Watching paint dry at the Meteor

Sean Lynch will be taking audiences on a unique experience leading the show Watching Paint Dry. Photo / Supplied

Watching nothing will be the requirements of audience members for this up-coming production.

With Sean Lynch as their guide, audiences will find out the hard (or easy) way as he leads them across the edge of sanity to the other side by watching paint dry live.

To add to the suspense and unpredictability of the performance a different colour will be used every night.

Solo performer Sean Lynch has a long history with theatre in Hamilton. He was one of the founding members of the Electra Theatre Company, Hamilton's only professional theatre company from 1987 to 1996.

Since then Lynch has established himself as one of the country's leading lighting designers, working regularly with Auckland Theatre Company and Silo Theatre. Watching Paint Dry will mark Lynch's return to the stage after a 10 year absence.

Watching Paint Dry is written and directed by award winning playwright Anders Falstie-Jensen. The idea for the play came from a conversation he had with his seven-year-old son Anton who one day was staring at the wall for a long time. Anders asked Anton if he was watching paint dry. The answer was 'no' but subsequently they ended up talking for a long time about what the expression 'watching paint dry' means.

"Watching Paint Dry is an exploration of time," Says Falstie-Jensen.

"It's a riff on our relationship with mobile phones and how we struggle handling very little happening. It's been a very bizarre rehearsal period because we spend a lot of time doing nothing. The play is really a series of moments where almost nothing happens for periods of time, interspersed with moments of action. Your mind goes to fascinating places when it is completely unstimulated."

"When the director of the Hamilton Fringe Festival director Pip Lewis calls to ask you to bring a play to her festival you cannot say no!"

Watching Paint Dry was written specifically for the Hamilton Festival. The production also marks the return of The Rebel Alliance to the Meteor Theatre. Their last visit was in 2012 with Standstill, which was performed as part of the FUEL Festival.

Watching Paint Dry
By Anders Falstie-Jensen
Meteor Theatre, Hamilton
October 26 - 28, 6.30pm
Tickets: $15.
Book at www.themeteor.co.nz