P’rea Press released The Land of Bad Dreams, a new collection of dark poetry and prose by Kyla Ward, in September. To promote the collection, on the day of its release at the World Bar in Kings Cross, Sydney, local performance artists were invited to interpret six poems from the collection, and the performances were filmed.
Six performance groups, including the infamous Surgical Sideshow and members of the Theatre of Blood, were each invited to interpret a piece from the collection. Filmed with an awestruck live audience, the results are unlike any poetry reading or cabaret you have ever witnessed!
Burlesque enchantress Venus Vamp rose impressively to the challenge. “I love performing on nights that are different, especially responding to some kind of art form!”
The fame of the print edition continues to spread: Sheila M. Merritt at Hellnotes (the review) says “The multiple contents of this P’rea Press compilation display the talents of a writer spreading her creative wings – and soaring.”
Christian Read, author of The Eldritch Kid graphic novels says “I don’t know poetry, rhymes and scansion and that sort of thing are outside my experience. But a turn of phrase you could flense with, a delicious image, a sense of humour that wears a black hood, these are things I understand.”
Leigh Blackmore, president of the Australian Horror Writers Association, says “The Land of Bad Dreams is a haunting collection. It deserves a place alongside the works of Angela Carter, Joyce Carol Oates, Tanith Lee, Mirra Lokhvitskaya, and Leonora Carrington, but Ward’s voice is all her own.”
You can view these special video presentations here: The Land of Bad Dreams
