Want to know what’s on in the Theatre world around Australia? Well look no further:
SYDNEY
A Steady Rain
A dark duologue filled with sharp storytelling and biting repartee, A Steady Rain explores the complexities of a lifelong bond tainted by domestic affairs, violence and the rough streets of Chicago.
A Steady Rain is playing at the Old Fitzroy Theatre, Woolloomooloo, SYDNEY from 22nd September – 17th October.
www.oldfitztheatre.com/a-‐steady-‐rain
Ride and Fourplay
In Ride, two strangers wake up in bed together, naked and hung over, with no idea how they got there. Through hazily reconstructed memories, they begin to make sense of what may – or may not – have happened between them.
Fourplay is a serendipitous story about four city dwellers finding intimacy, friendship and love in unlikely places.
Ride and Fourplay are on at the Eternity Theatre, Sydney from 4th September – 4th October 2015.
http://www.darlinghursttheatre.com/whats-on/ride-and-fourplay
Anything Goes
Caroline O’Connor leads the all-star cast as evangelist turned nightclub singer Reno Sweeney. Set aboard an ocean liner traveling from New York to London you’ll laugh, cry and sing along to the madcap antics of the brilliant cast. Featuring the familiar songs ‘I Get A Kick Out Of You’ and ‘De-lovely’ Anything Goes is the toe-tapping musical of the year.
Anything Goes is on at The Sydney Opera House until 31st October. Tickets available:
http://anythinggoesmusical.com.au/tickets/sydney/
I May Take My Shirt Off
Actor Dash Kruck brings his debut cabaret to Sydney. Featuring a suite of original cabaret tunes and accompanied by a live band it follows the story of a seemingly unremarkable gay man suffering the after-effects of a break-up.
I May Take My Shirt Off is on at The Hayes Theatre in Sydney from 20th September – 11 October. Tickets available: www.hayestheatre.com.au
A Property of the Clan
A disturbing tale inspired by real events, A Property of the Clan tells the story of the sexual assault and murder of a 14-year-old girl at a party. It examines a culture of boys and girls lost in the misrepresentation of one another, the ugliness of victim blaming and the emotional and social effects the unexpected death of a peer has on young people.
A Property of the Clan is on at Blood Moon Theatre in Sydney from 29th September – 17th October.
Dead Centre and Sea Wall
In Sea Wall we are introduced to Alex. Alex’s story begins full of clear light and smiles, as he speaks about his wife, visiting her father in the South of France, having a daughter, photography, and the bottom of the sea. But his contentment falls away into deep and heart-breaking grief, crumbling to pieces with a striking vividness.
In Dead Centre, a woman going through a period of emotional anguish decides to pack her bags and leave Britain and its sorrows behind. Inspired by a Fosters ad that seems to follow her on one particularly sad Tuesday; she books a flight and heads for sunny Australia to escape from her troubles in the hope of starting again.
Dead Centre and Sea Wall are playing at the Old Fitz Theatre, Sydney from 20th October – 14th November 2015.
http://www.oldfitztheatre.com/dead-centre-sea-wall/
My Zinc Bed
“I can love you and drink. Or I can not love you and not drink. That’s the choice.” Paul Peplow, poet and ex-alcoholic, is on the straight and narrow. But one unforgettable London summer threatens to undo him. When Paul is sent to interview charismatic millionaire Victor, he’s invited into a new, enticing world. But it’s a dangerous game. As he trades verbal blows with Victor – and flirts with his wife Elsa – the walls of Paul’s carefully constructed sobriety start to crumble…
My Zinc Bed is playing at Ensemble Theatre from 10th October – 22nd November 2015.
http://ensemble.com.au/plays/zinc-bed
Rent
At the dawn of the 1990s, New York City’s East Village is home to an ever-diminishing bohemian community. Development pushes people from their borough, disease withers loved ones from their lives, and a group of friends fight for their place in the face of such quiet vanishing.
