In Conversation with Anja Starkiss – Ride or Die
In this edition of In Conversation, we shine a light on Ride or Die, a new show by The Almost Collective, premiering at The Blue Room Theatre from 9 – 27 June. Strap yourself in for Perth’s latest and greatest attraction, Venture Land! Infiltrate the city’s greatest asset to experience dazzling grandeur, magical memories and thrilling free falls as your worries drift away … What’s that? The park is under attack? Prepare for the ride of a lifetime with Ride or Die – a new immersive experience infused with fun and a dash of thrill. Wait times may vary. We caught up with Anja Starkiss to dive into the creative process behind the work and what audiences can expect from this thrilling new production.
What motivated you to apply to be part of The Blue Room Theatre’s 2026 season, and what drew you to this project?
The project came from a debrief of another show, where some of the key creatives and I discussed what we’d been seeing online and how often we would see devastating world events coincide with high-profile entertainment events or positive news stories. It raised questions about distraction in our modern world, after which we immediately got distracted, talking about our love of theme parks and the ways they manipulate our perspective and command our attention. The two concepts collided, and it just stuck!
The Blue Room season application was a no-brainer once we thought about that beautiful Mural Room. It was so reminiscent of those immersive thrill ride queues you see at places like Disneyland or Universal Studios. It became important for us to utilise that space, and combined with the relevance of the work’s themes, The Blue Room Theatre’s Season was the perfect place for us to present the final product.
How has the creative journey been so far, from concept development to rehearsals?
We’ve been developing this work on and off for just over a year now, and it’s kind of insane that it has turned into a real thing! There has been a lot of dreaming, coming up with wonderful ideas, and then realising we had a budget to stick to. We’ve built a solid production & design team that matches the crazy of the devs in the room, building on our ideas and turning them into reality, which has been awesome to see. The visual aspect of this show is really important for immersing audiences properly, so having people who match our vision, whilst keeping a realistic lens on it, has been invaluable.
More recently, the process has focused on shaping our ideas into a solid storyline, written by Harper Nguyen and Parker Horne, who have also taken on directing, and on letting the work take shape through a more traditional rehearsal process.
What has stood out to you during the rehearsal process, any unexpected discoveries or moments of growth?
Absolutely, the creation of Hot Dog Guy, a classic, clumsy, theme park worker character. He started as a surface-level character that one of our devisors, Adam, pulled out in an improv, and it just stuck. Now, that character is fully realised and plays quite a significant role in the work that the audience will see. I actually feel really connected to Hot Dog Guy, and I reckon the audience will feel that too.
Of course, I can’t forget the crazy costumes that Katie Walsh has been creating. There’s one that I can’t stop talking to people about, but it should be a surprise! Come see the show, and you’ll see it for yourself.
How has the collaboration with your cast, crew, and creatives shaped the work and your vision for it?
The thing about devising a work is that the vision has always been collective and collaborative. None of the ideas feels like they came from any one person; it’s a product of a group of artists working together. We’ve had several creatives collaborate on or offer feedback on the project throughout its life, bringing new perspectives that change the way we think about the work we are presenting, whether it’s Blue Room staff, industry members, our mentor Arielle, or the design team we’ve engaged. Everyone has really believed in the ambition of our ideas, which has pushed us to keep pursuing the grandiosity of what we’re trying to achieve (within the budget confines of an independent theatre production, of course). It’s made me more confident and open to pursuing big ideas.
What does having your show programmed in The Blue Room Season mean to you as a lead creative?
The Blue Room season gives us a platform to test ideas and explore something new. Having rehearsal space in-kind is an underrated benefit that The Blue Room Theatre provides – it removes some of the financial pressure of producing your own work, particularly if funding applications prove unsuccessful.
It’s also a great opportunity for other people to experience your ideas, to put something in front of an audience and see how it lands. We are so lucky to have a place like The Blue Room Theatre in Perth, which offers us so many opportunities to create, learn, and grow as artists.
As you move closer to opening, what are you most excited, or even nervous, about sharing with audiences?
I’m excited to show audiences something different to what they may have seen before and completely transport them into this theme park world we have created. We’ve had some large, sweeping ideas, so there’s always a bit of nervousness that our goals might be too ambitious, but I’m confident we’ll deliver something amazing.
What is your show bringing to the Perth arts scene, and what do you think would help strengthen the local arts ecosystem?
Ride or Die explores something that is becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s society and speaks to a collective distraction that has gone unnoticed by the team and the people around us until now. But it also brings big ideas, ambitious explorations and a world of fun. I think it offers an exciting way to interrogate political themes through larger-than-life characters and a visually intriguing world. I think sometimes the arts can feel like it doesn’t make an impact on the broader community, so maybe we can change that by appealing to the entertainment factor that audiences have been craving.
Image by Apurva Gupta