Dreams of a Lonely Planet

Flying Bicycle Collective’s Dreams of a Lonely Planet is a gentle blend of contemporary dance, shadow puppetry and storytelling with live music composition to tell an abstract story of Boy’s journey to the lonely planet. 

The season included a relaxed performance which is the show I reviewed - and I am assuming that there may have been some accommodations to make this a less confronting experience for people with sensory needs. Wonderful to see relaxed performances - especially during a short run.

Dreams of a Lonely Planet is lovely to watch. Visually pleasing, warm and lovely. It is inspired by the lived experience of “navigating childhood as a non-binary person”. Boy uses their imagination to escape from a reality that is confusing and difficult, in the process discovering unexpected friendships. 

An excellent and very important story to tell, I’m not sure that the message was as clear as it could be - and perhaps future incarnations could be even more explicit so that our non-binary children are able to more clearly see themselves. Having said that, as a teacher of non-binary children, any representation is wonderful to see.

The show featured the beautifully physicalised performances of Estelle Brown as the MC, Izzy Leclezio as Boy and Bernadette Lewis as the Lamplighter. The use of shadow puppetry was particularly striking and the music from Sophia Hansen-Knarhoi, who also played the Moon, was simply beautiful. Lighting (designed by Amelia Baker with assistance from Christian Lovelady) adds to the dreamlike quality.

A show with an important message, that was uplifting and lovely to watch.

Kimberley Shaw

Photographer: Minni Karamfiles