eaters, pvi collective ·
The Old Courthouse, 18 August 2022 ·

As someone who loves a good quiz night, and who is preoccupied with the current climate emergency, I feel like pvi collective’s new work eaters, commissioned by The Wired Lab for the agri(culture) ii project, was cooked up just for me.

Of course I’m not alone, and the audience-come-contestants who packed the room for the work’s premiere at Fremantle’s 10 Nights in Port festival also brought their appetites for some friendly competition and saving the world.

A local arts group dedicated to social change, pvi collective is known for creating participatory works designed to disrupt and subvert the status quo.

The group’s new work eaters follows a pub quiz format and the questions are all about where our food comes from and related, apocalyptic problems. In much the same way as Damon Gameau did with his 2019 film 2040, pvi uses popular culture to deliver a message about the urgency of adopting sustainable measures. Rather than using cinema, however, pvi harnesses their trademark gameplay for a playful agitation of the status quo.

Elevating the evening from a bombardment of facts is the arresting Andrea Gibbs. As quizmaster, she’s so adept at commanding a room that she’s able to educate in a way that’s both palatable and humorous.

Punctuating the quiz rounds are games and challenges plus audio recordings and video projections featuring special guests, including Noongar leader and change maker Oral McGuire, former Greens senator Scott Ludlam and journalist Gabrielle Chan. An image of environmental activist Vandana Shiva is positioned at the front of the room, like a shrine.

These dynamic figures are lauded in opposition to others; the villains in eaters are governments, Big Ag and large supermarket chains. Eaters isn’t just about giving us the devastating facts, it’s also about inspiring change.

And to an extent, it does inspire. The audience was invited to yell out ways they could live more sustainably at home, and items like seed bombs and a saltbush seedlings were auctioned off at the end. I walked away having learnt a bunch and thinking about food miles with more awareness and resolve than before. But sitting amongst pvi’s faithful, it felt like the audience was already ordering off this menu.

If the room were filled with unsuspecting punters I’m not convinced the performance would have been so well received. How much impact, then, is eaters having?

And while we are all eaters, we don’t all have the opportunity to make more sustainable choices with our food, and eaters doesn’t consider how socioeconomic conditions impact our options.

Despite these musings, I appreciate the nudge the show gives. Sharing information and inspiring others in a way that’s truly innovative and unquestionably fun is still fighting the good fight.

I’ll back that.

eaters is touring to Albany Entertainment Centre, 7-8 October 2022.

Top photo: Daniel J Grant