The audience is seated in front of an open apartment. Building workers are heard over their walkie-talkies clearing the way for a demolition ball to come in.
But there is movement in Unit 4, a worker goes in to check.
So begins a riveting and high-energy three-person performance by Kate Fryer, Geoff Dunstan and Alex Harrison.
The actors leap through the air, make human towers and swing from the chandeliers to tell the story of six generations of tenants who have lived – and died in this soon-to-be demolished building.
Unit 4 is on at the Seymour Centre and fits well into the Reginald Season’s bill “for arts lovers who like their performance to be a bit risky and unpredictable.”
Performer and writer Fryer says the skill of this kind theatre is to physicalise scenes to make sure they fit with what you are trying to say.
“We’re really exploring the concept of living and dying with dignity,” Fryer says. “We choose the life that we lead; we should have some kind of say in our demise as well, or at least how we deal with that or deal with the demise of a loved one.”
Unit 4 uses simple costume and furniture design to reflect the changing tastes and styles of the decades. The props also become part of the act to explore the idea that buildings contain memories.
“I’ve walked into places and buildings where you can feel history, I think not as literally as we’ve tried it here, we’ve taken it to a surreal level. I think there’s senses of things that have happened prior in some places,” Fryer says.
Kate Fryer co-founded the acrobatic, aerial and physical theatre group Dislocate 13 years ago with Geoff Dunstan.
One moving and emotional scene in Unit 4 performed by the duo, portrays a loving elderly couple living in the apartment. For one scene they dance through the air together forgetting about their arthritic bones, until they sit down to rest with the content faces of lives well-lived.
Another scene sees a squatter living in Unit 4 as it faces demolition. He tries to end his life, but the building does all it can to save him.
He attempts to jump through the window, but the window keeps closing, and then when he tries to hand himself the door he is tied to flips over.
“The house acts to save this person from killing himself. The past comes back to resonate,” Fryer says.
Unit 4 runs until Sunday October 15: Wed – Fri 8pm; Sat 4pm & 8pm; Tue 6:30pm at the Seymour Centre. Tickets: $27/23.
