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TO GET THE LATEST UPDATE OF THIS PAGE PRESS CTRL AND F5 SIMULTANEOUSLY Darlinghurst Theatre Company presented six new projects, from six new producers, over three weeks, two shows per night.
In The Raw, Week one =
TROPPO AMORE devised by Leonie Cambage and The Tall Poppeas. 
November 25 - November 29, 7.00pm. Presented by The Tall Poppeas in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company.
Directed by Leonie Cambage
Choreography by Fiona Garlick, of the Early Dance Consort
Three women hopelessly addicted to love seek refuge at an island clinic to recover from their messy relationships. Supervised by a feisty nurse, their treatment comes unstuck when Amor, the god of Love, descends to earth in the form of a handsome shipwrecked sailor to thwart the nurse and reclaim the women. Besotted with the sailor, the women vie for his affection but to his shock, Amor is smitten by the coldly indifferent nurse. How far will they go to win this battle of love is anyone's guess! Sydney's new and innovative female vocal ensemble, The Tall Poppeas, is offering a special and original theatrical experience this November. Inspired by the rich and exquisitely beautiful vocal music composed in Italy for women in the 17th Century, The Tall Poppeas is unique in performing this "luscious" and "inspiring" music for Sydney audiences. With their timeless theme, the song texts have been woven into a modern and hilarious tale about the torturous twists of untamed love. The show combines drama and dance with vocal and instrumental music in a thoroughly light-hearted romp aimed to seduce all theatre goers to the beauty and wit of the baroque era. Singers: Hester Hannah, Inara Molinari, Heather Aston (Nov 25, 27, 29 evening), and Jennifer Kaye, Anna Fraser, Lyndsey Gartside (Nov 26, 28, 29 matinee). Actors: Vashti Hughes and Tobias Cole. Musicians:Prue Gibbs, Elizabeth Hassan, Deborah Coogan, Alex Cronin and Andrew White.
Director and Writer: Leonie Cambage Produced by: Inara Molinari Production Design: Leonie Cambage & Kate Shanahan Costume Design: Susan Carveth Lighting Design: Lisa Benham Visual Projections: Daniel Millar Musical Director: Prue Gibbs Choreographer: Fiona Garlick. Music by: Monteverdi, F. Caccini, B.Strozzi, Cima, Carissimi, Luzzaschi, Caproli and D'India. The Legacy by Kira Legaan and Carrie Zivetz. 
November 25 - 29, 9pm Presented by Lightyear Entertainment in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Directed by Carrie Zivetz Our greatest source of inspiration is the human condition. As people, we have an amazing capacity to harm and to heal. The Legacy is one woman's journey. It is a story uniquely told by her inner children, born out of an extraordinarily creative will to survive. The Legacy is filled with humour and music, poetry and dance. It is told to illuminate an awareness of abuse and highlight the indomitable spirit that lives in us all. The Legacy is at once shocking and inspiring, consistently entertaining and thoroughly compelling. Featuring: Kira Legaan. Produced by: Alisa Needham and Jane Fullerton-Smith In The Raw, Week two = Stepping into Shadows by Michael O'Brien. 
December 3 - 6, 7pm. Presented in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Enter a train station waiting room forty metres underground. The toilets are out of order and the lights keep going out. And from somewhere down the tunnel, a deep rumbling force is approaching. Inside that room five people wait, with no baggage except their fear. Fear you could eat with a fork. The fear of choice, the fear of deliverance, the fear of throat-slitting vengeance, and the fear of being fearless. Stepping Into Shadows is a confronting, eerie echo of our society. Five characters struggle for understanding, forgiveness and escape from a place where compassion is a distant memory. Please stand behind the yellow line, this train is stopping for no one. Directed by: Laura Scrivano. Design: Pip Runciman. Sacrificing the Queen by Greer Worsley. 
December 3 - 6, 9pm. Presented by Typically Red Productions in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company. A compelling new Australian drama that deals with power struggles and the art of intimidation. Taking on the current international political and social climate, refining it into the story of three people and the age old game of chess. In a dusty inner-city house late one Sunday night, a dangerous game is being played out, but the contestants don't necessarily know they're competing. Janek is a middle-aged immigrant with a dark past, who shares a home and an unusual friendship with Mark, a young man trying to flee the expectations of his parents. But when Mark brings Cassie into the arena after a seemingly innocent night out, she invades Janek's world, fuelled by alcohol and a belief in her own invincibility. What nobody knows is that by night's end, each player will sacrifice something dear to them in the name of winning. Remember, it's just a game. Featuring: Aimee Moffatt, David Ritchie and Glen Woolgar. Directed by Matthew Charleston. Production Manager: Amanda Hemming. In The Raw, Week three =
Bourke and Wills Cancelled
performed and devised by Oliver Torr and Matt Zeremes. December 10 - 13, 7pm. Directed by Caroline Dunphy and John O'Hare. Presented in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company. A modern take on a classical peice. Expect to see singing, dancing, cooking, giant mobile phones and artists trying to out art each other. Stained December 10 - 13, 9pm Devised and written by Peta Downes in association with members of Storm the Barricade. Presented in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Lock, stock and two bloody daggers. The Bard and the hard word. Dirty deeds done that cannot be undone. A sharp, contemporary web of deception around the ancient and bloodthirsty ambition to succeed. "Stained" is a reworking of Shakespeare's Macbeth set in the underworld of drugs and prostitution that is Sydney's Kings Cross. Inspired by Shakespeare's narrative and themes, "Stained" transposes the wilds of the Scottish heath to our famous Strip in Darlinghurst Rd. Directed by: Peta Downes and featuring: Lauren Clair, Winston Cooper, Paul Cotter, Sam Haft, Libby Richmond, Francesca Savige, Christopher Sommers. Designed by Karla Urizar, Music Composed by Yanto Browning, Writing Consultant/Dramaturg Stephen Sewell. Love’s Triumph by Terence Crawford. 
