Performance Explores Perinatal Mental Health and Motherhood

Adelaide-based independent dancer Zoë Dunwoodie is set to premiere her new performance, LLAMA, which explores the complexities of perinatal mental health and the journey into motherhood. The show follows a pregnant woman who discovers she carries a gene that could transform her into a llama, and her subsequent struggles with identity and reality.

A Physical Practice

For Dunwoodie, a dialogue of mindfulness runs subconsciously; a mind-body connection enhanced by her craft. "It's a physical practice," she said. "If I've ever got anything going on, I funnel it through the dance."

The body's just a fascinating place, and I think the older I get, the more I'm fascinated with it.

The Conception of LLAMA

The piece was conceived in 2023 with the fusion of three key ideas: motherhood, Dunwoodie's grandmother's postpartum mental health, and her mother's love of llamas. Dunwoodie was grappling with her "biological clock ticking".

"I was asking friends about babies and engaging with babies a lot more … maybe subconsciously or on purpose I was consuming a lot of content about motherhood," she said.

The performing artist was also pondering her family history, namely that of her maternal grandmother. "I never met her … but I know she struggled a lot with some mental instabilities … my mum thinks it could have been a postnatal depression that might have gone into a psychosis," she said.

"The 1930s to 50s … it would have been a 'brush it under the carpet' sort of thing."

"She was diagnosed with some other mental illnesses … and the connection to motherhood might not have been so recognised."

The Gestation of LLAMA

In 2023, Dunwoodie received funds through Adelaide Festival Centre's inSPACE Program for LLAMA's first development for the stage. She then had a baby and embarked on her own journey into motherhood.

This deepened her connection to the text and themes of matrescence, a term coined in the 70s exploring the radical physiological, psychological and social changes during pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood.

Zoë Dunwoodie said having a child of her own deepened her connection to the text.

After another inSPACE development in January this year, Dunwoodie embarked on an EXPOUND residency in March, a joint initiative between Australian Dance Theatre and CreateSA. She received a $30,000 grant and up to six weeks of studio space at the Lion Arts Centre to further develop LLAMA.

"It was a huge honour to get that amount of money," she said. "A bit overwhelming because I was like, 'Okay, what am I going to do?', but pay your creatives, that's where the money goes."

The Birth of LLAMA

Like a child that has come to term in the safety of the womb, Dunwoodie is ready to shepherd LLAMA into the world. Between getting her real baby into childcare, seeking out a producer and securing more funding, late 2027 could be the due date that sees the performer don the white, paper llama mask.

"I do wear a mask when I'm a mum some days," she said. "I've just got to put that llama head on, hope people are distracted by that and not the fact that I haven't showered today."