Lenny and the Wasteland

The Arena Theatre: Hiddingh.

Thu 25  12:00
Fri 26  11:00
Sat 27  15:00

50 Minutes

The Space Behind the Couch

At some point, at some time, as we always knew it would happen, someone finally dropped the bomb; the big one, of the nuclear variety.

And so in a split second, what was once a thriving planet was reduced to an almost completely lifeless junkyard. Mankind can’t remember who dropped the bomb, or at least Lenny can’t. But seeing as he’s the only man left alive he reckons he is all of mankind.

This story is about Lenny, last man left on earth, scavenger, inventor and survivor of whatever problems the infinite junkyard can throw at him. He spends his days gathering water and food, building things out of junk that he can scavenge and trying to piece together the story of why the world went wrong.

Although he may be the last human left on the planet, he is not without company. Lenny’s best friend is one of the many unfortunate results of nuclear fallout; a young mutant girl called Newt, who is fascinated with everything Lenny does and wants to know all about the world that once was. The world with trees, cars, animals and all such strange wonders. Together they roam the streets looking for anything that could lead to creating new life, a small plant or even a small seed and a means of preserving it.

But one day Lenny finds something unexpected, a relic from before that he just may get to work again, pieces of what was once a robotic girl.
Even though he has Newt for company, the thought of a human companion, even a artificial one, is very tempting to Lenny.

This new companion is everything that Lenny could want but as fas as Newt is concerned, she is not to be trusted. After all, who’s  to say it wasnt the machines that dropped the bomb in the first place and she was Lenny’s friend first.

It’s not the usual kind of love triangle a man expects himself in, but when you’re the last man left on earth…. choices ar slim.

1. 

   Yvette Hardie says:

   March 25, 2010 at 7:55 am

   One of the most innovative productions on the festival. Teens love it. Adults love it. See it.
2. 

   Hazel Woodward says:

   March 26, 2010 at 10:39 pm

   ‘Lenny and the Wasteland’ is surprising, energetic, fun and in the final analysis, extremely touching. It made me both laugh and cry out loud! Nadia Caldeira gives a superb performance as the 13-yr-old Newt. The character reflects that strange no-man’s-land-of-being: not quite a child, not quite an adult: strong emotions with no outlets, an extensive vocabulary with odd gaps and outlandish moves and moods. Very well-drawn by Beren and brilliantly executed by Nadia. Very, very well done to the entire cast and crew!