October 30 – November 22.
Presented by Three Way Theatre Company (Bench 2002) in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company
"This play is a comedy triumph. The wonderful mixed bag of characters act and interact with vigour… Love's Triumph is a great show. Comedy lives!" David Martin, Actor Australia, 4.11.03 "Terence Crawford's 'Loves Triumph' is consistently funny, utterly charming and (sneakily) clever." Tim Benzie, Sun Herald, 2.11.03
"Like the Shakespearean comedies it undisguisedly borrows from, Crawfords play is easily familiar, yet it also borrows the genre's emotive strengths.... gleefully funny and vastly entertaining.... Director Brendon McDonall gathers and excellent cast." Stephen Dunne, SMH, 31.10.03. "The laughs are so frequent it's easy to miss the edgier elements of Crawford's text.... (it's) darker and funnier, nailing Kings Cross's bohemian romance." Tim Benzie, SH, 2.11.03 A new Australian play and World Premier. Edwina Brumble (Gary Scale) is the Queen of Kings Cross, a colourful business identity and proprietor of 'The Love Palace' … but Edwina is not having a good day! She's about to lose her best worker to Cupid's arrow, her money to an unlikely nag in the 4th at Randwick, her daughter to a country bumpkin who could pass as her double, and her own heart to a dubious, crooked copper! Could things possibly get any worse? Edwina Brumble is a witch on the warpath, and someone's going to pay! On a set inspired by a kitsch, romanticised Sydney, 'Love's Triumph' is a wild theatrical ride that shamelessly plunders - in a uniquely Australian way - the great theatrical traditions of pantomime, burlesque, vaudeville, farce, and slapstick. 'Love's Triumph' is a classic comedy where, by the end of the play, the world is a more beautiful place and the redemptive nature of love and family ensures a joyful conclusion. 'Love's Triumph' is a wonderfully tender and optimistic work, with a big heart, a foul mouth and a twinkle in its eye. Featuring: Garry Scale, Andrew James, Rob Thomas, Mark Owen Taylor, Damion Hunter, Karen Pang, Octavia Barron Martin and Robert Woodhead. Directed by Brendon McDonall. Produced by Leanne Brockenshire, Sara O’Connor and Georgina Ross. BackPacker! by Christopher Johnson. 
October 14 - 18, 2003.
"Johnson writes like a cross between Harold Pinter and Jerry Seinfeld." Sydney Morning Herald
From See-Saw Theatre Company (CIGARETTES AND CHOCOLATE AND OTHER HANG-UPS) and Christopher Johnson (THE DOG LOGS; BARNESY, THE HARBOUR AND YOU) in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company, comes a sexy, adult, twisted new comedy-thriller: BACKPACKER! They may seem invisible at times, but they're out there… they lurk in large beachside pubs, in hostel courtyards and throughout Kings Cross… an entire subculture, happy-go-lucky, penniless, and, very often, drunk… they are the BACKPACKERS! If you thought theatre was exclusively for the rich, the old or the dull, you need BACKPACKER: a fast-paced, unpredictable comedy of suspense, starring Rachel Aveling, Monica Brian, Christopher Johnson, Alexander Jones and James Lugton. Directed by Michael Pigott. Bangers and Mash devised and performed by Drew Fairley and Kate Smith. 
October 14 - 18, 2003.
Presented in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company
What do you do when you find yourself attracted to your flat-mate? Do you clean the bathroom? Do you hit the town? Do you make a move... or do you move out? A wicked little pastiche with a splash of melodrama, a heap of sitcom, lashings of slapstick, a touch of satire, a dash of horror, buckets of comedy and a little song and dance.This show will leave you wanting to fall in love all over again and again and again. The Rules of the Game by Luigi Pirandello. 
September 20 – October 11, 2003.
Presented by Ricochet Working Productions Inc in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company
Featuring: Celeste Barber, Fiona Butler, Tim Green, Jacinta King, John Leary, Robert Noble, Mel Rogan, Tanc Sade, Tyson Salijevic, Hazem Shammas and Jarred Turner. The Rules of the Game is a psychological drama of desire and jealousy, bringing the concept of revenge tragedy intriguingly into the twenty-first century. It is a shining example of not only Priandello’s unique comic work, but also his crackling dialogue and biting wit. In this work, comedy springs from the intensely dramatic situation of a marriage breakdown where passion, love and tragedy are ever present. Directed by Al Flower, Assistant Directed by Sam Kennedy, Produced by Mel Rogan and Tanc Sade Necessary Targets by Eve Ensler. 
