August– November Proudly supported
Proudly supported by the City of Perth by the City of Perth
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Contents The Complete Works Concussion by Ross Mueller This Is Not A Love Song What Do They Call Me? Letters Home Welcome to Slaughter Status Room Joey: The Mechanical Boy Those Who Fall In Love Like Anchors Dropped Upon The Ocean Floor 25th Birthday Membership Sustainability Follow us The Team
Image: Simon Pynt
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Now Welcome. Pull up a chair. Grab a drink and sit back. For 25 years, we’ve helped generations of artists get their work made and seen. This season, we invite you to join us in celebrating the best independent theatre and performance in WA. Shows at The Blue Room Theatre are different to what you’ll find anywhere else. We let artists take risks they can’t make elsewhere. We nurture new ideas and support fresh vision. We champion the now, the next and the new. So, get involved. Our tickets might be cheap ($15–$25 for all shows) but our shows are anything but. Hang back and talk to the artists or arrive early and grab a drink to bring in with you. Discuss, debate and enjoy this eclectic program of shows about you, created for you, by people just like you. Join us now.
Our shows sell out fast so book in advance to secure your seats now.
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The Complete Works This is your chance to lock in your seats for every show in the season, with the flexibility to change nights or give your ticket to a friend if you can’t make a show. The Complete Works ticket gets you priority access to our Members’ Nights, where you’ll enjoy snacks and bar specials before and after the show. Best yet, you’ll save up to 40% on full price tickets as a member and 20% for non-members.
$120 $160 Buy online or call us on 08 9227 7005 to get the Complete Works.
Image: Simon Pynt
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Concussion
by Ross Mueller
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Concussion By Ros s M u e l l e r Somewhere in a city, a brutally beaten Caesar wakes up with no memory of his past. He lives in a house that might be his with a son he barely remembers, cared for by a doctor who may be his girlfriend. The world around him staggers and falters as he tries to piece his life together, one fragment at a time. At turns surreal, comical, violent and sexually explicit, Concussion is a dark comedy of shattered identity that interweaves six lives through a city in meltdown. Funny and filthy tales of urban and urbane life are delivered by a dynamic ensemble cast, including Performing Arts WA award-winner Nichola Renton and Richard Mellick.
Winner of the 2009 New York New Dramatists Award. Shortlisted for the Patrick White Playwrights Award and the Griffin Prize.
7pm Director: Sarah McKellar Producer: Renae O’Neill Movement Director: Katya Shevtsov Set and Costume Design: Iona McAuley Lighting Design: Beth Ewell Marketing: Kimberley Fulton Featuring: Nichola Renton, Richard Mellick, Ian Bolgia, Paul Grabovac, Russya Connor, Danen Engelenberg
Image: Tanya Voltchanskaya
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$15–$25 AUGUST
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This Is Not A Love Song
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Thi s I s N ot A L ove S o n g If there is one thing a comedian knows, it’s how to wreck a relationship. Comic legend Greg Fleet and director Tegan Mulvany team up to present a love story that is equal parts ‘irresistible first kiss’ and ‘unstoppable, hate-fuelled wrecking ball’. This tale is backed by a live soundtrack compiled of every great song ever written*. Falling together. Falling in love. Falling apart. We remember everything in a relationship – every smile, kiss and sweet betrayal. But why are my memories so different to yours? Who is that handsome young man you’re with and why are you holding his hand as you listen to our favourite songs? Let’s be honest. We all know the end of a relationship can be agony, but what hurts more – losing your partner or losing your record collection? As someone once said, ‘there are no happy endings, just stories that haven’t finished yet’. *Fact
8:30pm Writer: Greg Fleet Producer: Greg Fleet, Tegan Mulvany Director: Tegan Mulvany Featuring: Shane Adamczak, Greg Fleet, Tegan Mulvany Music: Michael de Grussa
$15–$25 AUGUST
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What Do They Call Me?
