A woman. A dog. A campervan. And 4,500km of wide-open road.
An allegory for a country that’s lost its heart, Highway of Lost Hearts, by award-winning Australian playwright Mary Anne Butler, is half gritty road journey, half magic realism and all heart.
Mot wakes up one morning to find that her heart is missing from her chest. She can breathe; she has a pulse—but she feels… nothing. So, she decides to go and look for it. With her dog enlisted as co-pilot, Mot heads down the Highway of Lost Hearts: into the deepest core of the Australian outback—navigating red dirt landscapes, fire and flood, brittle dryness, vast salt lakes, age-old mountains and murky waters filled with lost souls.
This stellar, regionally-made production features theatrical powerhouse Kate Smith and original music composed and performed by alt-country duo and Central West NSW icons, Smith & Jones. More than just live musicians, Smith & Jones become ethereal companions to Mot as she drives. Their music is perfectly aligned with Mary Anne Butler’s writing, part poetry, part road trip playlist, and engages lovers of country and alt country music.
The story will stay with you long after the lights have gone down, leaving you pondering the question: when your heart goes missing, what lengths will you go to in order to find it again?
★ ★ ★★★
“…makes one ponder matters of the heart that go beyond the world of the play… A truly exceptional production that is winsome, lyrical and at times even transcendent. This outstanding production is not to be missed.”
Suzie Gibson, artshub.com.au
“For a play about grief and loss, this production is full of love and care. Lingua Franca has been dreaming of mounting and sharing Mary Anne Butler’s play for a number of years, connecting deeply with its exploration of the vast interior of the Australian continent, and the people that inhabit it.
This play feels like a love letter to regional Australia, and when you love something, you take it for all that is – the rough edges, the joy and the light, the sadness and the wrongdoing and the suffering. And on Mot’s drive through the heart of the country, as she searches for her own, we see it all: the good, the bad, the ugly and the truly sublime.” - Performer Kate Smith & Director Adam Deusien
ABOUT THE COMPANY: Lingua Franca
Lingua Franca is an independent professional performance company based in regional New South Wales, and creates urgent and provocative theatre driven by the values of rigour, inquisitiveness, candour and adventure. With a focus on new work, creating across theatre, dance, physical theatre, circus and multi-disciplinary collaborations, Lingua Franca presents live performance in regional and metropolitan contexts, sharing the quality of regional practice with local, national and international audiences. Founded in Bathurst by Adam Deusien and Alison Plevey in 2012, the Central West NSW remains Lingua Franca's regional home. With their artists also living and working across NSW, including in Canberra and region, and Newcastle and the Hunter, the company maintains a truly inter-regional practice. www.linguafrancadancetheatre.com/
CREATIVE TEAM BILLING
Playwright: Mary Anne Butler
Director: Adam Deusien
Designer : Annemaree Dalziel
Lighting Design & Production Manager: Becky Russell
Live original music: Smith & Jones
Performers: Kate Smith, Sophie Jones and Abby Smith
SEASON DETAILS
Venue: Glen Street Theatre
Dates: 31 May – 1 Jun
Performance times: 31 May - 7:30pm and 1 Jun - 2pm, 7:30pm
Bookings: https://glenstreet.com.au/whats-on/highway-lost-hearts
Running time: 70 minutes (no interval)
Patron advice: Adult themes, occasional coarse language. Recommended for ages 12+