August 14 – September 6, 2003.
Presented by RL Productions in Association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company
"I defy anyone to spend time in the company of these wonderful women and come away thinking of refugees as a problem, as statistics or as queue-jumpers... There is a lot of energy, humour and passion in this fine company"
John McCallum, The Australian (August 18) "It's a stark and powerful text, yet Ensler's work wears both its research and its occasional moments of therapy-speak lightly. Peter Nettell's production is strong and very affecting, and the ensemble is excellent..."
Stephen Dunne, Sydney Morning Herald (August 19) Featuring: Danielle Antaki, Caitlin Beresford-Ord, Vivienne Garrett, Jill Mc Kay, Rosie Lalevich, Bojana Novakovic and Kym Vercoe. An Australian premier from the author of "The Vagina Monologues". Necessary Targets is a groundbreaking play about women and war, the violence of dark memories and the enduring resilience of the human spirit. Ensler's script is simple and heartbreakingly sincere. Necessary Targets was staged in New York by Meryl Streep, Anjelica Huston, and Calista Flockhart, and performed in Sarajevo with Glenn Close and Marisa Tomei. Directed by Peter Nettell, Produced by Rosie Lalevich, Designed by Wayne Harris, Original Compositions by Sarah de Jong, Sound Artistry by Philip Howe. Barnsey, The Harbour and You by Christopher Johnson. 
July 18 – August 9, 2003 Presented by Phantom Limbs in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company. "Christopher Johnson, who also plays Vic, writes like a cross between Harold Pinter and Jerry Seinfield... He's also got a good ear for modern-day euphemisms. Marriage is "the bells", sex is "the booty" and having an elicit affair is "doing the nasty"... Don't let the title put you off, this is a light, snappy peice of enjoyable theatre." Lenny Ann Low, Sydney Morning Herald, July 29, 03. From Christopher Johnson, author of last year's hugely successful THE DOG LOGS, comes a very adult, very sexy contemporary comedy. Set in the pubs, offices, gyms and apartments of inner-city Sydney, and then on a cruise on Sydney Harbour, BARNESY, THE HARBOUR AND YOU takes a hilarious and very provocative look at modern urban relationships. Definitely not one for the under-15s, the nine o'clock start of this production reflects its "adult" nature… be prepared for some very steamy scenes, a smattering of adult language, and an all-round comic barrage of adult humour. Infidelity, lust, lies and prohibited substances all add to the rapid-fire wit of this ultra fast-paced, cinematic comedy. Featuring: Lisa Gorman, Anthony O'Donoghue, Monica Brian, Renata Schuman, Jay Stewart and Christopher Johnson. Directed by Michael Pigott. Five Women Wearing the Same Dress by Alan Ball. 
July 17 – August 9, 2003. Presented by Muse Theatre Company in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Directed by Christopher Houghton
Featuring: Rachel Aveling, Anna Douglass, Irena Haze, Felicity Jurd and Helen Stuart. Life is like a bad Wedding... Keeping with his trademark mix of ironic situations with sardonic dialogue, the audacious Alan Ball brings to "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress" the same quirky, oddball, humane, humorous writing that is evident in all his writing, whether it be "Six Feet Under" or "American Beauty". During an ostentatious wedding reception at a luxurious Sydney Estate, five very reluctant, identically dressed bridesmaids hideout in an upstairs bedroom, each with her own reason to avoid the proceedings below. They discover throughout the afternoon's hilarity and hideousness a common bond, where difference is accepted and judgement is lost amongst the frills and Taffeta. Ball has drawn five women with such uncivilized sensitivity, compassion and irreverence, it gives this piece unusual freshness and honesty. Produced by Helen Stuart and Odette Mattha UNCLE VANYA By Anton Chekhov. 
June 19 – July 12, 2003. "It's unarguably a great play, especially in Neil Armfield and Oleg Bichenkov's simple, idiomatic translation." Stephen Dunne SMH.
Presented by PeterDarren Productions and You Are Here in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company Directed by Anthony Weigh
Translation by Neil Armfield and Oleg Bichenkov
Featuring: Russell Cheek, Peter Corbett, Maggie Dence, Rachel Gordon, Claire Jones, Cecily Polson, Maeliosa Stafford, Blair Venn. Chekhov's comedy is set on a country estate over a long hot summer. Uncle Vanya and his niece Sonya have been running the place alone for years, unappreciated but undisturbed. This summer, disturbance comes in the form of Yelena, the beautiful second wife of Sonya's father, the recently retired scholar Serebryakov.
Uncle Vanya is the second of Chekhov’s four last great plays; in the boldness of its narrative technique and its depth of characterization it can now be seen as one of the landmarks of the modern theatre. It has not had a professional production in Sydney for a decade. The impulse to mount it came from a group of artists who were associated with Theatre 20/20's widely admired production of Three Sisters at the Old Fitzroy Hotel in 1999. Produced by: Peter Ross and Darren Yap. Assistant Director: Lisa Freshwater. Production Design: Alice Lau Lighting Design: Martin Kinnane The Arab's Mouth by Anne-Marie McDonald. 
