I’m Ready To Talk Now

I'm Ready To Talk Now

Created by Oliver Ayres

Produced by SKINT

Lighting & AV Design by Iz Zettl

Sound & Set Design by STOZ

​​★★★★★​
’A forward thinking creative to watch.’ - TimeOut

​​★★★★
’Calls for more compassion between us all while exemplifying what this can look like in practice’ - The Scotsman

​​★★★★
’A gentle, radical kind of care’ - Fest Mag

​​★★★★
’Innovative, empathetic, and profoundly human’ - North Westend UK

​​★★★★
’Disarmingly intimate and unavoidably involving, 'I’m Ready to Talk Now' is a gently whirring empathy machine’ - The Arts Desk

‘You cannot look away’ - The Guardian

‘An out-of-body experience … He has a gift for paying attention’ - Lyn Gardner, Stagedoor

‘A disarming honesty paired with graceful physical theatre’ - The Age

After back to back, award-winning and sold-out Melbourne Fringe seasons, Oliver Ayres brings his solo performance art piece I’m Ready To Talk Now to Edinburgh for its UK premiere.

Set inside of a hospital room, audiences experience the work one at a time, alone with the artist, as he tells the story of being diagnosed with a rare, severe and chronic immune condition - in his very first year of starting testosterone.

Through music, projection, and physical theatre, this radical act of connection blurs the lines between audience and performer, theatre and installation art, and stands boldly outside of ordinary theatrical conventions.

With access as its core guiding principle, each performance can be spontaneously altered: offering relaxed performances, tactile tours, audio description and captioning on demand. Audience members can leave the space at any time.

Photos by Iz Zettl

AWARDS

WINNER - Best Experimental, Melbourne Fringe 2024

WINNER - Change Maker Award, Presented by Theatre Network Australia, Melbourne Fringe 2024

NOMINEE - Best Work By An Emerging Artist, Melbourne Fringe 2024

NOMINEE - Best Experimental, Melbourne Fringe 2023

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TESTIMONIALS

  • ‘I will be thinking about this show for the rest of my life. Thoughtfully, lovingly, painfully, beautifully created.’

  • ‘What an honour to experience Oliver's work, where every little detail is designed with intention and purpose.’

  • ‘Oliver has created a masterful, unique piece that was truly a privilege to experience as a disabled, chronically ill theatre goer.’

  • ‘Uniquely crafted and expressed, a show that’s as much about art making as it is the self.’

  • ‘Everyone should see this. Everyone. A beautiful, safe space created by Oliver from start to finish. Truly a life-altering experience’

  • ‘Such a thought provoking work exploring shared humanity and experiences of loss, grief and hope.’

  • ‘I felt connected. Seen. Visible. Care. Terror. Awe. Warmth. Hope. Optimism…Oliver is a genius and you should follow his work closely.’

  • ‘I felt invited into the center of Oliver’s grief and catharsis and was deeply moved by the experience.’

  • ‘Impossible to describe. Achingly beautiful and vulnerable. Changed the way I think about storytelling.’

Performance History:

2023:

Melbourne Fringe 2023, Supported by The Melbourne Fringe Cash To Create (Progress Showing)

2024:

Darebin FUSE Festival, Proudly supported by the Darebin City Council's FUSE Fund Program (Development Season)

Melbourne Fringe 2024, Supported by The Melbourne Fringe Cash To Create

2025:

Next Wave, Self Presented by SKINT

Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe, Producing in collaboration with QuietRIOT

Interested in Programming I’m Ready To Talk Now?