By Jonathan Biggins
By Jonathan Biggins
THE
M O U N TA I N TO P BY K ATO R I H A L L
Gloria. By Elaine Acworth
by Benjamin Schostakowski
Subscriptions on sale now Visit QUEENSLANDTHEATRE.COM.AU Call 1800 355 528
By Jonathan Biggins
Cast 25 Jan – 16 Feb 2014 Playhouse, QPAC Australia Day will run for approximately 2 hours plus a 20-minute interval.
PRODUCTION SPONSOR
COVER: Binge Advertising + Design COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: Aaron Tait COVER: Paul Bishop REHEARSAL PHOTOGRAPHY: Stephen Henry
Chris Betts
Wally
Paul Bishop
Brian
Louise Brehmer
Helen
Barbara Lowing
Marie
Lap Phan
Chester
Bryan Probets
Robert
Andrea Moor
Director
Simone Romaniuk
Designer
David Walters
Lighting Designer
Tony Brumpton
Sound Designer
Margi Brown Ash
Assistant Director
Jodie Roche
Stage Manager
Amy Burkett
Assistant Stage Manager
Imogen Millhouse
Assistant Sound Designer
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L-R: Chris Betts, Barbara Lowing
Welcome Note Wesley Enoch, Artistic Director
Dear Patron, Supporter and Friend, Hello and welcome to 2014 at the Queensland Theatre Company. 2014 is full of theatre memories in the making with an incredible line up of standout performances, quality writing, breathtaking design and theatricality. Thank you to all of you who signed up again to see QTC shows, buying a record number of tickets in your subscriptions in record speed. We reached 90% of our 2014 subscription sales target before the end of December and are looking at having a bumper 2014. For those who enjoy seeing shows through our single ticket offerings, do you know you can enjoy up to 35% discount if you sign up for a season ticket of 3, 5 or 7 plays? Check out the 2014 brochure and share more memories with friends and family together at the theatre.
If you saw Venus in Fur in 2013, just know I was listening. You told me that it was one of your favourite shows and, as a result, it is no accident that director Andrea Moor is back in the director’s chair with Australia Day. Her amazing work as an actor gives her marvellous insight into the workings of text and acting techniques, paying dividends on the stage. She has brought a top notch team together to help celebrate our national day. So throw a shrimp on the barbie, grab a coldie from the esky, snatch a snag, pour a cuppa and wrap your laughing gear round a lamington. This is one of those shows that asks you to sit back and have fun poking around our national identity. Some little known facts; did you know that Andrea Moor is actually Dr Andrea Moor having recently completed her doctorate on Actor Training in Australia? Did you know long time actor Paul Bishop, who plays the Mayor in Australia Day, is actually a real-life Councillor for Redlands City Council?
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Did you know writer Jonathan Biggins last appeared on the QTC stage in a production of Ying Tong, a play inspired by the Goons? And he based this play on his experience of being an Australia Day Ambassador? I hope you enjoy this cheeky look at Australia Day. Love
Wesley
P H I L I P BAC O N GA L L E R I E S 4 0 Y E A R S – 4 0 PA I N T I N G S
Rupert Bunny Madame Sadayakko as Kesa c.1907 oil on canvas 175 \ 95 cm
E X H I B I T I O N : 18 F E B RUA R Y T O 15 M A R C H 2 014
An anniversary loan exhibition: Forty important Australian paintings sold by Philip Bacon Galleries since 1974
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2 ARTHUR STREET, FORTITUDE VALLEY, BRISBANE 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM TUESDAY TO SATURDAY TEL: 07 3358 3555 FAX: 07 3254 1412 EMAIL: ART ENQUIRIES @ PHILIPBACONGALLERIES.COM.AU
Sponsor's Message Philip Bacon Galleries
Philip Bacon Galleries celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2014 and I look forward to welcoming you to the gallery in this important year for us. This year we have exhibitions scheduled by artists such as William Robinson, Lawrence Daws, Robert Dickerson, Nicholas Harding and a beautiful exhibition of works from the Estate of Margaret Olley. At this significant moment I find myself reflecting not only on the longevity and role of my own business but also on the associations I have formed with individuals and institutions involved with the Arts over the years.
