F*CKING ANCIENT comes to Adelaide Fringe Festival

Maggie McCormack (Marriage, Hearth Theatre; The Will, Anthropocene Play Company) became tormented and obsessed with not aging in her late teens. Botox, lasers, skincare, wigs, fasting, and even a few trips to the plastic surgeon, all while embarking on a spiritual journey that took her in the opposite direction. Towards its timelessness as a soul.

F*CKING ANCIENT features true stories (slightly edited) from Maggie’s real life, weaving together comedic tales of her career as a podiatrist where she works with dying elderly people, her longing for love and deep knowledge that there must be something beyond this physical body.

Maggie says “I sincerely hope that the public will feel inspired to accept themselves and appreciate their bodies as the incredible vehicles they drive through this life. Body positivity, body neutrality, we are inundated with a myriad of mantras and of affirmations to convince ourselves that we are beautiful. As a lover of ALL things that get better, my goal is to explore these themes with humor and without judgment. This piece asks what kind of internal psychic shift profound must occur to transmute the standard platitudes of beauty into real self-acceptance.”

Ngaire Dawn Fair, director of The Village Bike, Red Stitch Actors Theatre, MYLK and member of the Red Stitch ensemble (you may also know him as “The Ford Girl” and many film and television roles) directs and says “Creating a digital theater show during the pandemic was uncharted territory. It’s a play, but we’re filming it – but it’s not a movie – we still want you to feel to witness something live. It shouldn’t seem over-edited. It’s powerful, joyful, and moving because of Maggie’s bubbly personality, personal story, and raw, tour-de-force performance. “

In 2006, Maggie and Ngaire met at the National Theater Drama School (St Kilda, Melbourne) three-year Acting Diploma program. It was here that Maggie got the thrill of performing a one woman show for their third year of assessment. At the time, his chosen comedic subject was his profession as a podiatrist as well as his tragic banter with French men.

Maggie dreamed of developing a complete one-woman show and since their meeting, they have always wanted to collaborate. Fifteen years later, on Zoom, in a pandemic, they conceived, rehearsed, and when the borders opened up, Maggie was able to fly to Los Angeles and film the show for the digital strand of The Adelaide Fringe Festival, in only three days.

For this production, Maggie and Ngaire are joined by lighting, sound, editor and DOP Ben Prendergast.

On this exciting new digital platform, F*CKING ANCIENT can be purchased and viewed from anywhere in the world.

“The Crone cannot expect to be accepted without first accepting herself…the silenced Crone cannot demand a place in a society where she helped exile this archetype. you let her in and feast on the banquet of your holy life experience or…let her starve in the hope that the maiden and the mother…will return one day.” -Anabel Vizcarra

Performances take place from February 18 to March 20, 2022.

Reservations: https://adelaidefringe.com.au/search/events?keyword=f*cking+ancient