d love to get a minimum of $5,000,” Natalie says. “This is the first year I’m doing it; I haven’t heard of it before but I think it’s a great idea. My uncle passed away from cancer two years ago and we were very close. Anything I can do to help cancer patients and families is good for me because I know what it feels like to lose someone who is very precious to you.

“I’ll be shaking my tin everyday to make people give me money and let people know what the Leukaemia Foundation does.”
Leukaemia Foundation of Queensland Chief Executive Officer Bill Petch says last year 95 U.G.L.Y. Queensland bartenders participated, raising more than $190k.
“Every dollar raised helps provide vital support such as accommodation and counselling for patients and their families struggling with the ugly reality of a cancer diagnosis," Mr Petch says.

Over the last two years, the Foundation has provided more than 41,000 nights of free accommodation for Queensland patients and families requiring treatment. The competition runs until September 3, so there’s plenty of time to show off your ugly bits.