May 22 - June 14, 2003.
Presented by Smug Theatre in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company
"Slava Orel's fine production gets wonderful performances from the actors and effective puppetry for the other roles...I enjoyed it immensely". Stephen Dunne SMH A Black, Gothic, Scotish comedy set in 1899. Heartrending sobs are heard in the middle of the night, a disturbed younger brother is plagued by demons, a sinister doctor is trying to take control of the family and something strange is scaping around in the attic. What's a girl to do? Pearl is headstrong, redheaded and ever so Scottish. Armed with theories of God, mythology, superstition, genitics, eugenics, Darwinism, Freud, religion, androgyny, homosexuality and the danger of staring too long into the centre of a doughnut, she's not putting up with any nonsense. Rejuvenated after the sell-out season of ‘Blue Window’ in 2002, SMUG Theatre has nurtured yet another unique Australian premiere. ‘The Arabs Mouth’ will take the audience on a far-reaching theatrical journey with dramatic surround sound effects by specialist composer Robbie Avenaim. The Gothic setting by Glendon Fletcher and life size puppets by ‘Farscape’ puppeteer, Matt McCoy, will ensure the audience is taken on an amazing theatrical adventure. Featuring: John Noble (Lord of The Rings, The Return of The King 2003, The Monkeys Mask, The Bill, All Saints), Rebecca Smee (Theatre Nepean, Atlantic Theatre Company New York, Belvoir St, Flat Chat, All Saints.) Jan Langford Penny (NIDA, Griffin, All Saints, Police Rescue.), Jeremy Wolf (VCA 2002, AFTRS - She Touched Me There.) Set Designer - Glendon Fletcher, Composer - Robbie Avenaim, Lighting - Stephen Hawker, Puppeteer - Matt McCoy. Directed by Slava Orel (Bell Shakespeare Company, Belvoir Street and The Sydney Festival). Little Black Bastard April 23 – May 10, 2003
" Noel Tovey's exceptional one-man show is both an exorcism of a young life's pain and a tribute to the ancestry that rescued him from it...Fired by an extraordinary history, Little Black Bastard is more than a monologue. Tovey's eloquent return to shocking ghosts and devastating hardship is a remarkable tale of survival, soul and spirit." Lenny Ann Low, SMH 02.05.03
"Tovey's performance is gripping and intensely moving...A remarkable story and performance, of great cultural and historic importance." Helena Thompson, The Age 23.03.03 "Tovey's courageously frank account of an incomprehensibly brutal childhood is explicit and disturbing. But it is a story that must be told. More importantly, it's a story that must be heard. For it is a tale of triumph over incredible odds that is delivered with equal portions of heart and soul, laughter and tears...As his final words bounced off the dark walls ... a deeply moved audience spontaneosly rose to their feet, grateful for the opportunity to hear of a talented and inspirational man." Craig Martin, Stage Left Review 23.03.03 "Tovey has turned monsters to dust. It is a privilege witnessing that exorcism." Chris boyd, Herald Sun 24.03.03 "...full of humour...it is the particular kind of humour that comes out of a refusal to succumb to despair..." Bill Perett, Sunday Age Noel Tovey's journey through his harrowing and sometimes-funny formative years: from sexually abused foster child, street kid, jailbird, gay and black activist, to a substantial career as a Choreographer, Director and Performer in Europe and Australia. This is a story of survival and achievement against all the odds. Directed by Robina Beard, Designed by Richard Roberts, Lighting Design by Rachel Burke, Composition and Sound Design by Sarah de Jong. Proceeds donated to the Royal Far West Children’s Health Scheme. Cigarettes and Chocolate and other Hang Ups by Anthony Minghella. 