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What Do They Call Me? Making its West Australian debut, this classic Indigenous theatre piece incorporates Aboriginal culture and diverse sexuality in a singular, incomparable way. Originally performed as a one-woman piece by Eva Johnson, this production features three captivating actresses delivering powerful, timeless stories. Three wildly different women, a mother and her two daughters, reveal how they came to find each other, their culture and themselves. Connie, a rambunctious and matriarchal elder, has lived through the toughest periods of Australian Aboriginal history. Regina, a nuclear mother adopted into a white household and raised as “Eurasian”, must confront the reality of her cultural identity. Alison, a lesbian activist, struggles with her partner’s perceptions of her heritage and how her culture affects her sexuality. A universal story about not growing up in your culture and how sexuality affects the way one’s heritage is viewed.
7pm Writer: Eva Johnson Producer & Director: Eva Grace Mullaley Featuring: Jedda-Rae Hill, Ebony McGuire, Alyssa Thompson Lighting Design & Stage Management: Tegan Evans Sound Design: Wayne Freer AV Vision Director: Shakara Walley Publicity & Marketing: Andrea Fernandez
Image: Michelle Karas
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$15–$25 SEPTEMBER
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Letters Home
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Letters Home I come from Singapore, a country synonymous with rules, regulations and penalties. Becoming an artist in Australia meant I reneged on military service, compulsory for all young Singaporean men. Not returning home made me a criminal in the eyes of the state and my parents. Now, I can never go home. Joe Lui presents a deeply personal and honest story about confronting his past to forge his future, in which he takes centre stage for the first time in his career. Mentored by Humphrey Bower, he mines the unsent letters he wrote to his parents and incorporates live music and clips from his time as a child actor. This is Joe’s life laid bare; the good, the not-so-good and the downright perverse. Friday Night Salons Break bread with Joe during a special series of late-night salons on the set of this new work. Enjoy a long-table dinner, catered by Joy Café, over a wide-ranging discussion about youth, power and freedom. Add this culinary experience to your ticket for $35, online or over the phone.
8:30pm Writer & Sound Designer: Joe Lui Direction Mentor: Humphrey Bower Producer: Lisa McCready Lighting Designer: Chris Donnelly Video Designer: Mia Holton Set & Costume Designer: Cherish Marrington Stage Manager: Meabh Walton Featuring: Joe Lui
$15–$25 SEPTEMBER
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Welcome to Slaughter
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Welcome to Slaughter Night falls on the bush. A couple drive through a dark wilderness. They are lost. But they are not alone. Love can be a bitch. So can Perdita, an eccentric relationship counsellor with some unusual techniques. When Fawn and Oliver arrive at her retreat they’re hoping to heal old wounds but end up confronting their worst nightmares. A theatrical horror story told from the inside of a car, Welcome to Slaughter slashes the isolation of the open road and intensifies the danger of an over-active imagination. This audaciously bold thriller draws on classic cinematic masterpieces for riotous thrills; think Wolf Creek meets Rocky Horror. With a pumping soundtrack and sumptuous projections, this award-winning team of artists create a haunting and hilarious journey into your deepest fears. You’ll die laughing.
7pm Director: Michelle Robin Anderson Producer: Georgia King Devised by & Featuring: Jo Morris, Emily Rose Brennan, Adriano Cappelletta Devised by & Dramaturg: Jeffrey Jay Fowler Stage Manager: Meabh Walton Sound Designer: Brett Smith Publicity: Adrienne Downes
Image: Michelle Robin Anderson & Michael Timmins
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$15–$25 OCTOBER
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Status Room
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Status Room An examination of personas, Status Room exposes the versions of ourselves we choose to present. One dances and sings at her reflection behind a closed bedroom door. The other rips it up on a nightclub stage. One will tell you everything and anything, in person and online. The other watches and listens. One posts poetic and ambiguous missives on life and love. The other revels in publicising bright, mindless banter. One escapes the city and is never bored in silence. The other fills a morning with paralysing mundanity. Who do you see in front of your mirror? What will you like or share? A new dance theatre work exploring how openness can serve and connect us, or hurt and destroy us.
