PIGSKIN
PIGSKIN
Roe turns into a rotting pig after a sexual assault.
‘PIGSKIN’ is a 45min one-hander, immersive and butoh-inspired performance which explores sexual assault through the lens of decomposition.
It is a plunge into the grotesque, outlandish and confronting reality of survival and intended as an unabashed perspective on systemic failings within rape culture as well as a point of community catharsis and healing.
The work questions consent, truth and survivorship, exposing the guilt, embarrassment and fear of reporting predators for crimes that go largely unpunished.
Butoh as a stylistic form exposes grief, uncovering the stages of trauma and non-linear recovery through the stylistic lens of the stages of decomposition of a dead pig. The aesthetic and text embrace the gluttonous, complex mud we trudge through after assault.
There is a focus on the autistic experience of assault in response to alarming statistics which indicate a high level of correlation between neurodivergence and assault. Our mission in this work is to destigmatise the experiences of autistic survivors of ‘grey-zone’ assault.
The ideal audience is survivors and allies ages 18-35. For allies, it is an opportunity to understand the complexities of invalidating or validating a grey-zone assault story, and the survivor’s grief of self.
CREATIVE TEAM
Lana Rosalea: Writer, Performer, Co-Director, Co-Producer
Cosima Gilbert: Co-Director, Co-Producer
Alex Fimeri: Sound Designer
Kate Carrington: Set and Costume Designer
Oliver Ayres: Dramaturg and Access Consultant
Matias Nunez: Movement Choreographer
Rex Cameron: Voice Actor and Stage Manager
FUNDRAISING UPDATES
‘PIGSKIN’ had a successful public reading at the Malthouse with Barkly Theatre’s ‘EMERGE’ program on April 23, 2026.
Here is a link to our Australian Cultural Fundraiser for the project! Read more about what the funds will be used for on the page.
‘PIGSKIN’ was awarded the ATYP Pier to Peer program in 2026 enabling us to travel to Sydney for a week long residency on the pier.
We were also awarded our 2026 Melbourne Fringe season to be held at Bluestone Church arts with a $900 stipend from the City of Maribyrnong.
‘PIGSKIN’ was recently awarded the City of Melbourne Annual Arts Award for 22K so as to put on an independent production in 2027 at Meat Market. More details to come.
Audience Testimonials
“A brutally cathartic unrelenting theatrical onslaught through which Rosalea’s writing shines with pure honesty and heartbreaking vulnerability.”
Malthouse audience member“Straying away from simply retelling an event and focussing on the gut feeling and empathy made me connect as an audience member in ways that very few texts have before”
Finn Corr, president of RMIT RedActs“You will not regret supporting this artist”
Joe Paradise Lui
