An interactive, multi-disciplinary theatre work called I Love Todd Sampson is set to open in Sydney and will include architecture, installation art, light, music, film and performance.

The architectural production is by Andy Macdonald, founder of Mac-Interactive and will feature a multitude of built environments, each designed and constructed by one of nine architectural teams, made up of registered architects, graduates, students and their collaborators.

“I Love Todd Sampson is an original and ambitious production staged in an extraordinary building, within an increasingly important cultural precinct in Sydney. The Living Room Theatre’s engagement of disciplines outside of theatre to deliver this production takes I Love Todd Sampson far outside the realm of conventional theatre,” Macdonald said.

The architecture teams involved in the production include established and up and coming practices, as well as teams created specifically for this production. They include: CKW, Rivard-LewarnePerformative Spaces, Ensemble, FLATPAC, Sam Crawford Architects, Genevieve Lilley Architects, WLTS, Carter-Williamson and Archrival, as well as masters.

The Institute and New South Wales Architects Registration Board has shown its support for the production by including the architectural aspects of the play in an exhibition as a highlight event in the 2012 Sydney Architecture Festival.

“It has been a tremendous privilege to work with some of Sydney’s finest, young architectural minds, whose extensive creativity and imagination is inspiring. We look forward to welcoming the rest of the architectural and arts communities to experience the performance,” Macdonald said.

The storyline for I Love Todd Sampson centres on Laura, an increasingly lonely, middle-aged woman, who finds comfort in imagined “friends” who help her disassociate from the traumatic experiences of her childhood.

In search of a new comfort, Laura immerses herself in the life of Todd Sampson (CEO of Leo Burnett Australia, co-creator of the Earth Hour initiative and commentator on The Gruen Transfer). The "reassuring and charming voice" of Canadian-born Sampson permeates the performance, as Laura constructs a new reality piecing together fragments of Sampson’s life until she discovers him bathing in her tub.

“In I Love Todd Sampson, the audience becomes a part of the action – as they enter rooms to explore and discover images, atmospheric sounds and repeated moments.” Writer, director and producer, Michelle St.Anne said. “And yes, Todd Sampson does know about it!”

The show will be on daily from Thursday 28 February until Saturday 9 March 2013. For more information click here.

Madeline Prince

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