8:30pm Director: Jo Pollitt Devisers: Daisy Sanders, Shuling Wong Producer & Publicity: Jenna Mathie Featuring: Daisy Sanders Lighting & Sound Designer: Joe Lui Stage Manager: Troy Leenards
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P Preview Date M Members’ Night A Meet The Artists x2 Shows at 6pm & 8.30pm
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Joey: The Mechanical Boy
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Joey: The Mechanical Boy Joey is 9½ years old. Joey likes machines so much he wants to be one. But sometimes Joey explodes… Enter Dr Bruno Bettelheim: world-renowned child psychologist, Freudian, best-selling author, Holocaust survivor and director of the School for Emotionally Disturbed Children and Adolescents at the University of Chicago. Dr B diagnoses Joey with autism and begins immediate treatment. But does the diagnosis say more about the doctor than the patient? And what about Joey’s mother? What does she have to say about all this? Based on an article published in Scientific American in 1959, Joey: the Mechanical Boy explores how personalities are made, destroyed and made again, and how sometimes imagination can be the best medicine. The premiere of a new work by the awardwinning Nest Ensemble (Eve, 2012 Blue Room Theatre Members’ Choice Award).
7pm Writers: Margi Brown Ash, Leah Mercer Director: Leah Mercer Designer: Tessa Darcey Lighting Designer: Chris Donnelly Featuring: Philip Miolin, Vivienne Glance
Image: Leigh Brennan
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$15–$25 NOVEMBER
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Those Who Fall In Love Like Anchors Dropped Upon The Ocean Floor
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Those Who Fall In Love Like Anchors Dropped Upon The Ocean Floor “Someone in love, they can wait… forever.” From a Cold War Russian submarine, to a Parisian street and an Appalachian snow field, this is a tale that transcends time. A story about chance and the shattering consequence of tempting fate. A highly anticipated world premiere from the poetic and “achingly magical” mind of celebrated Australian playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer, directed by award-winning Adam Mitchell (The Motherfu**er With A Hat, When The Rain Stops Falling). “Finegan Kruckemeyer is fast becoming one of the world’s most intriguing writers.” ABC Arts “Life affirming and uplifting… a marvel of exquisite theatre-craft.” The Herald (Scotland) on The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy by Finegan Kruckemeyer. “Adam Mitchell’s inventive direction of this memorable drama is stunning.” Theatre People on When the Rain Stops Falling
8:30pm Writer: Finegan Kruckemeyer Director: Adam Mitchell Producer: Donelle Gardiner, Jo Morris, Renée Newman-Storen, Mark Storen Featuring: Jo Morris, Renée Newman-Storen Sound Designer: Ben Collins Lighting Designer: Chris Donnelly Publicity: Kate Hancock
Image: Simon Pynt
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$15–$25 NOVEMBER
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Mini MoveMe Improvisation Festival 22-29 November 2014 What is it about the performance of improvisation - this once off, never to be repeated event - that makes it such a thrill? Is it that it exposes the core of the creative impulse? Or is it the possibility and embrace of irreverence, danger or even failure that makes it so alluring?
Michael Schumacher, Ros Warby, Rosalind Crisp, Andrew Morrish, Peter Trotman, Jo Pollitt, Paea Leach, Jacob Lehrer, David Corbet and YOU‌
STRUT in partnership with MoveMe brings you 8 days of improvisation performance embracing dance, music and discourse. An array of world class improvisers and national greats will bring you an exciting array of performances, seminars and workshops to unfold across all our partner venues in Northbridge and the Cultural Centre.
Artists whose process engages a deep improvisational practice are encouraged to participate or present their own work. Live improvised music will form an integral part of the festival through STRUT’s collaboration with Tura New Music. The irrepressible Sam Longley will be your guide and MC throughout.
Scholarships to attend, partake or present are available on application. strutdance.org.au for programme details and scholarship/presentation opportunities.
