Have you heard of No Lights No Lycra?  It’s that disco where you dance in the dark.  Lazy Yarns’ second Fringe show sounds like a theatrical cousin of sorts… Less Light is verbatim theatre set in the dark.

Intrigued?  We were… so we asked Mitchell Whelan, one of the trio that is Lazy Yarns, a few questions to find out more.

Seesaw: Who are the artists behind Lazy Yarns?
Mitchell Whelan: Campbell Pollock, Isaac Diamond and me.

S: Did you do formal training, learn on-the-job, or a bit of both?
MW: We met during our time training at WAAPA, in the performance making course, which played a huge role in developing our skills as collaborators, thinkers and artists. But there’s been a lot of learning on the job in regards to the business of putting on our own work.

S: Can you describe your artistic practice?
MW: Lazy Yarns started as occasional podcasts and web-skits, but it’s become a lot more than that. We try to consider what the best stories we can tell are, and which platform is the best way to share it. Our work is fairly light hearted but we hope to create work that connects the audience with something close them.

S: Can you name a career highlight so far?
MW: We’re really excited to be part of Summer Nights this year, in such a versatile space that really elevates the work we’re presenting. Also we always throw a really good after party for ourselves.

S: How about a career lowlight?
MW: There’s been a lot of rejection e-mails. But those are more like ‘learning curves’.

S: What do you love most about what you do?
MW: It’s exciting and scary to put on your own stuff. We’re lucky to have a really supportive audience base. They’re small, but growing and last year backed our show financially which has really helped us continue to grow and do what we’re doing now.

S: Tell us about Less Light…
MW: Less Light is a contemporary verbatim project set entirely in the dark. Live soundtrack, provided by our own Isaac and his brother Jacob Diamond, creates an ethereal backdrop to anonymous story tellers. The show transports you to places unknown that feel oh so familiar.

S: This is your second Fringe. What made you decide to come back to Fringe World?
MW: Fringe World is the most wonderful time of the year! It’s a great place to try things out, and to make work on your own terms.

S: Aside from your show, what are you looking forward to seeing/doing at Fringe?
MW: Minus One Sister, presented by Summer Nights and SALT, looks like it’s gonna be great, and The Cockburn Incident written by Zachary Sheridan will be hilarious!

S: What is your favourite playground equipment? 
MW: The swings (no offence).

Less Light plays The Round at the State Theatre Centre of WA from February 6-10.

Photo: Marshall Stay

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