human interest story, 2010
Stuart Shugg, Stephanie Lake, Alisdair Macindoe and Talitha Maslin, Human Interest Story, Lucy Guerin Inc
photo Jeff Busby
Stuart Shugg, Stephanie Lake, Alisdair Macindoe and Talitha Maslin, Human Interest Story, Lucy Guerin Inc
Using image, sound, language and movement Human Interest Story explores the affects of the news cycle on our psyche and questions our ability to accept the reality of distant tragedy into the daily routine of our lives. Shifting between humour and anxiety it shows our varying responses to the stream of information that reaches into our domestic environments about newsworthy events in other places.
Is the news a consumer product that neutralises our ability to have a genuine reaction to the world’s suffering? Or does it permeate our lives in a deeply affecting way? Human Interest Story attempts to comprehend our responses to current events that range from switching off to heartbreak, and how this unending flow of words and images shapes us.
Presented initially as rote text where natural disasters, wars, riots and environmental collapse are interchangeable with celebrity updates, the language of news presentation devolves into a driving utterance which propels movement into a visceral reimagining of the impact of reports from around the globe. [Text courtesy of Lucy Guerin Inc.]
Jessica Wong, Alisdair Macindoe, Stephanie Lake, Talitha Maslin, Stuart Shugg and Harriet Ritchie, Human Interest Story, Lucy Guerin Inc
photo Jeff Busby
Jessica Wong, Alisdair Macindoe, Stephanie Lake, Talitha Maslin, Stuart Shugg and Harriet Ritchie, Human Interest Story, Lucy Guerin Inc
credits: choreographer Lucy Guerin, performers Stephanie Lake, Alisdair Macindoe, Talitha Maslin, Harriet Ritchie, Stuart Shugg, Jessica Wong, set designer Gideon Obarzanek, realising designer Anna Cordingley, costume designer Paula Levis, lighting designer Paul Jackson, composer & sound designer Jethro Woodward, very special newscast by Anton Enus (World News Australia, SBS)
performances: premiere Malthouse Theatre Melbourne, July-August 2010; Perth International Arts Festival March 2011; Belvoir, September 2011
l-r Stephanie Lake, Harriet Ritchie, Jessica Wong, Talitha Maslin, Alisdair Macindoe and Stuart Shugg, Human Interest Story, Lucy Guerin Inc
photo Jeff Busby
l-r Stephanie Lake, Harriet Ritchie, Jessica Wong, Talitha Maslin, Alisdair Macindoe and Stuart Shugg, Human Interest Story, Lucy Guerin Inc
related articles – realtime
the trouble with the news
keith gallasch: lucy guerin inc, human interest story
video resources
Malthouse – Human Interest Story preview
articles/reviews – other
human interest story
chloe smethurst, the age, july 26, 2010
step this way in response to the news
eamonn kelly, the australian, july 26, 2010
Alisdair Macindoe, Human Interest Story, Lucy Guerin Inc
photo Jeff Busby
Alisdair Macindoe, Human Interest Story, Lucy Guerin Inc
measure for measure, human interest story
alison croggon, theatre notes, august 2, 2010
human interest story, lucy guerin inc
stephanie glickman, australian stage, july 29, 2010
