September 30th, 2024The Vessel & Until Then
“Didn’t you do this already?” has been a comment from some curious locals, regarding the second season of The Vessel and Until Then, says writer Dawn Bamforth.
“My reply is ‘well, yes, but there has been an extension of the show…it’s longer…there are two more scenes…some people were disappointed that they didn’t get to see it the first-time round’ and my response was sounding like more of an apology than an advertisement.
“So, I want to set the record straight and explain the process we go through, each time we have a new creative work released into the public domain and the huge effort it takes from us; physically, mentally and financially, to do what it is we do, for love and dare I say, money.
“The battle to get our many and varied ducks in a row often seems like an impossible task.
“Indeed, it is one of the reasons that theatre companies came about, to assist with the number and complexity of very specialised jobs in our industry required to put on a show in the first place and what many of us have done for many years in spite of the dwindling coffers, venues, companies and investment in our industry, with dogged persistence for the Fair Work equivalent of table scraps for the most part.
“The creative development process, to rewrite The Vessel based on feedback from our Kyneton show at the Social Foundry in 2023, involved five actors, the director and myself spending about a week reading, re-writing, rehearsing, re-blocking, relearning and reselling a new show.
“We have this time sold our show outright to two councils (City of Greater Geelong and Mt Alexander Shire), received a generous donation from the Trentham and Districts Bank and have a partnership deal with our venue operators (Social Foundry) in Kyneton.
“So…please come and see one of our four shows. You have a choice of venue, cost and day or night experience.
“Support us to keep making theatre in and for our regional towns, employing local artists to put on original work that makes a difference.”
The Vessel, says writer and producer Dawn, is the story of an older woman, in the latter stages of dementia, living in aged care.
The play is a deeply personal account of the small acts of kindness in her final days and hours, as she shares memories from her earlier life with the audience. It is directed by Paul Canlan with cast members Suzanne Sandow, Ian Rooney, Christina Curtain-Magee, Rexine Perry and Melanie Thomas.
Until Then is about the relationship between a father and his son “clinging onto hope but until then, I won’t be holding my breath”.
“We need to connect in the physical world rather than look for confirmation from others who don’t matter.
“Connecting with your dad should be easy and natural, but sometimes we lose touch of what is real and most important in our lives, but it works both ways.”
Writer and director is Paul Canlan with cast Ian Rooney, Paul Canlan and Rexine Perry, and artwork and set design and construction by Tim Jones and Amanda Marburg.
