A clustered ensemble reaches upward in silhouette against brilliant white-blue backlight and stage smoke.

The Rayne Theatre, Chickenshed Theatre2020

Waiting for the Ship to Sail

The Production

Chickenshed’s spring 2020 musical and dance production explored global migration and national and personal identity through a large inclusive ensemble. Staged at the company’s Rayne Theatre, the production was later made available online after its original run was curtailed.

44 photographs in the curated edit

Director: Lou Stein
Musical Director: Dave Carey
Lighting Design: Andrew Caddies
Set Design: Sebastian Gonzalez
Commissioned by: Chickenshed Theatre
Photography: Steve Gregson

A performer in a purple top stands in darkness with arms crossed and face caught in a cold spotlight.

A large ensemble fills the stage under vivid blue beams and projected panels, scattered across a patterned floor.

A performer leans over a table toward a seated performer in a green vest, whose expression is tense.

Performers burst into the air and reach outward across a blue-lit stage crowded with motion.

Two performers embrace tightly at the edge of a dark stage, with the smaller performer’s face visible against the other’s shoulder.

A performer wearing headphones sings or speaks into a microphone in a tight side-lit close-up.

Two small figures cross a wide blue-lit stage beneath high beams and hanging projections.

A performer arches backward in warm sidelight while hands support them from below.

A solitary performer stands at an upper railing in blue light, framed by rows of hanging shoes behind.

Several performers pull and brace around a leaning figure in a blue-lit ensemble movement.

A blindfolded performer tilts their head back into purple shafts of light with arms raised.

A high wide view shows a dense ensemble gathered across the stage under white beams and haze.

A seated performer in a checked shirt examines a bright green bag on an otherwise dark stage.

An ensemble lifts a performer with a green backpack above a clustered group under blue spotlights.

Two performers crouch side by side in a black void, one leaning close as if whispering.

Bodies lie and kneel under a low white cloud of haze, creating a stark sculptural stage tableau.

A performer sings into a handheld microphone in a blue spotlight while other figures fade into the background.

A performer stands elevated on a small platform in blue haze, holding a microphone or small object at chest height.

Performers run and pivot with long poles across a blue-purple stage, with a wheelchair visible in the group.

A close stage portrait shows a blindfolded performer held from behind, both faces lit by purple-blue light.

A row of performers appears as small amber-lit figures across a mostly dark stage.

A dancer whips vivid pink fabric through purple haze as others move across the stage.

A lone performer stands near the front of a blue stage while the ensemble remains low in shadow behind.

A warm amber ensemble tableau shows performers reaching and bending around prone bodies in smoky light.

Two performers cling together in blue light, one laughing or crying while clutching a green bag.

A performer with a green backpack stands alone on a small runway under a purple spotlight, holding a box-like object.

A line of performers extends across the stage in a synchronized lean beneath cold overhead beams.

Three performers stand close in a dark scene, with two faces lit as they sing or speak toward someone off frame.

In saturated purple light, one performer lifts another upside down while dancers strike angular poses around them.

A silhouetted musician or operator sits at a keyboard station under tall purple light panels.

A pair of shoes hangs alone in a purple-blue spotlight against a dark background.

A performer stands front and centre in patterned dress while another holds them from behind in a blue spotlight.

A performer carries another bent over their shoulders beneath a broad blue wash, with bodies bowed around them.

The ensemble sits and kneels facing forward with long poles, gathered beneath bright overhead lights.

A group confronts a lone performer with a green backpack under a strong diagonal white beam.

Performers form a dynamic golden-lit tangle, with one body stretched horizontally above others.

A large cast faces the audience in a packed formation, lit by warm overhead stage lamps.

A performer stands on a table while others reach upward and a bright green bag is lifted into smoky light.

An ensemble gathers in warm coloured light around a seated performer in a wheelchair as another performer raises an arm.

Dancers carve low shapes through red and blue haze, with one performer lunging sharply in the foreground.

A performer stands centred on the runway under purple beams, holding a round drum or case.

A performer in an orange headwrap and green backpack stands in the foreground amid haze, with ensemble action blurred behind.

Silhouetted performers crouch and move through heavy blue haze, their shadows stretching across the floor.

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