Jonathan Larson’s RENT opened Off-Broadway in 1996 on the 25th of January and became a global phenomenon. The show would earn Larson multiple Tony Awards along with a Pulitzer Prize for Drama – a distinction not received by a music theatre work for another 14 years. Though Larson himself would never see the impact of his masterwork – passing suddenly in the early hours of the very day the show would open to the public – it’s longevity serves as a testament to the emotional resonance of Larson’s creation and an embodiment of its ever-present message: “no day but today.”
Rent is playing at Hayes Theatre from 8th October – 1st November 2015.
http://www.hayestheatre.com.au/coming-soon/rent.html
MELBOURNE
CIRCA: Carnival of the Animals
Australia’s astonishing Circa perform their wondrous new fusion of circus, animation and music, Carnival of the Animals, at the Sydney Opera House, Arts Centre Melbourne and State Theatre Centre WA this September/October. Created by circus visionary Yaron Lifschitz, the production brings the joy of the animal kingdom to the stage in a sophisticated and visually stunning physical theatre extravaganza for children big and small.
Sydney Opera House
Arts Centre Melbourne
State Theatre Centre, WA
Until 4th October 2015.
http://circa.org.au/shows/tour-dates/
Tender
Sarah can’t remember what happened in the gardens.
Her memory is fractured, her husband Michael seems barely present and her parents-in-law, Yvonne and Patrick, are losing patience.
What is it that she has lost and can she get it back? As we jump between events before and after that fateful night in the gardens it becomes clear that the scars that Sarah carries run deep.
Tender is playing at The Butterfly Club from 21st -25th October 2015.
https://thebutterflyclub.com/show/tender
32 Rue Vandenbranden
Belgian physical theatre provocateurs Peeping Tom (Le Salon, Melbourne Festival 2009) return to Australia with a hyper–real collision of jaw–dropping physicality, cinematic realisation, macabre slapstick and an unsettling soundtrack from Bellini, Stravinsky and Pink Floyd. As internal forces determine which turn each individual takes, their motives are exposed and stripped of consciousness. When the borders between reality and imagination blur, the characters lose themselves in a haunting world where humanity and humour punctuate their isolation.
32 Rue Vandenbranden is playing at the Arts Centre Melbourne from 8th – 11th October 2015.
http://www.mtc.com.au/plays-and-tickets/other-companies/32-rue-vandenbranden/
Desdemona
Desdemona is the most fiery angel in Shakespeare’s creation–a radiant and radical woman of independence, courage, and love. She is now given an astonishing and provocative voice by Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, who reveals secrets in Othello that will change forever our reading of the play.
In a time outside of time we discover the other African in Shakespeare’s play–Barbary, the maid who raised Desdemona on African stories and songs, stunningly embodied by the great Malian singer Rokia Traoré.
Desdemona is playing at the Arts Centre, Melbourne from 16th -19th October 2015.
http://www.mtc.com.au/plays-and-tickets/other-companies/desdemona/
Masquerade
In a wondrous world of riddles and hidden treasure, bumbling Jack Hare is on a race against time to deliver a message of love from the Moon to the Sun.
Far, far away in a world just like ours, a mother cheers her son Joe with the tale of Jack Hare’s adventure.
But when Jack’s mission goes topsy–turvy, Joe and his mum must come to the rescue, and the line between the two worlds becomes blurred forever.
Bringing to life Kit Williams’ iconic picture book, Masquerade features the multi–talented Helen Dallimore, a talking fish and a gassy pig, with songs and music performed live on stage by Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen.
Masquerade is playing at the Arts Centre Melbourne from 22nd – 25th October 2015.
http://www.mtc.com.au/plays-and-tickets/other-companies/masquerade/
Buyer and Caller
A massive cult hit in New York that went on to a sell-out US tour, Jonathan Tolins’ Buyer and Cellar is a shopaholic’s binge and an adoring fan letter to Barbra Streisand.
Let’s be totally clear about this. The play is pure fiction, okay? Well, except of course, the part about a singing legend by the name of Barbra who has a passion for design. And, true, she does have a fabulous house in Malibu, and, yes, in her vast basement she has created her own shopping mall to display all her stuff. But the whole business about Alex, an out-of-work actor who takes a job looking after the mall, with dreams of serving its only customer – well, not a word of that is true. At least, not as far as we know!