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Share locally sourced food with a greater Mediterranean bent and drinks with a story. Enjoy Bivouac’s own coffee blends while taking in the revolving showcase of emerging artists.
198 William St. Northbridge www.bivouac.com.au Tues to Sat 12pm – Late bivouaccanteen
ENGAGE CHALLENGE EXCITE SURPRISE REFLECT WE HELP IT HAPPEN Great White by The Skeletal System Image by Courtney McAllister
PROUD PARTNERS OF THE BLUE ROOM THEATRE
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For 25 years, The Blue Room Theatre has provided a stage for local, national and international artists. We’ve torn up the rule book, launched global hits, celebrated risk and championed the vision of new and emerging artists. Since 1989, we’ve been at the forefront of contemporary performance in WA and that’s where we remain.
We give independent artists the opportunities and skills to succeed. For 25 years, The Blue Room Theatre has helped hundreds of writers, directors, producers, publicists, stage managers, technicians, designers, dancers and actors turn their ideas into reality. Unique in Australia, we support the advancement of careers and provide an unparalleled resource to emerging artists with big ideas and established artists who want to take new risks. Donate on our website, blueroom.org.au today and play your part in making these ideas happen. “The Blue Room Theatre is, quite simply, awesome... It allows artists to be proactive, experiment and learn through doing. Alvin was just one of these many experiments, and it has taken me all around the world. There is nowhere quite like the Blue Room and I sing its praises wherever I go.” – Tim Watts, The Last Great Hunt (The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik, Bruce, It’s Dark Outside)
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Image: Simon Pynt
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Membership access to workshops alerts about applications discounted rehearsal space support advocacy Head to blueroom.org.au to find out more about becoming a Blue Room Theatre member. Don’t need member services but want to support us? Join our Giving Program and support independent artists of WA.
Image: Simon Pynt
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Sustainability
We’ve replaced our foyer lights with low-wattage LEDs to reduce our power in public areas. We’ve phased out bottled water – there’s free filtered water available at our bar for all. We’re also continuing to do a lot behind the scenes, implementing changes from our recent energy audit to cut our environmental impact. Why? Because we want to take the lead and become WA’s first Carbon Neutral independent performance venue. Follow what we’re doing at blueroom.org.au/sustainability
Image: Simon Pynt
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The Blue Room Theatre Perth Institute of Contemporary Art Western Australia Museum Art Gallery of Western Australia Perth Train Station
For the latest news, special offers, back stage insights and exclusive content about our shows, follow us: eNewsletter: sign up at blueroom.org.au
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Blog:
head to blueroom.org.au and check out the latest news
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The Team Executive Director: Kerry O’Sullivan Venue & Operations Manager: Roger Miller Producer: Susannah Day Marketing & Communications Manager: Gemma Sidney Office & Front of House Manager: Sally Martin Finance Officer: Karen Connolly
Chair: Libby Klysz Deputy Chair: Philippa Maughan Treasurer: Tanya Payne Secretary: Mark Storen Humphrey Bower Shane Colquhoun Dr Vanessa Rauland The Blue Room Theatre employs artists as front of house, bar and ushering staff on a casual basis; we couldn’t do it without them. Thank you!
Image: Simon Pynt
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Thanks to the Arts Angels and ushers for kindly volunteering their time. If you’d like to volunteer with us and see shows for free, email Sally on sally@blueroom.org.au for more information.
We would like to acknowledge the generous support of our brochure and launch partners; Simon Pynt Photography, Scott Print and Gene Eaton at Inland Studio.
Thanks also to outgoing Acting Marketing Manager Tom Lawlor for his hard work over the last six months. He was the craic.
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The Blue Blue Room Room Theatre through thethe Australia Council, The Theatre is is assisted assistedby bythe theAustralian AustralianGovernment Government through Australia Council, its arts arts funding funding and are supported byby thethe City of Perth its and advisory advisorybody; body;our ourdevelopment developmentseasons seasons are supported City of Perth
blueroom.org.au Perth Cultural Centre, 53 James St, Northbridge WA
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