March 27 - April 19 2003
Presented by See-Saw Theatre Company in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company
"Cigarettes and Chocolate" is three plays by Anthony Minghella that speak directly to our hearts and minds. The writing is superb and the themes are startlingly relevent. A Sydney first, these short plays are interwoven as a seamless singular story that explores the emptiness and ironies of privileged city living. Minghella’s sharp and humorous observations of thirty-somethings, trying to make sense of themselves and their world, revolve around the central character’s bewildering silence. The writing is superb and the themes startlingly relevant…we fill our urban lives with a deafening onslaught of words, which leave us with empty gaps and painful questions. Anthony Minghella is best known for his outstanding work as the Screenwriter and Director behind such films as "Truly Madly Deeply", "The Talented Mr. Ripley", "The English Patient" and the soon to be released "Cold Mountain". Many are unaware that his stellar career began as a playwright. See-Saw Theatre invite you back to where it all began……… Minghella’s writing ‘sets a standard of emotional truth and clarity so sublimely high that everything around it looks stale and obvious’ THE TIMES-U.K. Produced by Jacqueline Cowell, Monica Brian and Brek Taylor. Directed by Rachel Aveling. Featuring Monica Brian, Lisa Bailey, Ashley Lyons, Amy Mathews, Peter Cook, Jimena Puente-Trevino and Jai Koutrae. Portia Coughlan by Marina Carr. Feb 27 - March 22 2003 "...this is a fascinating, emotional and strangely compelling work. It reaches that status mostly through Maeliosa Stafford's honest and worked production, and a beautifully chosen cast.... Beresford-Orr (Portia) has a tough role... She succeeds wonderfully, making Portia's tragic slide into self-obsession and indulgent excuses utterly believable." Stephen Dunne, Sydney Morning Herald March 10 2003. Presented by Octopus Theatre in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Directed by Maeliosa Stafford, renowned international director. Portia Coughlan was written 1996 by one of Ireland’s most exciting and fastest rising cultural identities, Marina Carr. She is the only woman to be a writer-in-association at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin in the past 15 years. This play, originally commissioned by the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin, premiered at The Peacock and went on to play at the Royal Court in London. Set in the present day Midlands of Ireland, the play tells the story of Portia Coughlan. As the youngest in a family of three generations, Portia Coughlan is a woman incapable of finding satisfaction in any aspect of her life. She is obsessively drawn to her twin brother Gabriel who drowned in the Belmont River fifteen years earlier. Beautifully written, this is a savage and relentless play. With a cast of ten richly drawn characters, we are thrown into the claustrophobic world of a family at war with itself and its past.
Produced by Kar Chalmers . Starring – Caitlin Beresford-Ord, Sean Bresser, Liz Chance, Laurence Coy, Benj Daddario, Alan Flower, Thomasin Litchfield, Lynne Porteous, Andy Soffe, and Wendy Strehlow. Savage Grace by Alana Valentine. February 5 - 22, 2003 Presented by Performing Lines and Steamwork Arts Productions, in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Directed by Sally Richardson and Starring Humphrey Bower and Gibson Nolte, Savage Grace is theatrical excellence imported from Western Australian. At last - Alana Valentine’s award winning play Savage Grace comes to Sydney’s Darlinghurst Theatre in February 2003. Savage Grace is a witty, intelligent, powerful, contemporary work that explores a provocative issue – euthanasia – through the eyes of two men, Dr Tex Cladakis, an American HIV specialist at an Australian hospital and Professor Robert Barvaro, the hospital ethicist. Recipient of the Blue Room Award for Best Production of an Existing Script (2001), this critically acclaimed Steamworks Production from Perth, “teeters on greatness”. (Sunday Times). "Alana Valentine's play... was like being unable to put down a compelling book... two extremely polished performances..." The West Australian. "In a polarised world, Valentine's play is a tonic... This moving and profoundly wise ethical journey deserves to be savoured more widely..." The Australian "Savage Grace is a thoughtful and emotionally charged piece that's intellectual, compelling and witty..." Post Newspapers “Savage Grace is a beautiful piece of work in every regard…if you haven’t been to the theatre this year – now is the time.” X-Press Magazine Schnecke-Nudel by Vashti Hughes and Liesel Baddorek. Jan 28 - Feb 2
Back by popular Demand for One week only. See below for more details.
"In The Raw" new play festival - 2002 The Nightmare Devised. December 10 - December 13
As part of Darlinghurst Theatre's "In The Raw" season:
A unique take on Shakespeare's classic comedy. Tangent2 Productions in association with Darlinghurst Theatre, offer a deconstruction and bold new version of Shakespeares's “A Mid Summer Nights Dream”.
`The Nightmare’ wrenches the story of the lovers and warring fairy kingdom from it's romantic Shakspearean context, and propels it into the chaos and consciousness of the early 21st century. -What if Titania & Oberon were not fairies but dark shadows engaged in nocturnal games to whet voracious sexual appetites?
-What if Helena was an obsessive stalker – violent and dangerous – but masquerading as your best friend?
-What if the actors in Bottom’s troupe were the products of a delusional mind?
-What if Shakespeare’s dream was not a dream but actually a terrible nightmare? Producers: Victoria Hill & Lisa Bailey
Director: Christopher Hurrell Between the Seabed and the Sky by Michael Pigott. December 3 - December 7
As part of Darlinghurst Theatre's "In The Raw" season:
Theatre Terra presents 'Between the Seabed and the Sky' by Michael Pigott. The play is loosely about Antonin Artaud and concerns itself with a famous writer going through his final and most explosive period of creativity. The play follows this writers block and what emerges is a highly charged production, with hallucinations, intimacy, physicality, sensitivity, live original music and even a mouse called Eddie... Directed by Gareth Boylan.
Starring: Marc Carra, Kyle Wright, Sky Lilly Simpson, Craig Menaud and Ben Barrack. Produced by Nicholas Pickard. Schnecke Nudel by Vashti Hughes and Liesel Baddorek. 
November 25 - November 30 As part of Darlinghurst Theatre's "In The Raw" season: Loose Cannon Productions in association with Darlinghurst Theatre presents ‘Schnecke Nudel’ - A Burlesque Comedy. Need a little sugar in your bowl? Strudel Vice and Iva Sveetvun, the sauciest magazine editors in town, will seduce you into the hilarious world of Schnecke Nudel; a delicious place somewhere between the sweetness of German pastries and the sting of a swift spanking.
