City of Riddles

City of Riddles is Polyglot's upcoming new work which will tour to schools in November 2010 (bookings now open!) and a larger version will play to the general public in theatres in 2011.

About City of Riddles

Entering the space through a portal, children follow twisting, winding, intersecting pathways which lead to separate suburban landscapes.  Giant-like in a miniature world, they see houses, buildings, roads and objects strewn in the space before them, forming separate little communities.  In the centre of the space is a giant cube, standing alone as a mysterious centrepiece.

In an interactive world of secret messages, problem solving and physical engagement, the participants’ task is to discover what led to the downfall of a once great city – the remnants of which are scattered around the space – and to return the city to its former glory.  They are given the chance to re-visit the past in order to re-construct the future.  With a set which is like a giant puzzle, interlocking and fitting together, the children are enrolled to uncover the city’s mysteries

Thematic

City of Riddles explores the fluid concept of truth, our preoccupation with our own space, and individual and group responsibility. We ask the question, ‘If you had the chance to do it all again – what would you do differently?’ .  The text will utilise word play and enigma to create an intriguing and mischievous atmosphere in a fantastical world.  Through a dramatic storyline the audience will be drawn into making the choices that decide the city’s ultimate fate, facilitated by three performers ‘in the round’, as they move and manipulate the objects in the space.  Sound will permeate the environment, creating a rich emotional subtext within the different scenarios of the city.

The Process So Far

In 2009, the kids from Whittington, Healesville and Badger Creek Primary Schools, created their own little houses through a process of imagining, design, construction and decorating, working alongside professional artists, with  results that were seen by their local communities. Wish Street was a walkthrough installation in a shopfront in Healesville, and Whittington PS play within an environment of their own making.

City of Riddles also undertook a week of creative development where a group of children engaged with a towering cardboard construction.  Feedback sessions were held with all children, and their insights and experiences have added greatly to the picture.

In the next stage of development, we worked with children at Dinjerra Primary School in Braybrook on artwork and story structures for the creation of an animation film to be part of the performance.  The children, from grade 3 and 4, worked alongside professional artists in drawing, animation, sound design and recording.

The project then had a week of creative development with the key artists in the team: designer Daniele Poidomani, Sound designer James Wilkinson, Lighting Designer Richard Vabre, Animation Artist Nick Barlow and Devisor/performers Tamara Rewse and Hung Le with Director Sue Giles.  Here the structure and content of the installation performance was put together, creating a form and feel that will guide the next stages of writing and final design. 

Important discoveries throughout the workshop process with children have been drawn into the work; the physical shift of a character from a child’s initial drawing, into an animation, into a three dimensional puppet; the intricacy of images in the interior worlds of each little building; the desire to play and construct as part of the performance; the sense of high stakes in the fantasy world we create; the focus on singular characters to drive the drama; the role of audience in the creation of the world.

The story so far....

City of Riddles is an interactive installation performance set in a landscape of a ruinous city.  The space is full of little buildings, scattered around an large black cube, mysterious and atmospheric.   The audience finds its way through the buildings, peering inside each one like giants in a miniature world. Inside the buildings are intricate interiors, each one different; a telescope in a room full of stars, a floor lined with cars, a house with a giraffe standing on the carpeted floor. 

With the introduction of performers, the audience is drawn into the reconstruction of a city, blown apart by some unknown force years ago. Each of the buildings has a specific place on the cube, and gradually the whole physical puzzle is put together.  Then the story begins. We follow the events of a single day – a day when everything fell apart. One child is the witness to a community facing unknown danger. How can the present day children change what happened?

The audience is both witness to the past, and part of the future.  By engaging in the riddle world, they are themselves time travellers, and change history. 

The audience for City of Riddles is sometimes outside the action, sometimes inside the action. They are watchers and players; they are individually engaged and drawn together to act as a group.  They are integral to the action

For booking enquiries, please contact:
Simon Abrahams
Executive Producer
simon@polyglottheatre.com
+61 3 9827 9667