
WHEN actor Nick Steain visited his Border family last year just as the COVID-19 crisis shifted gears, little did he know he'd be here for the long haul.
He spent the national lockdown at Baranduda and ended up staying for seven months.
He said in some ways it only felt like 10 minutes, given he picked up an acting gig to sink his teeth into.
Together with Border film and stage actor Rachel McNamara and homegrown actor and writer Grace Rouvray, Steain began working on HotHouse Theatre's new production of Those Who Fall In Love Like Anchors Dropped Upon The Ocean Floor.
On Wednesday night the show will launch the theatre company's 2021 season in Wodonga after it lost its 2020 season due to the pandemic.
Those Who Fall in Love Like Anchors Dropped Upon the Ocean Floor, by award-winning playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer, follows 10 characters as they navigate the moment when they fall in and out of love through four, intertwining stories.
Having trained in Canberra and Melbourne and co-founding Limbo Theatre Company, Steain said he was thrilled to perform in front of a hometown audience in his HotHouse debut.
He said in a way the art had imitated life.
"It's about the perception of time in a state of suspension," he said.
"It was really easy to connect to given the experiences of last year's lockdowns."
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The play moves from a Cold War Russian submarine to a Parisian watch shop, to an Appalachian snowfield to an uncomfortable first date in a Chinese restaurant.
It explores the fleeting moments and the chance encounters.
McNamara, who performed in Celsius Independent Theatre's production of Rabbit Hole, said Anchors would resonate with the audience.
"It's such a beautiful, whimsical, lyrical play and because the stories are intertwined you get those lovely reflections on how they all connect," she said.
The show runs at the Butter Factory Theatre until Saturday, March 27. Shows on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday run at 8pm, Wednesday at 6.30pm; and Saturday matinee at 3pm.
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