I am extremely proud of my relationship with the Queensland Theatre Company, an institution that continues to bring the best of the best theatrical experiences to the people of Queensland. As a sponsor I am delighted to be involved with this production of Australia Day, which is a work that exemplifies QTC’s commitment to producing quality, thought provoking and entertaining contemporary Australian plays as an integral part of its program. I wish you a great night at the theatre.
Philip Bacon Director Philip Bacon Galleries
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L-R: Bryan Probets, Chris Betts, Louise Brehmer
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Synopsis Welcome to the typical little Aussie country town of Coriole, where life is laidback and carefree – unless you’re a member of the Australia Day Committee, who couldn’t raffle a chook in a pub. Charged with putting together the ultimate cultural celebration of what it means to be Australian, the town’s six quirky community leaders are all over the place like a mad woman’s breakfast when it comes to matters of national identity. What’s worse, affable yet scheming Mayor Brian Harrigan has his eye off the ball, preoccupied by his own bid to win true-blue preselection for the Liberal Party and his running sledging sessions with the local Greens.
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A bang-up-to-the-moment barbecue-stopper of a comedy with real Aussie flavour, Australia Day follows this mob of bumbling bureaucratic battlers as they squabble about every detail of the national day. Never mind wrangling the Nippers, the Lions and the CWA, these unhappy little Vegemites are at loggerheads just deciding which type of bread’s appropriate for a dinkydi sausage sizzle. So grab a lamington and a stubbie, sit back, and find out whether Coriole’s Australia Day will be a little ripper, or will go off like a bucket of prawns in the sun.
Director's Note Andrea Moor
Jonathan Biggins’ clever little gem allows us to laugh at our own shortsightedness and question our need for power, whilst also examining what values might be worth aspiring to that we might call ‘Australian’. Sentiments expressed by the colorful collection of characters that occupy the imaginary town of Coriole may indeed be far from our own and, with not an Indigenous flag in sight, we are certainly left examining the relevance of the day. Biggins so beautifully illuminates the many faceted identity of this great land without patronising or demeaning any of his plays’ inhabitants. Goodness will out! Whilst this may be simplistic it would be so reassuring if across all party lines goodness was the number one criteria for good management of our country. On a personal note, this production represents an exciting new challenge for me in that it will be my first Playhouse show as director. Such a challenge could only be taken on with an exemplary creative team and sure-footed cast. I bring with me my trusty
design team from Venus in Fur Simone Romaniuk and David Walters with the addition of sound designer Tony Brumpton. And I have been so very fortunate to have as my provocateur the wonderfully insightful Margi Brown Ash. The cast represent over 200 years of experience and I have a story with each of them: Lap I first met as a very young actor of the television series Heartbreak High; Paul and I have acted together in the QTC production of The Crucible and I have admired him since the early 90s when we both worked at the Sydney Theatre Company; Bryan and I have acted together in Pygmalion and Design for Living and he has had me laughing since I first witnessed his comic genius in the 2004 production of Venetian Twins; Bettsie has close to 50 QTC shows under his belt and I am proud to say I was in two of those! I have had the pleasure of directing both Barb and Louise in A Night with Harold (2009) and The Ghost Writer (2008) respectively, and I am thrilled to be working with these two fine actresses again.
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I would like to thank Wesley Enoch and Sue Donnelly for their ongoing support of me as director and the truly outstanding production and stage management team who have helped deliver this production in a seamless and most enjoyable manner. In particular, our trusty stage manager, Jodie Roche. I hope you have as much fun as we have had in rehearsal and enjoy your serving of this great Australian bite!
L-R: Andrea Moor, Margi Brown Ash
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Writer's Note Jonathan Biggins
This play was inspired by my own experiences as an Australia Day ambassador to regional centres in NSW, as part of a scheme that sends out public figures (semi-public in my case) to participate in national day celebrations. We’re invited to give a speech and join in the thong-throwing, damper baking or any other Australia-themed activity on offer. Being a typical inner-city bleeding heart, I was slightly cynical about the whole exercise but was pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm, dedication and quiet pride shown by the local organising committees. Far from the jingoistic displays of nationalism we so often see on news reports, out there beyond the metropolitan borders, Australia Day was treated with dignity and restrained patriotism. As ambassadors, we were encouraged to talk about national identity and not shy away from asking awkward questions about what the day meant, although as I looked at
a crowded marquee of, shall we say, traditionalist faces glowing in 38 degree heat in the Upper Hunter Valley, I decided that then was perhaps not the best time to talk about the injustice of terra nullis. I discovered that the heart of the day lies in the citizenship ceremony, when people from all over the world make the step to join us as citizens in a stable, prosperous and democratic society. That, despite the increasing shrillness of our public debate, our growing xenophobia and the endless denigration of our civic institutions, people are still eager to become Australians. It’s a privilege we too often take for granted and it was heartening to be reminded of it down there at the grass roots.
