We, The Lost Company

We, the lost company is a combination of physical theatre, poetics and recorded memories taken from communities all over Sydney. These memories are to do with vivid associations with water and they make up the sound scape, put together by Ben Pierpoint, giving the show a spiritual dimension.

“We, the lost company is looking at water and our relationship to it. We’ve been inspired by the art of Brett Whitley, namely the Beach series––how his paintings move, the colour, texture and environment that he depicts the way the moods are on the beach,” explained Emily Ayoub, the play’s director. “The through line of the piece is what water has seen, the different impressions that water has had over time and we’ve tried to create some of those impressions on stage in a very mysterious dream-like world… It’s looking at our relationships to elements and the earth, to higher powers, science, art.”

A lot of the recordings come from nursing homes in the Inner West. Some of the residents were losing their memories, to be able to retrace and think back was a really beautiful experience for them. We, the lost company is devised theatre, meaning everything is created from scratch.

“We had the concept, water, and from there we devised the language of movement, the dialogue, the aesthetic, everything comes from the collaboration and creation process. It’s ‘colour blind casting’, we create from nothing. Two of us are Lecoq trained, we look at how water moves and we show that through the body. It’s an all-female cast, all from different backgrounds,” added Ayoub.

We, the lost company has universal themes and can speak to everybody. The dimension of the show is looking at what’s beneath, what’s unknown and mysterious in life. (MS)

Until Oct 31. Tues–Sat, 8pm. Old 505 Theatre, Level 1, 5 Eliza Street, Newtown. $22-$33. Tickets & info: old505theatre.com

BY MEL SOMERVILLE