Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, or simply Masterpieces for short, is a thoughtful and moving exploration of loss, survival and what we choose to preserve when everything else is stripped away. Now playing at Theatre Works in St Kilda, the production follows three women, a soldier, a nurse and an art restorer, as they navigate an almost apocalyptic world devastated by war and natural disaster.
The play is set in a formerly grand museum, now tattered and crumbling apart. It once housed great works of art, statues, paintings and the like, and is now reduced to a makeshift utilitarian jail for prisoners of war. With cultural treasures destroyed and history under threat, the soldier compels the art restorer to return to her former role by any means necessary, raising difficult questions about what is truly worth saving.
Written by Heather McDonald and directed by Nadia Tass, Masterpieces draws inspiration from UNESCO’s 2001 proclamation recognising and protecting the world’s intangible cultural heritage. In doing so, member states of UNESCO were tasked with finding and defining masterpieces and other intangible cultural heritage to protect.
These masterpieces had to hold ‘outstanding value’ as examples of human creative genius, be rooted in cultural tradition or history, affirm cultural identity for communities concerned, display excellence in skill or technical qualities and be at risk of degradation or disappearance. We have our six defining qualities, but this doesn’t quite make the selection process very easy.
The play explores what it means for something to be a masterpiece, it touches on the physical and practical, concepts, traditions, art, memories, the act of creation and the act of destruction. It seeks to provoke a discussion about what we as individuals consider the most worthy of protecting. Masterpieces asks you what YOU consider to be the most important.
For some it could be moments with family, maybe music they fell in love with, a literal work of art, a story, a piece of jewellery that once belonged to their grandmother. The production doesn’t offer easy answers, but instead invites reflection on what truly endures when so much has been lost.
Catch this deeply moving, provocative, incredible performance at Theatreworks until 1 August and explore whatever a masterpiece might be to you, guided by three ‘whole types of people’.
