OUTSPOKEN is a night where we shatter silence, toss shame aside, and let our unfiltered selves shine through story, poetry, music, dance and film.
Embracing and expressing the power of being unapologetically big, brave, and OUTSPOKEN
Sharing stories with others can be a powerful step toward healing and that's exactly what we aim to facilitate through events like 𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗞𝗘𝗡, creating a safe and supportive space where sharing is normalised.
Stories create bridges between us. They remind us that, despite our differences, we share common struggles, joys, and moments of expansion and contraction.
OUTSPOKEN happened at:
Performers
Storyteller
HELEN EVANS
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Helen is a master of reinvention, a storyteller, coach, and artist who has lived a hundred lives—literally. Having worked over 100 different jobs, from teacher to clown, bar manager to medical guinea pig, she’s turned her wildly diverse experience into a captivating narrative about adaptability, taking risks and the unconventional paths to success.
As a coach she helps others find confidence in their voice, embrace their unique journeys, and communicate with impact inspiring people to live a Hell Yeah Life.
Follow her: @thehellyeahlife
Dance + Story
ERI MCGINNISKIN
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Grief is relentless. It cracks us open, shatters us into pieces, and demands to be felt. It can be cathartic when surrendered to, but unbearable when resisted. It calls us into the present moment, forcing us to face what we often try to outrun. Yet, in a world that doesn’t always know how to hold grief, we’re left to navigate it alone, without the rituals, without the communal support that once carried us through.
On April 3rd, Eri will take us on a different journey, embodying a recent grief she has been experiencing through dance and movement. Through this visceral expression, she will bring to life the pulls and tugs of grief, the way it grips, releases, and surges unexpectedly. This is a story told and felt in the body, revealing the raw, physical experience of loss.
How do we meet grief? How do we hold space for ourselves and each other? How do we move through it... not with resistance, but with curiosity, humility, and compassion?
Eri is one part of the team behind Giddy Garden. Follow @giddy.garden on Insta and FB to catch up with each event as they are happening.
Photo credit: Nathan Power
Composers
EL REY MIEL
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El Rey Miel's polyrhythmic piano compositions emerge from flowing improvisations that are then sculpted into scores. Infused with a love of storytelling, each piece evokes a sense of thoughtful adventure that navigates the mysteries of existence. Sometimes these improvisations burst into song, releasing colourful characters and joyful absurdities.
For Outspoken El Rey Miel will take the audience on a musical journey to awaken the inner storyteller. Through that portal they will then draw out a drama of queenly proportions that buzzes with a kaliedoscope of mythic creatures.
Photo credit: Jorge Serra
See more of what they are up to here: willandkate.com.au/elreymiel, www.facebook.com/elreymiel, www.tiktok.com/@willandk8
Photo credit: Jorge Serra
Songwriter
EDDIE FITZPATRICK
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Eddie FitzPatrick is an English-Australian songwriter, storyteller and facilitator who lives and loves on Wurundjeri Country, in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia. Growing up in the English countryside, she sang before she could talk - singing filled her childhood, leading her to perform on stages as vast as Buckingham Palace in her early years.
Now, returning to the voice as both a facilitator and songwriter, she takes listeners on deep dives through all facets of the human and non-human experience, writing songs rippled with a rare and stirring freedom. Her artistic influences include nature, the ancient practices of the bard, and the delicate art of gathering and ritual.
Often compared to singers such as Joni Mitchell, Gillian Welch and Jeff Buckley her shows weave storytelling and song into collective moments of catharsis. Her debut album is set to be released in 2025. Expect a performance of truth telling carried by a powerful and tender voice.
Keep up to date with what Eddie is up to on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eddiefitzp/
Short Film
PADDY MORAHAN
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The Pansy of Pickadee (short film) - The story of a queer young man and a small town on the verge of destruction. When all else fails, the young man uses his special skills to save his friends and family and become the hero he was born to be. Written by Paddy Morahan and directed by Gus George and Paddy Morahan.
Storyteller
ESTHER OGILVIE
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Esther will be taking us on a journey of sexual assault, of power taken and of power reclaimed. The story she will tell talks about the society we live in and the system failures. The themes are dark and vulnerable and may be triggering for those with their own experience.
Esther is a trauma and family violence therapist, a sex and embodiment coach and sex and relationship therapist.
See her work here:
Spoken Word
ANDREW G ROSE
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Spoken word artist Andrew G. Rose returns to the stage for OUTSPOKEN again, unveiling a new expression of body and sexuality. How do we experience pleasure?
Does arousal only happen when we feel sexy first? Or can we feel aroused before feeling sexy?
Andrew, a gay man reclaiming the power of his own narrative, delves into the truth of his eros with unflinching honesty and raw vulnerability, edging slowly towards its core.
You can see Andrew's previous performance at the last OUTSPOKEN here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sim6ST_4gDo&rco=1
Follow Andrew on instagram: @yourenotlaughingbutiam
Photo credit: Brendan Bonsack
Spoken Word
PHOEBE BOND
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Phoebe Bond is a seasoned storyteller, provocateur and poet. She is also an ambivalent collector of wrinkles, scars, bunions and grey hairs. While she dreams of resisting societal pressure to pursue eternal youth, she's not completely immune. In this sharp, playful spoken-word piece, Wrinkle Rebellion, Phoebe calls out the powerful aesthetic medicine industry and its absurd demands that women hover indefinitely around 30ish. After performing at last year’s sold-out OUTSPOKEN event, Phoebe returns, to reclaim the right to age without alteration or apology.
OUTSPOKEN is a beautiful experience of feeling heard and held.
The audience and community spirit feels like a warm hug with everyone sitting in silence, nodding along as a story resonates, offering permission to feel, to realise we aren’t alone. There is laughter, tears, heartbreak, and an unspoken connection as the crowd absorbs each word, as if the person on stage is a dear friend, sharing their deepest truths just for them.