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Lap Phan
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Advance, Australia Day Baz McAlister
On January 26 1788, Arthur Philip sailed into Sydney Cove at the head of the First Fleet, strode ashore at what is now Port Jackson and stabbed the flag of Great Britain into the ground. The colony of New South Wales was founded. As the years rolled on, the new settlers came to mark the date as the anniversary of their fledgling colony. In the early 19th century, it was a time of dinners, bonfires and merriment. As more convicts gained their freedom, and as ‘New Holland’ formally became Australia in 1817, patriotism was kindled. A 30-gun salute marked the first ‘official’ celebration in 1818, when Governor Macquarie gave his staff a day off. Throughout the 1800s, the day was known as First Landing Day, Foundation Day, then Anniversary Day, in the various separate states and territories. Following Federation in 1901, a national day of celebration was mooted, but it was not known as ‘Australia Day’ in all states until 1946.
During Australia Day’s search for identity, many traditions we still observe began: a public holiday (dating from 1838), fireworks displays, Sydney Harbour regattas, feasting and drinking. Revellers come together to enjoy a long weekend, bask at the beach, sizzle snags, attend a parade or cricket match. Our best and brightest are honoured with the Order of Australia and Australian of the Year awards. Citizenship ceremonies are increasingly a focus of the day, when thousands of migrants from all the lands on earth pledge loyalty to their new home and celebrate its multiculturalism. Newly-minted Aussies may also take their oaths on Queensland Day (June 6) marking the anniversary of breaking away from New South Wales in 1859. These days, Queensland observes both ‘birthdays’. We first marked the national day in 1935; and we first celebrated our state’s birth in 1981, with a week-long bash every June.
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Our Australia Day antics echo our Aussie ideals: barbecues celebrate mateship; races run in double-plugger thongs symbolise the ability to laugh at ourselves; and a meditation on how the gods of fortune shone on you and made you an Aussie in a tumultuous world is disguised simply as sinking beers and lazing in the January heat while reflecting on life in the Lucky Country.
L-R: Chris Betts, Barbara Lowing, Paul Bishop
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L-R: Chris Betts, Paul Bishop
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PATRON Her Excellency The Governor of Queensland Ms Penelope Wensley, AC MEMBERS OF THE BOARD Richard Fotheringham (Chair) Julieanne Alroe (Deputy Chair) Kirstin Ferguson Erin Feros Simon Gallaher Peter Hudson Elizabeth Jameson Nathan Jarro Liz Mellish Karl Morris ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Wesley Enoch EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Sue Donnelly Interim Executive Assistant: Jenny Usher Artistic Associate: Todd MacDonald Resident Dramaturg: Louise Gough Program Manager: Katherine Hoepper Theatre Diversity Associate: Chris Kohn Program Coordinator: Shari Irwin Artistic Coordinator: Samantha French Touring & Regional Program Coordinator: Christine Johnstone Education Program Coordinator: Heidi Irvine Youth Program Coordinator: Claire Christian Digital Projects Officer: Nathan Sibthorpe
Front of House & Events Supervisor: Deirdree Wallace
Australia Day Production Staff
Marketing Manager: Yvonne Whittington Marketing Coordinator: Amanda Solomons Publicist: Kath Rose & Associates Marketing Assistant: Yuverina Shewpersad CRM & Ticketing Services Coordinator: Rory Killen Ticketing Coordinators: Maggie Holmes & Brad Routledge Receptionist & Ticketing Officer: Donna Fields-Brown Administration Trainee Kalisha Soe
Carpenter: Jamie Bowman Scenic Artist : Caroline Walker Wardrobe Coordinator: Nathalie Ryner Wardrobe Maintenance: Liezel Buckenham Production Electrician: Matt Golder Sound Consultant: Sam Maher
Philanthropy Manager: Amanda Jolly Corporate Partnerships Manager: Nikki Porter Development Coordinator: Dee Morris Researcher & Grant Writer: Liz Bissell Production Manager: Toni Glynn Technical Coordinator: Daniel Maddison Interim Production Coordinator: Scot Klupfel Head of Workshop: Peter Sands Company Carpenter/Head Mechanist: John Pierce Head of Wardrobe: Vicki Martin Apprentice Costume Maker: Savannah Mojidi
Chief Financial Officer Michael Cullinan Assistant Accountant: Roxane Eden Finance Officer: Robin Koski Venue & Operations Supervisor: Julian Messer
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QPAC Production Staff Head Electrician: Nick Toll Head Mechanist: Alon Jones Mechanist: Mitchell Chamberlain
FOUNDING DIRECTOR Alan Edwards, AM, MBE (1925 – 2003) Queensland Theatre Company is a member of Live Performance Australia.