Starring: Vashti Hughes, Liesel Baddorek, Johnny Nasser, and Yashal Shaduri.
Whale Music
by Anthony Minghella October 31 - November 23 2002 "What emerges is a touching, and often funny, portrait of sisterly bonding that transcends boundaries of age, class and education...this is British kitchen sink drama at it's best, directed with a steady hand by Genevieve Hegney" Colin Rose, The Sun Herald, November 10. Presented by White Wave Productions in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Caroline accidentally becomes pregnant, and returns to her coastal home for a discreet birth. There she seeks support from an incongruent group of feisty friends. Among them is an instinctively maternal school friend, a wisecracking and promiscuous landlady and a young idealist who finds gardening ads sexist. If you are a women or you know one, you have to see this show! Directed by NIDA graduate Genevieve Hegney, Whale Music has an extraordinarily talented all-female cast, featuring well-known actors: Katherine Slattery, Caroline Brazier, Belinda Bromilow, Esther Van Doornum, Sarah Aubrey, Jan Langford-Penny. The Treatment by Martin Crimp October 3 - October 19 2002 Presented by Bear, Boof, Bum Productions in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Anne's marriage hasn't been going so well. Her husband locks her up in their apartment. She finally escapes and finds refuge with two film producers who offer to buy her story. However, these "film producers" are wanting to buy something entirely different... Featuring: Alison Van Reeken, Geraldine Eller, Benj Daddario, Peter Carmody, Darren Shnase, Shae Kuehlmann Bench By Hellie Turner September 4 – 21, 2002 Presented by Three Ways Theatre Company in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Starring: Rowena Wallace Diana McLean Lynne Porteous Bench is a blackish comedy about the blooming friendship between an old sow,arooster and a crazy ballerina.
Dolly is a 65 year old ex-eisteddfod winner who is convinced she's a movie star. Along with her minder, Forbes, she is the day-time occupier of a particular bench in the park. Edith is a bag lady who uses the same bench at night. Both parties remain ignorant of each other until one day - Edith arrives early.
Through the conflict over bench space their stories unfold - illuminating moments of deep sadness, shocking revelations, joy and hope. Etta Jenks by Marlene Meyer August 8 - August 31, 2002 Presented by Woosh Productions in association with Channel Seven and Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Etta Jenks is the story of an out of town actress who comes to LA to become a film star. In order to finance her show reel she shoots a “skin flick”, and then slowly submerges into the LA underworld of drugs and porn, where dealers, directors, gangsters and wannabes circulate around each other in dangerous proximity.
Sydney’s prominent deaf actor, Alex Jones, plays the leading male character, Burt.
Starring: Jenni Baird (Channel 7’s All Saints), Alex Jones (Channel 7’s All Saints) and Tony Poli (ABC’s Phoenix).
Fit to be Tied
by Nicky Silver July 11 - August 3, 2002
Presented by Gaiety Theatre
Arloc Simpson is rich and single. His father left him the family fortune to spite Arloc’s hard drinking, promiscuous mother, Nessa. Nessa has been financially and emotionally dependent on Arloc his entire life. Now she may have to learn some motherly concern. A handsome stranger who claims he’s an Angel is being held prisoner in Arloc’s apartment. Can this be love or is there some other reason for Arloc’s kidnapping? Director, Stephen Colyer has worked in New York and Europe in a career spanning 15 years, from the Australian Ballet to Broadway and to Co.B Belvoir. Cast: Daniel Billet, Ryan Kwanten, Ira Seldenstein and Emily Weare. AN ADULT EVENING OF SHEL SILVERSTEIN June 11 - July 6 Presented by The Practical Theatre Company in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company A hilarious look at human relationships… An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein is a collection of ten vivid shorts plays, that use ingenious language to illustrate a bizarre series of relationships. A well-heeled woman is in denial about having taken the first steps to becoming a "bag lady." A husband and wife are in bed, enacting the wife's fantasy of a shipwreck in which the husband is forced to throw either her or his mother overboard. A father torments his daughter on her birthday with hints of bizarre gifts (a dead pony is just the beginning...). Silverstein creates a gleeful and macabre evening full of physical and verbal slapstick and strange twists on highly normal situations. Maken Trubull May 27 – June 2, 2002 Australia’s own comedy artist Jackie Loeb lifts the lid on the refugee crisis, beauty pageants, weight watchers, pop stars, motivational workshops and even those greatly revered Lassie films! No song is sacred with Jackie’s extraordinary vocal range as she takes her audience through her own unique compositions and old favourites like “Smile”, “God bless the child” and “Prepare Ye”. No rock is left unturned and no B-grade film is taboo. They’re all targets and no one’s going to stop Jackie “Maken Trubull”! As a former “Full Frontal” writer and comedian Jackie Loeb is a multi-talented comedy, cabaret, and theatre performer. Jackie has appeared at many venues in New York, San Francisco and across Australia. She has also delighted audiences at major festivals throughout Australia and overseas including the Sydney Festival, and the Melbourne International comedy festival. Jackie also has extensive Film and Television experience having appeared in E Street, Good Guys Bad Guys, Rafferty’s Rules, Insight, Compass, guest appearances on the Midday Show and soon to be appearing on Beauty and the Beast. 10 X 10 May 14 - 25, 2002 Ten Actors, Ten Short Plays Jeremy Johnson @ Theatre Songe Presents the Third Annual 10 X 10 in association with Darlinghurst Theatre Company.
