Suitcase Show
A traveller arrives at a border with a stack of battered cases. From within them, whole worlds will emerge…
“A masterful weaving of stories… Crafty as all hell” -Art Murmurs, Wellington
Suitcase Show is an eclectic box set of short stories. Dark, spiky, and comic, each one is told out of a suitcase. The staging is inventive, from lo-fi shadowplay to wireless projection, from dancing disembodied hands to narratives that crackle from a 70s stereo suitcase. Tiny in scale, but expansive in story, it touches on climate change, love and death, travel, and secrets that we carry with us – an overthrown autocrat finds themselves on the run from their own shadow, an astronaut turns their telescope back on earth and back in time. The work was developed through a series of showings in unusual site-specific spaces, from a pub to a photography darkroom.
Trick of the Light is renowned for crafting inventive shows and intricate narratives. Suitcase Show reunites multi-award-winning collaborators Hannah Smith, Ralph McCubbin Howell, Tane Upjohn-Beatson, and Filament 11 Eleven.
“Weaves a bright, dark magic.” ★★★★ —The Scotsman, UK
Director - Hannah Smith
Writer - Ralph McCubbin Howell
Performers - Ralph McCubbin Howell, Hannah Smith, with Anya-Tate Manning and Richard Falkner
Sound Design and Composition - Tane Upjohn Beatson with additional composition by Robyn Bryant
Lyrics by - Ralph McCubbin Howell
Production and Technical Design collaborators - Brad Gledhill & Rachel Marlow (Filament Eleven 11)
Videography - Dean Hewison
Craft & Prop Design - Hannah Smith, Ralph McCubbin-Howell, Rebekah de Roo, Romina Menses and Emory Otto
Poster Design - William Duignan
Produced by Trick of the Light Theatre and presented as part of the PANNZ (Performing Arts Network New Zealand) touring programme.
Running time: 55 minutes
This is an adult work but is suitable for audiences aged 12 and up. Contains haze, flashing lights, references to death and depictions of violence.