I've always found it
interesting the things we get attached to and what we choose to hold on to. It
may be a particular blanket or cuddly toy we had as a child which has survived
into our adulthood; although that existence may inhabit the attic, still we
valued it enough to never let it go. But what of the little things we never
knew we would miss until it’s gone; the smell of an old book, the porcelain
figurine that sat on your Nan’s mantelpiece; or the wallpaper from your first
home? The Shrine of Everyday Things
is an immersive, interactive journey that gives you a new perspective to how
big the little things can be.
The talented Contact
Young Company devised the site-specific piece in four properties in a Brunswick
estate facing demolition and refurbishment, peeking behind their net curtains
to explore the stories of the residents gone by. With that in mind the piece is
extremely ghostly with a buzzing feeling of apprehension; which is no surprise
given the location remains secret until it’s too late to turn back.
The audience is asked to meet at the Contact Theatre before they are guided to the housing estate. On the walk we are asked to wear headphones playing slow, moody music and (unbeknownst to us) voices of former residents talking of their favourite rooms and memories of the estate.
As we approach the estate we see a long balloon drifting through the sky, which isn’t an odd occurrence until we see another floating from one of the windows. It’s strangely surreal; but more so across the road to welcome us are the “picture perfect” suburbanites, smiling creepily and waving, oh so slowly.
The audience are then split
up into smaller groups and guided to different rooms. Each experience is
strange and eerie in its own way, equally as strange are the residents.
Visiting the rooms we meet three women listening to the whispers of their neighbours.
Sit in on an awkward dinner while sugar spills out from the ceiling. Then on to
a lonely son in a kitchen filled with empty water bottles.
A strange calm is cast in the final room however, as we are invited to remember our dreams. This was a clever twist to the piece’s proceedings; one that was thought provoking and emotive as it made me personally connect with the content but reminded me I was stood in someone’s home. We were asked to write on the walls the best dream we have ever had, and it was lovely to read the dreams of strangers. As I read, I remembered that this was a real person’s bedroom; they had reflected, dreamt and looked to the future as we were now.
That shared experience
between a stranger and me; was the core of the piece for me. The power of an
everyday occurrence, and exhibition of these little moments which make up our
lives. The Shrine of Everyday Things is in our dreams.
Words: Kate Morris
Images: Courtesy of Contact
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