It takes many people to create great theatre ... ... the playwright, the director, the actors and designers … and most importantly our donors. With your help we are aiming higher and taking our place as one of Australia’s leading theatre companies. You give us the confidence to take on bigger productions, secure international artists and commission the new works which will become the classics of tomorrow. Thank you for your part in making our theatre company great. For more information about donating to Queensland Theatre Company please contact our Philanthropy Manager on Tel: 3010 7621.
The Secret History of Australia Day’s Dessert Delicacies Baz McAlister
PAVLOVA
LAMINGTON Queensland’s iconic dessert was definitely created for one of two people: either Charles Cochrane-Baillie – the second Baron Lamington and Governor of Queensland (1896-1901)– or his lady wife. The exact provenance of this chocolate-coated sponge cake rolled in coconut is a little harder to pin down. It’s generally accepted that Lord Lamington’s chef, Frenchman Armand Galland, rustled them up in rather a hurry. But were they lovingly fashioned for morning tea during one of the Governor’s trips to Harlaxton House in Toowoomba to dodge the sticky Brisbane summer? Or were they hurriedly put together from leftover sponge for some of the droves of guests who unexpectedly dropped in around the time of Federation? Or were they merely a happy accident, born when Galland carelessly dropped a block of sponge into a pot of molten chocolate?
Whatever the origin, coconut was a daring choice; the chef’s Tahitian-born wife turned him on to it. Coconut was alien in European cuisine at the time, but the Lamingtons were a hit with guests. Not so much with Lord Lamington himself, who is said to have hated them, dismissing them as “those bloody poofy woolly biscuits”. Then again, maybe he was just sick of combing desiccated coconut out of his generous moustache. As the modern world tends ever more towards gluttony and excess, the ‘TimTamington’ has become a popular way of scoffing a Lamington, sandwiched between two of those other Aussie icons, the Tim Tam – because not getting Type 2 diabetes on January 26 would be just unaustralian.
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The pavlova is a little like Russell Crowe: there’s a good chance it actually comes from New Zealand, but we’ll claim it anyway. This mighty meringue is a study in duality: crisp yet gooey, sweet yet fruity, its taste has become the flavour of the Australian summer. It was apparently whipped up to please Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova on one of her tours Down Under in the 1920s. Whether we first served it, or the Kiwis did, is a matter of fierce debate, and they frequently keep trying to stamp their national identity on it by loading it with kiwifruit. Pavlova’s biographer attributes it to a Wellington chef but you could comb through cookbooks from the early 20th century and spot it many times, in slightly different guises, from both sides of the Tasman.
PEACH MELBA The Peach Melba was created in London by another Frenchman, but this delicate dessert’s entire existence is owed to one of the most famed Australians of all time: Dame Nellie Melba. The opera singer was engaged in a run of Wagner’s Lohengrin at Covent Garden in the late 1800s when she was a guest at a dinner party thrown by the Duke of Orleans at the Savoy Hotel. The Savoy’s head chef Auguste Escoffier presented her with a dessert of peaches and raspberry sauce over ice-cream – the soprano reportedly loved ice-cream but ate it sparingly as she feared the cold could affect her vocal cords. Knowing this, Escoffier made sure the ice-cream was just one small element of the dish, and would not be cold enough to harm the Dame’s throat.
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THE
M O U N TA I N TO P BY K ATO R I H A L L 22 Feb - 16 Mar Playhouse, QPAC Tickets on Sale Now
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"Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead.