10 X 10 is Sydney’s original short play festival featuring 10 hand-picked plays chosen from over 120 submissions Australia wide. Theatre Songe’s ensemble of ten actors will premiere these works by Australias emerging vanguard of writers. After two sold-out seasons at the Edge Theatre Newtown, this years plays incite social enquiry and freedom of speech including the refugee policy, euthanasia, suicide, Buddhism and… mummification. The Actors: Jake Blundell All Saints, Veronica Porcaro Water Rats, Jungle of Cities, Ian McGregor The Bill, Hazchem, Marina Finlay Prisoner, NIDA, Charles Freyberg Trouble With Gabby, Rachael Sheriff FarScape, Miyoba Matyola Pizza, Ben Gardiner Looking up from Above, Summer of the Aliens, Lisa Sciberras Blackrock, Luke Rex Death of a Salesman (NY), Lipstick On A Gorilla. ?Angel? A semi devised show May 8 – 11, 2002 Starring Guillermo Keys-Arenas, internationally recognised dancer and choreographer.
Directed by Bernadette Sabath “There’s a chick on the field” An old man with wings falls into an elderly couple’s backyard. The curious come from far and wide. The sick want to be healed; the carnival freaks and travelling circuses want his limelight. What do you do with a fallen Angel? Based on an amazing and moving story, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, (Love in Time of Cholera & One Hundred Years of Solitude), five extraordinary performers give their take through movement, music and the text…. Featuring the talents of Kate Smith “The Kate and Julia Show”, Drew Fairley “The Golden Mullet”, Maurie Barlin “He Died with a Falafel in His Hand”, Vashti Hughes “Vashti Caberet” and dance legend Guillermo Keys-Arenas. Office Jerks an improvised show April 18 – May 4, 2002. Mackenzie Deane and Solid Lines Creative present the Australian premier of “Office Jerks”, a unique and hilarious comedy, where the audience actually decide what type of company is about to be restructured. Starring a cast of Australia’s finest Improvisers including: Lisa Ricketts – Harold Park comic of the year 1997, Theatre sports @ Enmore Theatre and Belvoir St, Improzac. Aysha Leo – Police Rescue, STC young Playwright winner. Richard Mason Cranston Cup, 2BL, SBS TV. Andrew Mackenzie - Cranston Cup, She’ll be Right @the Stables Theatre. Tom Simmons – Temptation, Love Puke. And Nicola Parry – London Academy of Music, Theatre Sports. Written and Directed by John Knowles – Cops On Heat, Oh Brother, Melbourne and Adelaide Comedy Festivals, Improzac, The Funny Side of Sex and Crime. Set Designed by Peter Vassallo. Blue Window by Craig Lucas March 20 to April 14, 2002 An exceptional beautiful play by American writer Craig Lucas. In "Blue Window" we meet seven people - not quite strangers, not quite friends - struggling through a Sunday night; Five apartments all in one space. Voices tangle and overlap, lives cross, but always in ignorance of each other. Only the audience, the ultimate voyeur, can see the connections and parallels. There's nothing more devastating, then dangerous, caustic black comedy. That is what lies at the core of Blue Window. Director: Michael Denkha. Cast: Peter Fenton, Lenka Kripac, Rebecca Smee, Tamara Cook, Nicholas Cassim, Michael Labrum. Production Manager: Helen Walton. Set Design: Tim Kneeves. Sound: Glen Dulihanty. Lighting: Sydney Bouhaniche. An ingenious concept pulled off with flair. [Colin Rose, Sun herald] Mercy Thieves by Mark Kilmurry Mercy Thieves follows two hired assassins that are sent on one final mission. To find Harry. They meet up with old friends and colleagues, have a few drinks, reminisce…and shoot them. But one figure from the past proves a tough nut to crack. Harry’s mum. Mercy Thieves is blunt, bloody, blackly funny and highly entertaining. Mark Kilmurry is an extraordinary talent. His style as a writer, director and actor derives from his experience with award winning UK theatre company the Snarling Beasties, who have impressed audiences world wide with their distinctive,’ cinematic’ and high energy brand of theatre. Kilmurry has written and directed an entertaining and darkly comic piece of Australian noir…..The cast is excellent. [SMH, Stephen Dunne] Kilmurry proves a potent method actor as well as a dexterous mime – a cleverly structured piece and an impressive feat of admiring chameleon-like assimilation [The TimesUK] Kilmurry is superb [The Australian] The Dog Logs by Christopher Johnson 4th January – 2nd February, 2002
The Dog Logs Bite Back for a return season. (See Dog Logs 2001 for details regarding the show)
Beer Drinking Woman
