Lake Disappointment

Overview

The Australian sun ripens up some tasty talent and Carriageworks is serving it up in bulk in 2016. Premiering in April and running for three nights (April 20-23), Lake Disappointment is a distinctive new work by four of Australia's most exciting independent artists, collaborating for the first time on this exclusive project.

Although the title doesn't quite flag it, Lake Disappointment is a comedy. This new Sydney play also explores a relatively unexplored topic: the oddly narcissistic life of a body double. Directed by Malthouse Theatre's exciting new Director in Residence, Janice Muller, with sound design by the always brilliant James Brown, Lake Disappointment comes from playwrights Luke Mullins (who also plays the lead) and Lachlan Philpott. The pair have written the story loosely around the life of Heath Ledger's body double (what an excellent job title) as a way to investigate themes of self and identity.

The narrative itself is also intriguing: a famous movie star and his close friend (and body double) have to get through one more arthouse film shoot (for a film called, you guessed it, Lake Disappointment) before moving onto Hollywood blockbusters. When the body double arrives on set early, something about the location and content of the film seems off, and the arrival of the star keeps being postponed.

Mystery, lols and primo Aussie talent all rolled into one? Yes, please and thank you.