Going to The Mountaintop
But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like any man, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land.” Dr Martin Luther King Jr Speech on pulpit, Selma, AL, March 8, 1965
Queensland Theatre Company has just started work on Katori Hall’s beautiful play - this inspiring, funny and uplifting work is coming to life as we delve into rehearsals with Candy Bowers and Pacharo Mzembe, two inspiring actors and leaders themselves. Making this work is far more than just rehearsals – a wonderful team of musicians, designers, builders, filmmakers and even dancers have been assembled. Each member of the team will contribute to the production and promotion of this vitally important play. Candy Bowers’ sister Busty Beatz has created an amazing piece of music for the show that will uplift and inspire. Now more than ever here in Queensland we have to reflect on who we are, what we value and how we treat each other. Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s message of civil rights and justice are still powerfully potent today keep on moving, keep moving forward – pick up the baton and pass it on! Todd MacDonald Director The Mountaintop
L-R: Andrea Moor, Wesley Enoch, Margi Brown Ash, Louise Brehmer, Lap Phan, Chris Betts, Barbara Lowing, Bryan Probets, Paul Bishop
L-R: Louise Brehmer, Bryan Probets, Lap Phan
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L-R: Paul Bishop, Bryan Probets
L-R: Lap Phan, Barbara Lowing
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Biographies Jonathan Biggins WRITER
Andrea Moor DIRECTOR
Jonathan Biggins is an actor, director and writer. Queensland audiences may have seen him performing in Ying Tong – A Walk with the Goons, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Venetian Twins, The Mikado (for Opera Queensland) or The Wharf Revue, which he has cocreated for the Sydney Theatre Company since 2000. As a writer, Jonathan co-wrote the musicals The Republic of Myopia, Living in the ‘70s and the ABC TV series Three Men and a Baby Grand. A regular contributor to Fairfax’s Good Weekend magazine, he has also written four books, including The 700 Habits of Highly Ineffective People and iKevin – Kevin Rudd Connects, which largely suffered the same fate as the former Prime Minister. His latest play is about the state of the Tasmanian economy; needless to say, it’s a comedy. Queensland Theatre Company: As Director: Venus in Fur, Water Falling Down; As Performer: Design For Living, Pygmalion, An Oak Tree, Let the Sunshine, The Crucible, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Absurd Person Singular, Vincent in Brixton. Other Credits: As Director: and moor theatre: Tender; The Ghost Writer; JUTE Theatre Company: Intimacy, WAAPA: Top Girls. USQ Shakespeare in the Park: The Tempest. NIDA: Furious. As Performer: La Boite: The Narcissist; Kooemba Jdarra: Bitin’ Back; Griffin Theatre Company: Myth, Propaganda & Disaster, Borderlines, Passion, Witchplay and Away; Sydney Theatre Company: Furious, The Visit, Titus Andronicus, Re-Create the Rehearsal, Siren, An Ideal Husband, Emerald City, The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant, The Game of Love & Chance, Woman in Mind, Map of the World; Ensemble Theatre: The Old Boy, The Ninth Step, The Family, Diving for Pearls; Marion Street Theatre: The Newspaper of Claremont Street; NIDA Company: The Aunts Story. Porkchop: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Film: Mental, Subdivision, Bitter and Twisted, Left Ear, The Man Who Sued God, Oscar and Lucinda, Soft Fruit, Strange Planet, Airtight, Round the Bend, Travelling North. Television: Mortified, H20, Home & Away, All Saints, White Collar Blue, Backberner, Heartbreak High, Water Rats, GP, The Flying Doctor, A Country Practice, Army Wives. Awards: Matilda Awards – Best Supporting Female Actor: The Crucible (2009), Matilda Nomination – Best Female Actor: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Narcissist (2008), Marten Bequest Scholarship (1994), London Monthly Review Best Actress, Edinburgh Festival 1991. Arts Queensland Fellowship (2007), Doctor of Creative Industries (QUT 2013). 24
Simone Romaniuk DESIGNER
