21 October, 2019
I’ve been excited about the Open Homes programme from the moment I heard about it months ago, so to finally get to go to one of these was a dream!
Trying to explain the concept to the person I invited certainly raised some eyebrows; we would be meeting people we don’t know on a random Brisbane street and taken to a random Brisbane house to hear people talk about themselves, but sometimes you just have to take a chance and see where life leads you.
This day it led me to a creek, a jacaranda tree and a production called Love Is Love.
Set in a humble, gorgeous house in leafy northern Brisbane, its vibrant residents took us into their home; Angela Chaplin into her stunning lounge room and David Gerrand into his workshop and pride and joy in their backyard.
They told tales of travel, life, family, love and everything in between; interwoven with props, or rather their belongings, things they live with in their home.
Both Angela and David had delightful ways of telling their tales; Angela’s passionate love of the arts was so beautiful to hear and listening to David speak of his love of his family and in particular, his grandchildren was so heart-warming.
Their experience in presenting theatre, this time in their own house, was certainly obvious.
While at times I struggled to find a common theme amongst their stories, I was certainly not disappointed.
I went expecting a theatre production and left feeling like I had engaged in a conversation with a neighbour, which perhaps is the theme in itself.
What a delight to pause and listen to the experiences of people appreciating their lives.
Something we don’t do enough and one of the reasons the arts are so important.