Written by Luke Mullins and Lachlan Philpott, Lake Disappointment follows an unnamed body double, played by Mullins. He enacts all the things a body double for a Hollywood movie star needs to - standing, arms outstretched in a lake for a wide helicopter shot, or sitting at a table with a cup of coffee for close-ups.
All the while he talks earnestly, searching through his memories for the name of a girl from high school, and talking excitedly about Kane, whose presence he eagerly awaits. The score helps us transition between scenes, taking Mullins from the lake to the driver's seat to the cafe to a bathroom, where his understanding of Kane, and by extension himself, crumbles - Kane has been on location the whole time. It is Mullin's physicality and soft-spoken tone, peppered by enthusiasm and anxiety in equal measure, that most impresses, and makes us believe in this unnamed body double and his aspirations.
As the veneer of delusion starts to flake away, our body double is left in the cavernous Carriageworks space alone. The space, designed by Michael Hankin, is bordered by curtains, which in the final scene are swept away, the spotlight that had been illuminating him (by Matt Cox) is replaced by a sudden stark brightness.
Mullins shines in this one-man show.
