Set in post -war Perth, Two families flee their rural livings to share a huge house, Cloudstreet, in the Perth suburb of West Leederville due to personal tragedies that take place in their lives. The two families are contrasts to each other; the Lambs and the Pickles and the play follows the fluctuating fortunes and changing relationships of the families. The families’ story is told over a twenty year period and is a story that celebrates the notion of family and community at their best. The play is truly beautiful, metaphorical and moving and gives a voice to social minorities, the Australian working class and the disabled and is an ode to the artistry of Tim Winton’s writing.
The set design is minimalist and sculptural relying on texture, colour and shape to evoke a sense of setting and atmosphere. I was influenced by Australian aerial landscape photography and the various shapes found in nature such as wood, water ripples, sand dunes etc. I wanted a versatile space that could transform; representing the descriptive WA landscape settings in the play and also be quite intimate for the the various interior settings.
MATT MCVEIGH IS A CONTEMPORARY VISUAL ARTIST & DESIGNER.
