A Belloo (AUStralia), idiot savant theatre company (Japan) and good company arts (New zealand) COLLABORATION

HOUSE IN THE DUNES

ひと粒の砂の記し

by katherine lyall-watson

directed by caroline dunphy & Koh-Toh-shi

Contemporary theatre from Australia, Japan & New Zealand

House in the Dunes is a bilingual performance work and part of a long-term collaboration between theatre companies and artists from First Nations Australia, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand. The three companies—Idiot Savant Theatre Company (Japan),  Belloo (Australia) and Good Company Arts (New Zealand)—have come together to create original works that address themes that resonate both globally and locally for all the artists involved.

House in the Dunes is a story of entrapment and an ode to the natural world amid the looming threat of the climate emergency. The work explores connection to landscape through themes of journey, belonging, migration, and the elemental forces of nature, celebrating the beauty of impermanence through both scripted and physical storytelling.

The Japanese version of the work premiered in the 400-year-old Teishoin Temple at TPAM (Tokyo Performing Arts Meeting) in February 2020.  

Watch House in the Dunes Behind the Scenes, 2020

Filmed during the creation of House in the Dunes, this behind-the-scenes video offers an intimate look at the collaborative process between artists from Australia, Japan, and New Zealand.

The team—Belloo, Good Company Arts, and Idiot Savant Theatre Company—came together to explore how language, culture, and movement intertwine in a bilingual performance.

Through rehearsal footage and moments of reflection, the video reveals how the artists navigated translation, intercultural exchange, and shared creative vision to craft a work that speaks across borders and languages.

INTERNATIONAL CREATIVE EXCHANGE

Through cultural and artistic collaboration, Belloo (Australia), Idiot Savant Theatre Company (Japan), and Daniel Belton (New Zealand) are building a substantial international partnership to create a new performance aesthetic and a poetic Australian–Japanese work.

The co-production draws on Caroline Dunphy’s 20 years of Suzuki practice and her long-standing artistic relationships within the Japanese performing arts sector. Playwright Katherine Lyall-Watson (Belloo) contributes her distinctive poetic writing style, while Kirk Page brings choreographic expertise and an Aboriginal connection to place.

Idiot Savant Theatre Company, with over 15 years of ensemble practice, have developed a unique contemporary movement language and methodology of body expression. Their performers and dancers come from diverse training backgrounds including classical and contemporary dance, martial arts, and sport.

New Zealand Arts Laureate Daniel Belton is an accomplished trans-media artist who contributes digital, visual, and sound design, expanding the work’s sensory and cross-disciplinary dimensions.

In 2018, Belloo, Idiot Savant Theatre Company, and Good Company Arts came together for an INFORM Critical Path residency at NORPA and a creative residency at Flowstate, South Bank, Brisbane. The artists shared processes and techniques, building intercultural connections and beginning to dream the ideas that would evolve into House in the Dunes.

Below is a short video about the 2018 international exchange.

SAND (Australia, 2018), House in the Dunes (Japan, 2020) and AKIRUNO (Japan, 2021) form a suite of works developed by this creative team. Together, these projects investigate transcultural encounter, the nature of memory and landscape, and explore dramaturgical approaches to ‘weaving’ themes of climate emergency in ways that engage audiences and inspire reflection without being didactic.

SAND Children’s Workshop (2018)

As part of the SAND project, Belloo Chosted a free workshop for children aged 4–15 years and their parents and carers, exploring sand, play, landscape, and identity through four interactive installations: Sand Story, Sand Drawing, Sand Making, and Sand Digging.

The 90-minute workshop took place on Saturday 10 November 2018 at Flowstate, South Bank Parklands, followed by a closing event from 11:00 am–12:00 noon, where participants and visitors viewed a display of all materials created that morning.

Participants were invited to donate their creations to the SAND project. Throughout the residency week, all materials were documented, de-identified, and stored by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers. The donated works were later used by Belloo as creative stimulus for the next stage of SAND’s development, in collaboration with professional artists from QUT, Idiot Savant Theatre Company (Japan), Daniel Belton (New Zealand), and NORPA.