by Christa Hughes 8 shows only (Dec 12,13,14,15,26,20,21,22) Christa Hughes is as intoxicating as her subject in her Beer Drinking Woman show. Christa takes her audiences on one hell of a bender with her repertoire of songs that range from Tom Waites The Piano Has Been Drinking, Barry Humphries The Chunder Song, Memphis Slim’s Beer Drinking Woman (featuring Christa’s beer skolling and gargling). We are also treated to her very own and highly entertaining songs and tales that delve into the world of the barfly. Sound and Lighting Designer by Felix Kulakowski. Accompanying Christa is renowned pianist Jann Rutherford. “Beyond the boundless bravura and charisma, the woman can sing intoxicatingly well…… Hughes’s own songs, which turn out to be highlights in top shelf company are tragi-comedies of wickedly accurate observations” [John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald] “She is the goddess of gargle, dare I say, the Diva of deep throat” [Jean Paul Gaultier, Eurotrash] Dead Star by Tug Dumbly 21st November – Saturday 8th December Poet, actor, comedian Tug Dumbly (best known for his regular slot on JJJ Radio) is the writer / performer in this one man show. Director Trisha Starrs. Dead Star is part musical comedy, part verse-drama, with a streak of Vaudevillian absurdity. Dead Star addresses and undresses the diseased cult of instant gratification. It is an eclectic piece that takes a shot at bad comedians, pricks the pomposity of pretentious brat actors, dishes the dirt on tele-evanglists and New Age quacks and examines the mix and match approach to modern spirituality. Dumbly writes with a muscular rythmic prosody that's easy on the ear. He's the type of poet unafraid to rhyme "catharsis" with "arses"... [Stephen Dunne SMH] A Mit & A Mullet a very special double bill 25th Oct – 17th Nov 2001 There’s a Chick on the Field Written & Performed by Bernadette Sabbath. Directed by Nicholas Cassim. Lighting Design Alycia Fergusson. Bernadette Sabbath takes an inspired look at the forces that shape her world as she embarks on a career as a professional baseball career. Bernadette has toured her show in both the USA & Australia. It’s a hilariously physical, tragic act in which she plays 10 personas [Sunday Telegraph, Carrie Kablean] “Comedy is supposed to be this honest but almost never is. [EsquireUSA] The Golden Mullet Written and directed by Drew Fairely. Directed by Cristabel Sved. Sound Design by Trevor Brown. Lighting Design by Alycia Fergusson. Dazza, a shy country boy, wows the cows with a cricket bat rendition of Cold Chisel and dreams of winning the 1986 Golden Mullet Rock Star Competition. Dazza’s only problem? He has the voice of Nana Mouskouri. A Mitt & A Mullet is two independently conceived but kindred comic monologues….both are performed in a disarmingly direct, affectionate and unpretentious way [Sun Herald, Colin Rose] The Golden Mullet…a funny and beautifully performed tale.[SMH, SD] Night, Mother by Marsha Norman 20th September – 13th October 2001 Night, Mother received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for best drama. Performed at Darlinghurst Theatre, by Swell Productions, Directed by Morgan Smallbone and starring Lisbeth Kennelly and Kate Reid. It is a tragic and riveting study of a mother and daughter grappling with that immense immeasurable beast, “the quality of life”. The play commences with the daughter determined to end her life, with only her ageing and dependent mother to stop her. It is uncompromising, incisive, often funny, always moving drama of the highest order. The Dog Logs by Christopher Johnson 29th August – 15th September 2001 THE DOG LOGS are monologues “by” dogs, brought beautifully to life by three actors and a live musician. Sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, each one has a twist in the tail! Not just for dog lovers, THE DOG LOGS ultimately takes a look at what it means to be human – covering the themes of violence, love, sex, revenge, mateship and prejudice. Written by Christopher Johnson. Directed by Gertraud Ingeborg, Cecelia Specht. Starring David Ritchie, Glen Woolgar, Christopher Johnson, Murray Jackson. Just perfect…a really super show. [ABC FM] A Treasure of a show [Melbourne Age] Has audiences howling with laughter. [SMH] The Woolgatherer by William Mastosimone 26th July – 25th August 2001 The Woolgatherer was a Darlinghurst Theatre Production and Opened the New Darlinghurst Theatre. Directed by Cristabel Sved, Starring Marta Dusseldorp and Alan Flower. Lighting Design: Stephen Hawker. Sound Design: Stuart Hunter. Dramaturgy: Sharon Jacobson & Cristabel Sved. The Woolgatherer is a modern day fairy tale, in which the heroine and the hero rescue one another from loneliness and despair. Their greatest fear and their greatest desire is to love. This fated encounter restores hope and transforms their lives. “Dusseldorp and Flower are both strongly convincing” [SMH, Bryce Hallet] Dusseldorp and Flower offer exquisitely detailed and captivating performances …it will give your heart strings a gentle workout.” [The Sun Herald, Colin Rose] "..a spicy recipe for some pretty damn dynamic theatre. Add a dose of intense sexual chemistry, and you have Cristabel Sved’s energetic, thoroughly entertaining production, The Woolgatherer” [Revolver, Imara Marty]
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