Choreographer Mitchell Woodcock’s WA homecoming for Lassu at Perth Fringe Festival

If you’ve witnessed an extravagant spectacle on stage — whether it was your favourite pop star’s concert or a global event that attracted a billion viewers — chances are, Mitchell Woodcock was the creative force behind it. The choreographer and creative director has become one of Australia’s most sought-after talents, working with the likes of Kylie Minogue, Rita Ora, Meghan Trainor and Tones and I on unforgettable performances. Woodcock is no stranger to dramatic lighting, dynamic choreography, floating stages, and the odd pyrotechnic display. His creative direction was showcased internationally during the FIFA World Cup closing ceremony and ICC T20 World Cup opening ceremony, while closer to home he’s brought the stages of Australian Idol and The Voice to life. His choreography work, not to mention his roles in the stage adaptations of West Side Story, Wicked, and Dirty Dancing, provided fertile ground to launch the Newground Collective in 2017, which lists a vast portfolio of big-name clients including The Aria Awards, The Australian Open and World Pride. It was always going to take a special project to lure Woodcock back to Perth, away from glossy celebrities and larger-than-life productions. Finally it presented itself in the form of a spectacular Fringe Festival show in collaboration with another recognisable name in the creative industry. Alongside seventh-generation circus performer Merrik Ashton, who grew up performing in his family’s show Circus Joseph Ashton, Woodcock has created Lassu: a cosmic cabaret saloon show balancing risky circus acts and risque adult humour. It follows a character called Rusty on his quest to find the golden lasso after a cosmic explosion. The beauty of premiering his first Fringe show in Western Australia, Woodcock says, is having the support of those instrumental in his career cheering him on in the crowd. “My old dancing teachers, who taught me when I was three, popped into rehearsal,” Woodcock tells STM with pride. Despite achieving success across the world, it’s been inside the Ashton family’s big top on the Victoria Park foreshore that Woodcock has truly had his abilities tested. The turnaround from conception to fruition was tight. It had to stand out among hundreds of shows vying for crowds attention across the impressive festival line-up. The overwhelmingly positive feedback to the production since launching in January, though, reveals his tireless work has been worth it. “Merrick approached me in July, not too long ago, and said that he was wanting to produce something for the Perth Fringe Festival . . . once we got away, it all happened very quickly,” Woodcock says. “I had this concept of a galactic space country, Western fusion theme, and spent three weeks putting together a draft outline. From August we signed off on the concept, started writing, designing the set and casting.” It was a change of tune for the Helpmann Award-winning choreographer. “Every project I work on in the role of creative director is slightly different,” he says. “If I’m working in TV, it’s everything from screen content, to styling, to choreography, to coming up with overall themes. “But for a show like Lassu, where there’s no script to start with and no stage design, you’re starting with a blank canvas.” And on that blank canvas, he has painted one of Fringe’s most creatively colourful shows. The dancer-turned-choreographer and creative director believes his start performing on stage laid the strong foundation to see him build similar performances for others. “I know how it feels to do two shows back-to-back with a rehearsal in the morning,” Woodcock says. “I find that I can be a little bit more collaborative in knowing what they need as well. “I can see when a person’s at breaking point. “Knowing the workload and the toll it takes on your body to be able to perform at your best – that helps me calculate and analyse what everyone needs moving forward.” At one stage in the Fringe extravaganza, a performer is suspended in the air from a topknot in her hair — ouch! For Woodcock to make it work, and to get the anticipated gasps from the audience, he ensured the performer could practise safely in 45-minute sessions with breaks in between. The show is packed with these kinds of logistical hoops that Woodcock had to jump through to create one of Fringe’s hottest shows. And if producing and choreographing ensembles isn’t enough, Woodcock also finds the time to run two businesses. He recently opened Co-Lab Quarters, a creative dance studio in Sydney’s Newtown aimed at fostering community and offering freelance dancers masterclasses in an inclusive space. Woodcock also operates his agency Newground Collective — its name inspired by the concept of “breaking new ground”, with clientele including James Arthur, Khalid, Karl Lagerfeld, Toyota, and Guy Sebastian. “I don’t reflect or give myself praise but I do feel a bit of responsibility to help the next generation and the industry itself,” he says. “I think the sophistication and the style and finesse of Lassu is something that I’m really proud of. “We’ve gone above and beyond with making sure every detail has been thought of, and the experience from when you walk through the doors to when you leave. I hope people will walk away from it feeling like it’s something they’ve never seen before.” Lassu is showing in Lassu Chapiteau, Victoria Park, until February 16.