By Ben Ashby. a2 Company. Sydney Fringe 2026. New Theatre. 16 – 19 September, 2026

Reviewed : 16 September *

It’s a “Fringe Pick” according to Festival Director Patrick Kennedy, who describes Motion Sickness as “a heavy blend of pulsing electronic music, immersive AV and breakneck-speed new writing”.

It’s loud and very fast. It hits the senses in a three-way immersive confusion of sounds and words. There’s an almost 50-minute dissertation on the “three leading theories of the end of the universe” spoken by an actor at great speed. That’s backed by loud electronic music, pulsing constantly while on a high, wide screen snatches of words and phrases are projected over and over each other at a similar speed.

The result is a kaleidoscopic merge of ideas and sounds … ending with projections on layers of curtain hanging from a high hoop like wispy tentacles that are swished away to provide space for an aerobics Oz style dance routine on steroids.

Written and originally performed by Ben Ashby and choreographed by Nadiyah Akbar Motion Sickness has received Fringe design and ensemble awards in Melbourne and New Zealand.

In this production the Actor is Ethan Morse. To be able to sustain an almost J. Alfred Prufrock-like stream of consciousness-style dialogue for so long then follow it with a crazy dance routine says a great deal about Morse’s fitness and stamina.

Composer and performer Toby Lemon plays the syn-and-sax, then joins Morse and designer Asha Barr who has been controlling the live, immersive AV and visual projections in the dance segment.

This is a very cleverly devised and coordinated performance. It has been billed as “a cathartic, existential hour or fear, rage and hope.” It’s all of that but it’s also a confusing synthesis of words and sound and movement that could be overwhelming…

But that’s what Fringe is all about – new ideas, new tech, new talent, new approaches – and Motion Sickness covers it all.

First published in Stage Whispers magazine

* Opening performance