Bare Witness make raw, pulsating theatre that ignites the imagination. Our work is a visceral encounter between actor and audience: immediate, unflinching, baring souls with the bare bones. This is poetry in motion. This is the word made flesh.

We are an actor-led ensemble, producing original plays and bold reimaginings of classical texts in a fire-breathing physical style. We’re drawn to the rough and the ragged, the playful and the surreal, fuelled by the volatile combustion of the actor at the threshold of their limits – in other words, in the mouth of the wolf.

We value theatre as a live, communal event; a release from distraction, and a crucible for ideas, creating an imaginative space in which to confront the revelation of our being. We want people to step out of the theatre feeling more alive than when they stepped in. We hold up the broken shards of a shattered mirror, and in its cracks, bear witness to human nature.

Recent work has included the award-winning wordless odyssey, Icarus (Overall Dance & Physical Theatre Award, FRINGE WORLD 2019) and the white-knuckle joyride, Howie the Rookie. Works in progress include Way of the Samurai, a piece of ensemble-based storytelling theatre based on tales from feudal Japan, and a solo adaptation of The Stranger by Albert Camus.

Bare Witness is an independent company led by Christopher Samuel Carroll, based at Belconnen Arts Centre in Canberra, Australia. Since September 2020, the company ensemble has established an ongoing practice of twice-weekly physical training, with a view to devising new work and developing the skills of professional actors in Canberra.