A giant head sits on a street corner. He has woken up in the past, our present. He does not want to fall asleep again. He does not want to return to the devastated land of the future. Throughout the night he witnesses our revelry, us naive Lilliputians, and cannot believe his eyes.

A surrealist performance combining puppetry and projection. The Man Who Cannot Sleep is a gargantuan emissary from the world of dreams. It is an ode to a civilization on the verge of collapse.

The Man Who Cannot Sleep premiered at White Night in Melbourne and Ballarat in 2018.

Presented by Sanctum Theatre & Magic Lantern Studio.

Written, directed & designed by Gonzalo Varela.

Produced and production managed by Lachlan Plain.

Video design by Lee Ramsayer Bache.

Sound design by Kelly Ryal.

Dramaturgy by Michael Camilerri.

Puppet build: Lachlan Plain, Gonzalo Varela, Nick Wilson, Ellie Schmiedt.

Puppeteers and performers: Lachlan Plain, Gonzalo Varela, Julian Chapple, Rebecca Rutter.