Buyer and Caller is on at the Arts Centre Melbourne from 30th October – 12th December 2015.
http://www.mtc.com.au/plays-and-tickets/mainstage-2015/buyer-and-cellar/
PERTH
Two Bees
An infection has spread through the world’s bee population, taking over their minds, bodies and appetites, turning them into terrifying Zombees.
Featuring live music and two actors playing nine characters, Two Bees is an unrelenting, raucous menagerie.
Two Bees are buzzing around the Blue Room Theatre from 15th September – 3rd October 2015
http://blueroom.org.au/events/two-bees/
Benjamin and Me
Benjamin is Will’s best mate in the whole wide world. Benjamin is also a dog.
One morning, Will wakes up with an idea. He has decided to build the first ever boy-dog operated flying machine. And so, this coming-of-age adventure takes to the skies…
Benjamin and Me is playing at the Blue Room Theatre as part of the AWESOME Festival from 6th – 11th October 2015.
http://blueroom.org.au/events/benjamin-me/
From Afar on a Hill
From Afar On A Hill is a participatory performance work exploring global issues of citizenship, immigration, privilege and collective responsibility. With a refugee crisis currently sweeping Europe and the issue of asylum seekers dividing Australians for so many years, this couldn’t be more timely.
Upon entering the performance space, audience members are immersed in a process of interrogation before being gently guided to the position of adjudicator. Three dancers and one live sound performer then put the challenge to the seated audience who become enmeshed in the outcome as a result of their responses.
From Afar on a Hill is playing at PICA from 6th -10th October 2015.
http://pica.org.au/show/from-afar-on-a-hill-2015/
The Cockatoos
The Cockatoos is a tale of suburban secrets broken open to the light. A mob of wild cockatoos has descended on the neighbourhood. For some they bring life and renewal – but for others, death and destruction.
Olive and Mick dance tentatively towards reconciliation. Eight year old Tim spends a night alone in the park. These two stories rise in a spiralling sarabande of exclusion and belonging.
The Cockatoos fly into the Blue Room Theatre from 20th October – 7th November 2015.
http://blueroom.org.au/events/the-cockatoos/
Faust
West Australian Opera’s critically-acclaimed 2015 Season will conclude with Charles Gounod’s grand opera, Faust, a fittingly lavish production from Scottish director David McVicar for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
The storyline behind this masterpiece is one of the most enduring in literature: a bargain with the devil and the subsequent battle between good and evil with an intriguing mix of temptation, romance and betrayal. The richness of Gounod’s music underscores the drama of this tragic tale and includes one of the most famous arias in the opera repertoire: Ah, je ris de me voir (the Jewel Song) as well as Gloire immortelle de nos aïeux (the Soldier’s Chorus).
Faust is playing at His Majesty’s Theatre from 29th October – 7th November 2015.
Awesome Arts Festival
Each year in the October school holidays, the AWESOME Festival presents a spectacular array of theatre, dance, early childhood activities, music, film and hands-on activities in the Perth Cultural Centre.
The 2015 AWESOME International Arts Festival for Bright Young Things will return to the Perth Cultural Centre to inspire and delight Perth children aged 0 – 12 and their families.
AWESOME Festival is on in various locations around the Perth Cultural Centre from 3rd – 16th October 2015.
Proximity Festival
Proximity Festival 2015 is twelve days of experimental performances, intimate gallery tours, caffeine-fuelled discussions, workshops, and a very special opening party.
Taking place throughout the Art Gallery of Western Australia from 28 October – 8 November this year’s Festival will unite twelve emerging and established artists who aren’t afraid to take risk in very intimate ways.
Go on a date as your online self, stargaze in daylight,surrender yourself to a transformative abduction, connect with a forgotten landscape using water as your instrument, and indulge in the humour of a family sex drama.
Proximity Festival is on at the Art Gallery of Western Australia from 28th October – 8th November 2015.
http://proximityfestival.com/proximity-2015/