Before the promise welcome to theater first with Alex First. Immersive and interactive theater excites me. It always has. We don't see enough of it in Australia. That's why I entered the austral in Collingwood, which is a former theater, cinema and roller skating rink that dates back to nineteen twenty one, with a heightened sense of anticipation. Forty three rooms, eight characters, with us the audience free to go where we want, when we want, over ninety minutes. The theme is a subterranean adventure on board the submarine EV Nautilus, piloted by Captain Anderson Sandro Colarelli. After being let down a thin corridor littered with dozens of scuba tanks and donning plastic ponchos, we enter a room where the Captain's treasures are on display. Many of the antiquities are in perspect's cases. We're invited into a decompression chamber, ready for our dive below the surface, complete with suitably sounds. Once below, the nooks and crannies of the underwater craft arours to explore. The crew consists of a ragtag bunch of oddbods. And reprobates. I've already referenced the captain. His only child daughter, Sandy Brie Emrick, has never been to the surface or experienced life outside the vessel. Her best friend, confidante, and protector is lobster Claude Chloe to On, showing more than a passing interest in Sandy, is the dashing chan Jeremy Lloyd Stefano. The mustachioed head chef Christian Santi has a snidely whiplash quality about him. The latter was a fictional character that appeared as the main antagonist in the Rocky and Bullwinkle animated television series. The half human sea creature Callum Mooney appears menacing but is shy. Silasia meg Hickey is the tantalizing sea Witch, a purveyor of the dark arts. And finally, there's the lithe and long limbed charmer and seducer trink Show Eber. The ev Nautilus is a popuri of spaces, from food preparation areas and living quarters to a herbarium, a child's diminutive jumping castle, and a beauty parlor. There's a love swing and a room for sexual deviance, plus a decidedly nasty looking operating theater with blood spattered walls and floor, and much more besides. As we clamber up and down narrow staircases and move into the rooms, we interact with the cast, who perform a series of mini shows. The captains spoke gibberish to us. We witnessed two disparate pole dancers, the Chef and Chan, fighting in the cage, and musical interludes. In fact, the show culminates with a cavalcade of music, song and dance on board the biggest and broadest wooden table I've ever seen. These talented and versatile artistes are undoubtedly melodious. Written by Cursed and Siddle and Helen Cassidy, while the former is also the creative director. Broad Encounters Love Last Lost is an experience to savor well designed by Mike Finch, Josh McIntosh and James Brown and choreographed by Joe Cottrell. It's enticing, imaginative, esoteric, and provocative think sight, sound and smell, and immersing oneself in the magic, mystery and Mayhem. Sound design is courtesy of Michael Theiler and Perey von Sturmer, with lighting by Jason Glenwright. The musical arrangements are the work of Mick Levoch. Love Last Lost follows the success of the gothic hit A Midnight Visit, which ran for sixteen weeks in Melbourne in twenty nineteen, and this promises to be another crowd favorite, playing at the austral until the twenty ninth of October twenty twenty three. It's also good for repeat visitors insofar as the team behind it has nine hours of content that vary between shows. For bookings, go to TRIPLEW dot Love Lastlost dot com. You've been listening to Theater First with Alex First available at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio or your favorite podcast player. You can also stream on demand at bytes dot com. This has been another quality podcast production from sites dot com.
