Originally conceived in the early days of the pandemic, when it was deemed unimaginable, Lost Dog’s single-shot short film In a Nutshell envisages a world in which theatres will never open again.
Conceived and performed by Ben Duke and supported by Raquel Meseguer, In a Nutshell was filmed and edited by Rachel Bunce and will be available to watch on The Place’s website and Youtube channel for FREE from Wed 23 Sep, 7 pm – Thu 22 Oct, 10 pm.
Sitting alone in an empty auditorium, a man explains to an unseen future generation, what live theatre was – reliving moments that had been particularly powerful to him personally and lamenting the loss of real-life connections in a world where nobody is allowed near one another.
With his unique blend of melancholia and self-deprecating humour, Lost Dog’s Ben Duke touches on themes of loneliness and isolation, the loss of human connections, and in particular the temporary community of strangers that make up a theatre audience. Half eulogy, half lecture, In a Nutshell questions what is real in life, if we cannot share it together in real life.
‘Ben Duke, artistic director of Lost Dog, is one of Britain’s finest theatre-makers’. The Scotsman Commissioned by The Place and Rural Touring Dance Initiative, supported by Worthing Theatres