UPDATE: Highway of Lost hearts went on to tour NSW in May and June 2024: Bathurst, Laycock Theatre (Gosford), Griffith Regional Theatre, Glen Street Theatre (Belrose), Capitol Theatre (Tamworth),  The Q (Queanbeyan), Riverside Theatres (Parramatta).

Arts OutWest was again proud to auspice the making of a new theatre production by Lingua Franca and Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre.

‘Highway of Lost Hearts’ by Mary Anne Butler starring Kate Smith, Sophie Jones, Abby Smith was performed Friday 19-120 November 2021 at Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre and 26-27 November at Cowra Civic Centre.

As auspicing body Arts OutWest took in the funding and managed artist contracts and fees and payment of production expenses.

About ‘Highway of Lost Hearts’

A woman. A dog. A campervan. And 4,500 kms of wide open road. An allegory for a country that’s lost its heart.

Bathurst’s own Lingua Franca in collaboration with BMEC present this truly regional story by award-winning Darwin playwright Mary Anne Butler, in a brand-new production starring theatrical powerhouse Kate Smith, with original live music by Central West icons Smith & Jones.

Mot wakes up one morning to find that her heart is missing from her chest. She can breathe; she has a pulse—but she feels… nothing.

So, she decides to go and look for it. With her Dog enlisted as co-pilot, Mot heads down the Highway of Lost Hearts: into the deepest core of the Australian outback—navigating red dirt landscapes, fire and flood, brittle dry-ness, vast salt lakes, age-old mountains and murky waters filled with lost souls.

It is half gritty road journey, half magic realism and all heart. It leaves you pondering the question: when your heart goes missing, what lengths will you go to, in order to find it again?

This team of regional creatives are independently accomplished artists whose skills have been harnessed by the Lingua Franca theatrical company as well as Bathurst’s Local Stages. The result of this collaborationhas resulted in a production that is winsome, lyrical and at times even transcendent… This outstanding production is not to be missed. – Arts Hub

 

READ THE REVIEW OF ‘HIGHWAY OF LOST HEARTS’ IN ARTS HUB

From the creative team:

What an incredible journey and great gift to remount this show, sharing it with audiences and communities across 7 venues in NSW.

It has been truly special, as a regional company, to have the opportunity to share this work with other regional centres, and also to bring the show right into the city as part of conversation of how work made outside of the cities can have a life on the road – Regional touring can be an exchange between metro and country communities.

A huge thanks to partners and supporters @artsontour @artsoutwest @bmec_bx @creatensw