HE
2020 / The Old Ambulance Station, Nambour. QLD / - Part of Fluorescent Festival
2022 / LaMama Theatre. Melbourne / - Part of Exploration Festival
A man returns to his childhood home, a small coastal town in post-civil war El Salvador— a place he swore to the ocean he’d never set foot in again.
HE is a coming-of-age tragedy about the treacherous waters of masculinity, homophobia, and love. About dad, the war, mum, the moon, the shadows of the past… still lingering. A story about sex, sin, Jesús, and the ocean
Conceived, written and performed by Salvadoran-Australian theatre practitioner Rodrigo Calderón Tobar, HE is physical, vivid and delirious storytelling, with a cumbia heart-beat.
50% of the earnings of this show will be donated to Nana Margarita, an indigenous woman and community leader from El Salvador, working for the preservation of ancient traditional practices and cultural memory. Unfunded, and fighting against political and religious discrimination, her community is building a Temazcal— a pre-Hispanic ceremonial space for communal practices: gatherings, improving health, and for women to give birth. Click here.
“I was lucky enough to witness Rodrigo Calderón’s outstanding performance… His performance was nothing short of virtuosic (both physically and vocally) and the passion which he brought to the work was something that is unfortunately far too rare in Australia.”
Dr. Lynne Bradley | Artistic Director – Horizon Festival
Conceived, written, staged, and performed Rodrigo Calderón
Dramaturgical consultations Edgardo Dib, Matthew Crosby and Damien Miller
Provocateur Kendra Keller
Design consultation Lara Week
Photographer Daisy Et