David Walters LIGHTING DESIGNER
Queensland Theatre Company: Venus in Fur, The Pitch & The China Incident, Kelly, Head Full of Love, Elizabeth, Bombshells, Fractions, The Removalists, Waiting for Godot, Ruby Moon, Eating Ice Cream With Your Eyes Closed, Beckett x 3, The Little Dog Laughed and Macbeth (co-production with Brisbane Festival). Other Credits: Opera Queensland: The Mikado, The Merry Widow, Space Encounters, The Magic Flute; Ensemble Theatre: Frankenstein, Casanova; Sydney Theatre Company: The Crucible, Thyestes; Pacific Opera: Hansel and Gretel, La Sonnambula; Expressions Dance Company: Fragments of Memory, Flight, If Only; Ride On Theatre & Griffin Stablemates: Way to Heaven, Family Stories: Belgrade; Ride On & B Sharp: The Merchant of Venice; Ride On Theatre: Bone, Weeping Women, The Girl on the Sofa; Sydney Dance Company & National Institute of Dramatic Art: Shifted: Random Play. As Art Director: Murder Under the Microscope 2008 – 2011 (web series). As Graphic Designer: Australia (Bazmark Feature), 2006 Asian Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies. As Costume Buyer for television: Underbelly 2, Dangerous (Foxtel) and East West 101 (SBS). As Assistant Costume Designer for television: My Place 2 (ABC). Awards: Matilda Award – Outstanding Achievement for a Body of Work (Design) 2012, Matilda Award - Best Design Kelly. Training: Bachelor of Dramatic Art (Design), NIDA; Bachelor of Design, Queensland College of Art. Queensland Theatre Company: Venus in Fur, End of the Rainbow, Romeo & Juliet, Pygmalion, Grimm Tales, The August Moon, Rabbit Hole, The Glass Menagerie, The Memory of Water, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, Molly Sweeney, Chilling and Killing My Annabel Lee, The Skin of Our Teeth, Vertigo and the Virginia, Long Day’s Journey into Night, Amy’s View, Master Class, After the Ball, Summer Rain, Arcadia, The Hope of the World, Money and Friends, Gilgamesh, The Man from Mukinupin, A Different Drummer, Fuente Ovejuna, Salonika, The Venetian Twins. Other Credits: Melbourne Theatre Company, Sydney Theatre Company, State Theatre Company of South Australia, Bell Shakespeare Company, QUT, QPAC, Jute, Handspan, Playbox, La Boite Theatre Company, Rock‘n’Roll Circus, Nimrod, Company B, Expressions, Queensland Ballet, Australian Ballet, Opera Queensland and Zen Zen Zo. In Iceland he has lit for the National Theatre, the National Opera and the Reykjavik City Theatre. Positions: Adjunct Associate Professor in Drama at QUT. Awards: Matilda Awards/ Commendations in 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2012. 25
Tony Brumpton SOUND DESIGNER
Margi Brown Ash ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Queensland Theatre Company : As Sound Designer; Design For Living, Other Desert Cities (co-production with Black Swan State Theatre Company) Managing Carmen(coproduction with BSSTC), Pygmalion, No Man’s Land (co-production with Sydney Theatre Company), Sacre Bleu!, Macbeth (co-production with Brisbane Festival), Fat Pig, The Little Dog Laughed, The Crucible, God of Carnage (co-production with Black Swan State Theatre Company), I Am My Own Wife, Private Fears in Public Places, Absurd Person Singular, The Removalists, Waiting for Godot, Hurry Up and Wait (co-production with deBase Theatre Company), Eating Ice Cream With Your Eyes Closed, Beckett x3, Maxine Mellor’s Mystery Project (co-production with State Library of Queensland). As Co-Sound Designer; The August Moon, Anatomy Titus Fall of Rome: A Shakespeare Commentary (co-production with Bell Shakespeare Company), Stones in his Pockets. Other Credits: Composer/Sound Designer: Dead Puppet Society: The Harbinger, The Timely Death of Victor Blott. I-Pin Lin’s productions: Bamboo, Harmony, 4orces and 1984-2005. QUT Dance: Current, Fade Away, Accented Bodies, Altered States. Positions: Associate Artist/Head of Audio, Queensland Theatre Company (2011), Emerging Artist, Queensland Theatre Company (2010), Tone Black Productions (Company Owner), Lecturer - QUT. Queensland Theatre Company: As Actor: Composing Venus, Oz Shorts. Other Credits: Companies as Performer: Murray River Performing Group, Theatre of the Deaf, Ensemble Theatre, Stella Adler Repertory