Immersive theatre continues to gain popularity, and Love Lust Lost takes us into the depths of a bizarre underwater world.
Such theatre gives an audience what they crave – the chance to join the action. As implied, it is a unique and interactive way of breaking down the Proscenium, more commonly known as the fourth wall.
But it goes much further than the likes of Frank-N-Furter addressing a fan in the front row. Immersive theatre moves throughout its location, often encouraging audience members to join the action.
Sandro Colarelli as the ‘Captain’
Recent examples of the genre include Because The Night, The Great Gatsby and A Midnight Visit. The latter’s producers are behind the new production Love Lust Lost, set in a subterranean oceanic world. Described as multi-sensory, this is a realm helmed by a mysterious captain, somewhat the protagonist surrounded by a group of lost souls.
“Sex and death are ever-present” – Sandro Colarelli
In the role of the Captain, Sandro Colarelli has the task of immersing the audience in the themes of love, lust and – being lost.
“The premise is one of isolation and the effects of confinement and claustrophobia upon groups of people,” says Colarelli.
Sandro Colarelli as the ‘Captain’
“It’s about being confined in an artificial environment for long periods. It asks the question ‘What do we truly need to be emotionally and psychologically healthy as humans if every need is met, but the fundamental desire for freedom is denied?’ Of course, what the individual audience member takes away is dependent upon their perceptions of the provocations they are presented with. Sex and death are ever-present.”
Within this theatrical playground, people navigate their course over forty different spaces throughout an abandoned theatre. The journey includes music, circus, cryptology and dance.
“To me, immersive theatre is the future of what I think modern audiences are wanting from a theatrical experience,” says Colarelli.
“Each scene in the show is a little piece of the puzzle, but it must pack a punch” – Scott Maidment
“With the immediacy of interactions with platforms such as social media, immersive theatre is very much aligned with what people want in live entertainment. It’s very much tied up in being able to influence and inform the play, if not the outcome. There’s also the overall journey and exchange between actor and participant. You just can’t get that kind of visceral involvement in more traditional theatre.”
Writer and company director Kirsten Siddle, who created A Midnight Visit has once again delved into a gothic world, this time inspired by Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and even H.C Andersen’s The Little Mermaid.
“After the runaway success of A Midnight Visit, our immersive homage to the Grandaddy of Gothic, Edgar Allan Poe, we wanted to tackle some of life’s other truly epic ideas and themes,” says Siddle.
“But in an immersive and experiential way that gives agency to the audience in their journey. Love, and lust, are abstract in essence. The overwhelming power and complexity they wield is phenomenal. These feelings are intensely human, they’re part of our nature and once they take hold, we are irrevocably affected.”
A scene from Love Lust Lost
“This production is a multitude of stories within a narrative arc exploring themes in an unbridled way. It’s unapologetically passionate, cheeky, overwhelming, diverse and fun all at once.”
The show’s director, Scott Maidment has chosen a path that removes us from what we know as the usual theatre experience which includes pushing boundaries.
“The challenge of allowing the audience to explore freely, and in breaking all the traditional conventions of theatre, is that you can’t control what they see, or when,” says Maidment.
“The audience defines this with their choices through the maze. This means we approach storytelling and style of performance action in a very different way. Each scene in the show is a little piece of the puzzle, but it must pack a punch of its own, independent from other moments in the show.”
Sandro Colarelli as the ‘Captain’
“Another aspect we think about is the need to reset audience expectations. To encourage the audience to experience this theatre through multiple forms and touchpoints. We encourage them to use curiosity and tackle the show like a great adventure story. Once you’ve cracked this, Love Lust Lost is a thrill like no other experience.”
For some, immersive theatre productions provoke humour while fear in others. There is some relief to know the venue also includes a bespoke bar and finger food – some in hidden rooms! The experience is one for all theatre-goer’s bucket lists.
“It is an unparalleled experience,” says Maidment.
“It’s one you just have to experience for yourself. No one can adequately describe it for you, and everyone experiences it differently! It has surprise, delight and happy bewilderment!”
Love Lust Lost runs through September and October at The Austral Theatre Collingwood
For more visit: lovelustlost.com
