Interview: Lachlan Harper, ‘Ten Thousand Hours’
Ahead of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024, we’re chatting with a range of creatives who will be heading to the city over August to find out more about their shows. Today we’re chatting with acrobat Lachlan Harper about Ten Thousands Hours.
Can you tell us a bit about you and your career so far?
My career began like many kids': too much energy and too many climbable objects at home. My parents enrolled me in gymnastics to channel both, and I was enraptured. I spent the next 11 years training, learning my body's capacities, and loving gymnastics. By age 16, I craved more freedom of expression beyond gymnastics' rigidity.
I tried acrobatics with a friend who attended NICA (National Institute of Circus Arts), a school that offered a Bachelor's program in circus arts. I realised this would let me combine creativity and gymnastics. At 19, I joined NICA's Bachelor's program, spending two years exploring circus and acrobatics and learning to train with other bodies. Towards the end of my second year in the Bachelor program, an unmissable opportunity came up. Gravity and Other Myths had an opening for a performer who resembled my skillsets. I applied for the company, hoping to make them aware of me rather than get the role. Fortunately for me, they thought I was a great fit.
For the past eight years, I've been performing, touring, creating, and loving acrobatics with Gravity and Other Myths, my friends, and my new family.
What is your show about?
Ten Thousand Hours is about the effort and journey to becoming a 'Master' of something. It's an ode to the dedication and time we've poured into our training and artistry to be where we are today. It explores the journey, not the culmination of achieving mastery. At its core, the show is about this specific group of people, our collaboration and commitment to each other that shine through.
What was the inspiration for Ten Thousand Hours and what’s the development process been to get to this stage?
The inspiration comes from the quote, 'It takes ten thousand hours to become a master of something'. The show explores those hours and the intricacies of the journey. We've been sitting on the idea for a while, developing ideas and content in our COVID training space in 2020. We've since been doing mini-developments and expanding on everything previously explored throughout 2023, culminating in five weeks of development at the start of this year before the show's premiere at Adelaide Fringe. We desired to give a real insight into acrobatic training in the framework of a show. We've explored themes of mastery and struggle, success and failure, finesse and grit to generate a show free of frills and true to ourselves that highlights that the journey is the destination.
What made you want to take Ten Thousand Hours to the Fringe?
The fringe is such a fantastic place to perform, and the city comes alive in a special way; we wanted to share something that means so much to us with a city and festival that means so much in performing arts. I'd also be lying if I said we weren't selfishly wanting to see our friends in other shows!
Apart from seeing Ten Thousand Hours, what’s your top tip for anybody heading for Edinburgh this summer?
Go out, walk around, see as many shows as you can, and experience the vibrance of the city in Summer. Not every month does a city double in population and become a performing arts hub; embrace the chance to be moved by art from all over the world.
Why should people book Ten Thousand Hours?
Ten Thousand Hours is fun, light, and human. It's true to the humanity of our artists and the company ethos. The show strives to push the envelope of physicality without taking itself too seriously, allowing people of all ages and backgrounds to take something away from it. The show has a minimalistic set reminiscent of 'A Simple Space', enabling the acrobatics and artistry to do the talking.
When and where can people see Ten Thousand Hours?
Ten Thousand Hours is on at 11:40 in Assembly Hall, we'd love to see you all there!
