Once we were islands

Once we were islands is a collaboration between artistic directors Chris Gylee (scenographer and performance maker) and Richard Aslan (writer and performance maker). Our work centres on participative experiences and has the goal of developing artistic formats. Our projects begin with a research question or a strong connection to someone who looks at the world in ways we are not used to. Our collaborators might be specialists, have a particular life experience or skill, think about things in an intriguing way, or simply be open to exploration. Our ongoing research enquires into queerness, empathy, marginalisation, and activism. We take as our raw material elements of performance, theatre, installation, and choreography. The result is a series of contemporary rituals within interlocking performative machines and laboratories. These charged spaces encourage uncanny experiences, provoke surprising thought patterns, and cast light upon human interaction.