Theatre, University of the Streets, Australian Theatre for Young People, La Boite, Grin and Tonic Theatre Troupe, Imaginary Theatre, green, The Good Room, Frank Theatre, Lucky Hearts, and moor theatre, Danger Ensemble, Metro Arts and nest ensemble. As Writer/Performer: HOME, Eve, He Dreamed a Train. As Co-writer/performer: The Knowing of Mary Poppins. As Director: Swy Theatre Company, Spare Parts Theatre Company, Vena Cava. Awards: Matilda Award - Best Female Performer: The Knowing of Mary Poppins, Matilda Award - Body of Work: HOME, Eve; Blue Room Award, Best Performer and Best Play Members Choice: Eve. Positions: Lecturer/Director: Griffith University, QUT, Curtin University. Company Director: 4change studios. Acting Coach: La Boite, Zen Zen Zo, QUT, QTC Youth Ensemble. This project is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, part of the Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts. 26
Chris Betts WALLY
Paul Bishop BRIAN
Queensland Theatre Company: Pygmalion, The Removalist, The Crucible, Private Fears in Public Places, Antigone, Brilliant Lies, A Cheery Soul, Fuente O’Vejuna, The Heidi Chronicles, Seasons Greetings, Shimada, Dracula, God’s Best Country, Much Ado About Nothing, The Front Page, The Life of Galileo, The Trial of Brer Rabbit, Animal Farm, Benefactors, Camille, Loves Labour Lost, Macbeth, Salonika, Godsend, Henry V, Love for Love, The Passion Play. Education performances: Eating Ice Cream With Your Eyes Closed, The Works play readings-2008, 2009. Other Credits: Hot Tin Roof: Dead Cats Don’t Bounce; Twelfth Night Theatre: ‘Allo ‘Allo, Run For Your Wife, Dad’s Army, Bedside Manners, It Runs in the Family; La Boite Theatre Company: Last Drinks, Operator, Blackrock, Fortune, Hamlet, Soft Targets; Theatre North: Bouncers; USQ: Away; New England Theatre Company: After Dinner; QPAT: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab; New Moon Theatre Company: Summer of the Seventeenth Doll; TN! Theatre Company: The Removalists. As Director: Hamp, The Removalists, Extremities (Victorian Regional Theatre Company), The 1959 Pink Thunderbird (Seymour Productions). Films: Absolute Deception, It is Well, Mullet Guts, Beauty and the Beast, Subdivision, Grey Eulogy, Crooked Business, The Horseman, Acri, The Love of Lionel’s Life and Little White Lies. Television: Terra Nova, K9, H20 Just Add Water, All Saints, Murder Trail, Ash Wednesday, Medivac, The Wayne Manifesto, Pacific Drive, Paradise Beach, Skippy, Sons and Daughters and The Day of The Roses (miniseries). Positions: Casting Director, Medivac Queensland Theatre Company: Betrayal, The Crucible, August Moon, The Importance of Being Earnest, Private Fears in Public Places, Oedipus The King, Romeo and Juliet. Other Credits: La Boite: Julius Caesar; Sydney Theatre Company: Edward Gant’s Amazing Feats of Loneliness (a co-production with La Boite), Amy’s View; Melbourne Theatre Company: Take Me Out, Three Days of Rain; Playbox Theatre: The Frail Man. Film: Dave, How to Change in 9 Weeks, Paradise Road. Television: Reef Doctors, The Gods of Wheat Street, Sisters of War, MDA – Series 3, Blue Heelers. Positions: Redland City Councillor Division 10 (Birkdale/Thorneside); Founder Arts Evolution, Director of 'The Red Place’ ; Award Winner and Collaborator on Community Resilience Project (SEGRA). Awards: Matilda Award 2011 – Best Actor, Edward Gant; Glugs of Gosh Award - Outstanding Contribution to Theatre 2009; two TV Week Logie Award Nominations for his role as Sgt Ben Stewart in Blue Heelers (1998–2004). Training: QUT theatre graduate 1986, courses in ‘The Art of Hosting' and 'The Art of Being a Facilitator Training'. A proud member of Actors Equity since 1985, Paul also served on the National Performance Committee 2004 to 2008. 27
Louise Brehmer HELEN
