It’s been a long time since I’ve seen something that defies expectation and definition in the way that Joseph Franklin’s new work The Horror of the Avant-Garde(s) did in its one-off performance at Chapter House’s Alpha 60.

The piece, a collaboration between Franklin and creatives including Conductor Elliott Gyger and Art Director Tina Stefanou, worked tirelessly and viscerally to take the audience out of themselves and into something sometimes borrowed, sometimes new – a gutsy, complicated, and occasionally overwrought experience that engaged all the senses.

Horrors of the Avant Garde(s). Photo © Tina Stefanou

It was a little more, I think, like walking into a contemporary art exhibition, or some experimental musical theatre, than the usual concert-going experience. For that alone, for that commitment to creating something new, the large team of creators should be deeply commended.

From a structural perspective, the evening could be split into three sections: the world-building of entering into the space, which featured refreshments (“spooky tea” in champagne flutes) and snacks (pies, savoury or sweet!) by Long Prawn, a projection of a huge beating heart conducting from the wall, and a cohort of excellent Melbourne musicians...