Rebel Rhythm is a wordless theatrical work set in a liminal space between life and death. A lone performer awakens in a dark, dreamlike world where death lingers and the self begins to fracture. Performed by Brazilian-Canadian creator Pedro M. Almeida-Siqueira, alongside Alysson Bruno, a live musician from Brazil, the work blends physical theatre, multiple handcrafted masks, and puppetry into a one-performer experience shaped in real time by live rhythm.

Guided by a live musician—part spirit, part force—the performer enters a passage ritual, confronting a series of embodied states that shape identity. Through mask, puppetry, and physical transformation, figures such as the ego, the inner child, the shadow, and deeply rooted complexes emerge. Each is a confrontation. Each is a step toward something deeper.

Driven by live percussion rooted in Afro-Brazilian rhythm, the work moves between chaos and stillness, ritual and release—unfolding as a form of visual poetry. What emerges is a visceral journey inward, where losing oneself leads to disconnection, and reclaiming the self becomes an act of restoration.

Can we let the masks we wear fall away?

Rebel Rhythm is presented in partnership with the Victoria Association of Mask & Puppetry.