"...full of striking images… shadowplay and puppetry were absorbingly innovative”--The Age
“startling work that is at once confronting and yet comforting”
--Inpress'
And the audience described it as, "A moody thought provoking performance," "Incredibily interactive," "Visually stimulating, appeals to all the senses," "The atmosphere was enchanting," "Spectacular and stunning," "Food for thought," and as, "Something different." \
film
film by Joe Loh and David Short
photos
photos by Paul Dunn
cast & crew
Mother Mary: Fleur Dean
Mary Magdelene: Olivia Crang
city creature #1: Lachlan Plain
city creature #2: Tim Ratcliffe
direction & design: Lachlan Plain
city creature design: Michael Camilleri
sound sesign: Que Nguyen
lighting design: Rob Appleton
dramaturg & directorial consultation: Kelly Somes
production management: Tim Ratcliffe
front of House & publicity: Jasmine Powell
director's statement
On returning from hospital she purchased a worm farm. If we couldn’t incorporate a garden into this inner-city life we could contribute our kitchen waste to someone else’s garden. This was one of many symbolic actions she made during that time of recovery, symbolic of rejuvenation…of all those everyday resurrections…
This is a story about the Son of Man.
It’s a meditation on transubstantiation. On the interdependence of body, spirit, soil and sky.
This story is presented in four cycles.
The first cycle. Corpus Christi. The Body decomposes. The Body is mourned.
The second cycle, Shadow. The Body reflects on life. Regressing before moving on.
The third cycle. The Consumption. The Body is devoured. The Body provides sustenance for a hungry world.
The fourth cycle. Photosynth-ascension. The Body is resurrected through tender photosynthesis.
This is a story about the transience of life and the regenerative qualities of death. It is a story both about the dead and those left behind. It is a story about resurrection through decomposition.
Lament, opening on the week of the Spring Equinox, is a celebration of seasonal resurrection, a Southern Hemisphere Easter.
--Lachlan Plain
sponsors
- The Spring 2006 season of Lament: candles & compost was proudly sponsored by Arts Victoria and The City of Yarra
- It was supported by Victorian College of the Arts and Bulleen Art & Garden
- And launched by Greg Barber, Greens member for the Victorian upper house, and representatives from Arts Victoria and City of Yarra


corpus christi (development 2005)
Devised through the postgraduate puppetry diploma at the Victorian College of the Arts, this 15 minute solo performance formed the basis for the following years Lament: candles & compost.
"...In this version the Son of Man never leaves us, but can forever be heard jamming in the bowels of the Earth providing music for those who liveth upon Her surface."
corpus christi film
photos by Matthew Kneele and Ferne Millen
Last Updated (Thursday, 26 November 2009 15:36)
