They'd had enough of ice, so they swapped their long johns for wetsuits.
Performed in a specially designed Whistler venue made entirely from snow and ice, the Only Animal's play NiX was a huge hit at the Cultural Olympiad. Now the company is heading into the waters of Spanish Banks with Sea of Sand, a "memory mystery" about a man with amnesia, his wife who doesn't want him to recover his memory, and a mysterious woman who emerges from the sea.
Alongside the action happening up and down the beach – and right in the chilly waters of Burrard Inlet – is a radio play-like soundtrack that sometimes tells a different side of the story.
"It's very physical, and it's got a bit of style to it, like a silent movie or an old noir film," says playwright and co-director Eric Rhys Miller. "Because it's memory, it's heightened, the colours are really bright and the actors' movement is choreographed, which is the kind of theatre I really love. So it's a lot of fun."
Sea of Sand runs at Spanish Banks West through August 28. Appropriate for ages 12 and up. Tickets are by donation; reservations are recommended (theonlyanimal.com).