Poppy Seed Festival  2017

LOST: 5 by Daniel Keene

Based on 5 monologues by Award-winning Australian Playwright, Daniel Keene

Season: November 23 – December 3 2017

Review: ‘Michele McNamara allows the audience to focus on each performer and enables them to draw us into their lives as they take the spotlight.The cast is superb and though the actors sometimes share the stage, they never acknowledge or interact with each other, but together deliver 5 great performances, injecting their own dose of pathos, humour and raw emotion…At times, it’s devastating.  Overall it’s a haunting, beautiful and sometimes humorous piece of theatre.’  David Pearson. Theatrepeople, 28 Nov 2017

‘People that sleep rough are never ever just homeless. They come with a range of complex issues…trauma, serious mental health issues … addiction…many years prior to someone sleeping on the streets’

Major Brendan Nottle, The Salvation Army, June 29, 2016 on 3AW

About

The production of LOST: 5 by Daniel Keene was a direct response from Illumi-Nation Theatre to the unacceptable situation faced by those who have no place to call home and although we, as a company did not, and still do not have the resources to help, we can help by initiating a conversation. We were completely inspired by Brendan Nottle who walked 700km from Melbourne to Canberra to raise funds and awareness of the situation in Melbourne. On his Walk the Walk for the Homeless Brendan sought support for a non-partisan national homelessess policy.

LOST: 5 recreated a streetscape, reminiscent of Finders Street in Melbourne, home to many who are lost; lost to society, to their families and often, to themselves.

Director of Illumi-Nation Theatre,  Mish McNamara, brought together five poetic monologues from Award-winning Australian playwright, Daniel Keene that invited audiences to consider the multi-faceted issue of homelessness through the eyes of those who have found themselves, simply, yet despairingly, lost.

Daniel Keene has been described as a ‘dangerous playwright’ as he ‘works right on the moral edge’ (SMH). He has been acclaimed throughout Australia, the United States and Poland and since the late 1990s has established himself as one of Europe’s most notable contemporary playwrights.

Ilumi-Nation Theatre collaborated with composer and sound design MBYRO (Matt Brown) who performed on stage with the ensemble. In addition to his original compositions he sampled organic street sounds and brought forth a sense of multi-culturalism through music and spoken word.

The monologues that were chosen for Lost: 5 are beautiful example of Keene’s work. ‘He has the ability to take you to unexpected places with his writing. We are so excited to be able to highlight his incredible writing in this work’ (McNamara)

A Foundling + Two Shanks + Getting Shelter + The Rain + Kaddish

Cast & Creatives

Director Michele McNamara

Composer & Sound desgin MBRYO

Performers: Marty Rhone, Fleur Murphy, Kineisha Nottle, Stephanie Pick, Pearce Hessling

Actor/Crew: Patrick Livesey & Emily Rowe

Collaborators: Moving Lights Productions – Jason Bovaird & Maddy Search

Season 22 November – 3 December 2017

Preview 22 November 2017

Opening 23 November 2017

Times 8pm Tue – Sun & 4pm Sat 2 December

Venue Irene Mitchell Studio

Address 44 St Martins Lane, South Yarra

See our gallery images of the production