IT has rarely felt so special to go to the theatre. Already, a pre-COVID world saw the theatre visit as an occasional treat. But, after a year of watching music, dance, and theatre through a meagre Instagram square, three Newcastle creatives are providing audiences with the perfect reason to get back to the theatre.
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Romy Church, David Lobb, and Skip Willcox are the formidable trio that have come together to create Invisible Stone. The work, conceptualised by visual artist and art director Lobb, explores the fragility of reality and imagination through Church's soundscapes and Willcox's choreography.
All born and bred Novocastrians, each have mastered their artistic craft in contrasting mediums: music, visual art, and dance. Newcastle's New Annual Festival has provided them with the opportunity to create a unique multi-disciplinary performance.
Church, aka e4444e, was the jumping off point for the performance. "I've known David since I was 14, so we've been involved in each other's work for nine years now," Church says. "And I've been inspired to do some sort of performance with Skip for quite a while. It seemed like we should use the opportunity to create something new. Something that says something."
Lobb, whose art direction sits under the moniker 'Lovedavid', just completed his formal studies at UNSW Art & Design. Willcox, based in Newcastle, spent years in Germany working as a contemporary dancer. For all three, the chance to deliver something avant-garde was irresistible.
"It feels really fitting to put this work in such a classic Newcastle site," Lobb says.
Church says: "They (New Annual) offered us lots of different iconic sites for the performance. Basically, anywhere we wanted that was a council site. But when we walked into the Civic and took a good look at the space, it was hard to resist."
The concept for Invisible Stone is Lovedavid's baby. He was inspired by the Ryoanji Zen Rock Garden in Japan, the holy grail of Buddhist ideals, in which there sits 15 stones, configured as to obscure one stone from every possible angle. "The garden demonstrates utopia as an idea, not a tangible place. This work is about dealing with perfection as something that only exists in the mind," Lobb says. "It's a chance to create a whole world on stage."
Dance is the perfect medium to explore this concept, it seems: an art form undeniably present, yet simultaneously evading tangibility. For the choreographic element of the performance, Willcox recruited dance artist, Allie Graham.
"The ephemerality of dance naturally embodies this concept. It has been delightful exploring the ideas of weight, sacrifice and wonder," Willcox says.
"I've never produced music with dance in mind. Invisible Stone is completely different to anything I've done before," Church says.
"It's going to be a surprise for people," Willcox says. "It's nothing like the typical gig they're used to."
