Duets for Lovers and Dreamers

A cycle of ‘duets’ that celebrate humanity, nature and the supernatural across generations. Ross Trust Script Development award and Playworks support for ‘Dramaturgy for Promising Scripts’, performed at fortyfivedownstairs produced by Insite Arts.

Creative Team

Writer
Sandra Fiona Long

Actors
Helen Morse, Katherine Tonkin, Philip McInnes

Dancer
Matt Cornell

Director
Naomi Steinborner

Composer/sound designer
James Hillock

Set/costume designer
Emily Barrie

Lighting designer
Richard Vabre

AV design
Nicholas Verso and Darren Valentine

Photographer
Carla Gottgens

Producer
Insite Arts

Performance History

November 2015
Australia Premiere
Big West Festival, Melbourne

2017
fortyfivedownstairs
& touring throughout Victoria with La Mama Mobile

Reviews

"A chamber piece composed in an elusive key, it bends every instrument of the theatre into ephemeral harmonies where love rises to meet death, and memory imagination."
- Cameron Woodhead, The Age

"You'll leave the theatre with a fresh sense of what's possible. It's unexpectedly innovative but satisfying."
- Stage Whispers

“A Wonderfully poetic piece of writing. Gentle yet evocative, each story sensitively and imaginatively deals with an aspect of life, death and the human condition. The story is interpreted and performed through a combination of image, music, text and dance. This interweaving of simultaneous narratives deftly reflects the multi-faceted nature of each experience. This multi-layered script will create a very full and complex piece of theatre.”
- Ross Trust Judges Report

"Duets for Lovers and Dreamers, a tantalizing combination of theatre, music, dance and multi-media, woos your senses with its clever artistry and then claims them with its heart."
- Australian Stage

Support & Acknowledgement

Supported by The Besen Foundation, Australia Council, Arts Victoria, R.E. Ross Trust, City of Melbourne, Insite Arts, fortyfivedownstairs
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We create, work and play on the lands of the Wurundjeri People people of the Kulin nations. We acknowledge that this land has never been ceded and always try to tread gently on this land. 
© 2025 Sandra Fiona Long