Queensland Theatre Company: The Lost Property Rules, An Oak Tree, Taking Aim, Private Fears in Public Places, Cooking with Elvis, MoDDRomeo & Juliet, The Works, QLD Young Playwrights Awards. Other Credits: La Boite Theatre Company: The Bitterling (co-production with Pentimento Productions), Summer Wonderland, Crèche and Burn, Hermes and The Naked Flame (co-production with Queensland Arts Council), Real TV: Tall Man, Children of the Black Skirt, Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard III, The Comedy of Errors, Elbow Room: After All This (co-production with Brisbane Festival), New Royal (co-production with !Metro Arts), …and moor theatre: The Ghost Writer, Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre: Therese Raquin, The Man Who Sold The World, 4MBS Classic FM: Cribbie, DeBASE Productions: Popping Lead Balloons, Lovejunk, Mixed Company: Secret Bridesmaids Business, Oscar Theatre Company: Spring Awakening, JUTE Theatre: What are the Odds?, Crossbow Productions: The Miracle Worker, Mrs Klein, Anne of the Thousand Days, Creative Regions: Tales of the Underground, Restaged Histories Project: The Greater Plague, Someone Productions: He Died with a Felafel in his Hand, Dennehy Productions: MicroTrip 2, rolling jaffa: Sexual Perversity in Chicago, The Duck Variations. As Co-creator: The Lost Property Rules. As Director: Queensland Theatre Company Face It; Shout Out Loud Festival Runaways. Films: A Heartbeat Away, Hildegard, Too Soon, Turtle, Buds and Thorns. Television: Mabo, SLiDE. Training: QUT Graduate 1998, Shakespeare & Company 2006. Positions: Artistic Associate, Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble 2013; Committee Member, Actors and Entertainers Benevolent Fund 2013-present; Member, Actor’s Equity 1991- present. Awards: Matilda Award - Best Supporting Actress - Therese Raquin, Matilda Nomination - The Miracle Worker, Dell Arte Awards - Favourite Leading Actress The Bitterling, The Miracle Worker, Dell Arte Awards - Favourite Supporting Actress Lovejunk, Boy’s Life, Lion in the Streets.
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Barbara Lowing MARIE
Lap Phan CHESTER
Queensland Theatre Company: The Pitch & The China Incident, Toy Symphony, Prisoner of 2nd Ave, Hamlet (co-production with State Theatre Company of South Australia), Away (co-production with Griffin Theatre Company), The Memory of Water, The Works, Cooking With Elvis, Top Dogs, Antigone, Navigating (co-production with Melbourne Theatre Company), Explosions, The Gift of the Gorgon, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Les Liaison Dangerueses . Other Credits: Metro Arts: Motherland; shake & stir: Tequila Mockingbird; Dead Puppet Society: The Harbinger; Empire Theatre: April’s Fool; South Australian Theatre Company: November; Aspire Theatre Arts: The Passion; 23rd Productions: My Night With Harold; Queensland Arts Council: Tales My Mother Told Me, A Doctor in Spite of Himself, Federation Show; La Boite Theatre Company: The Removalist, Closer (coproduction with Genre Theatre Company) First Asylum, The Taming of the Shrew, The Matilda Women; Dogs on the Roof/Metro Arts: Three Points of Contact; Brisbane Festival: Ozone; Green Theatre Company: The Misanthrope; Performers Independent Theatre: Macbeth; Gary Penny Productions: Top Silk; Hole in the Wall: The Alchemist, Hamlet. Television: Secrets and Lies, Stringers, Heroes2, Medivac. Training: WAAPA. Positions: Vocal and Acting Coach – Expressions Dance Company, ACPA, Voice Over Tutor – University of Southern Queensland. Awards: Matilda Awards – Best Actress Away (2006), Matilda nominations – Best Actress, The Memory of Water (2005), Cooking With Elvis (2002), Holy Lies, Unholy Truth (2002). Goldie – Best Commercial Voiceover Artist – Female (2005/6). Montana International Documentary Film Festival – Voiceover Winner The Lost Years (2010). Screening Award Montana CINE 2nd Annual Film Festival – Voiceover Winner (2005). Queensland Theatre Company: Debut. Other Credits: Australasian Art & Stageworks: The Quiet Brother; Head North Theatre: The Offensive; La Boite Theatre: The Danger Age. Television: Sea Patrol, Not Available, IIDA, Wildside, Heartbreak High. Film: Bird Therapy, War Paint, Beyond Blood, Quiet American. Awards: For Standup Comedy: Bangalow Laugh Fest Village Idiot 2008, National Finalist – Green Faces 2007, Short listed – Triple J’s Raw 2008. Training: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting), QUT.
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Bryan Probets ROBERT
Queensland Theatre Company: Design For Living, Pygmalion, Waiting for Godot, The Alchemist (co-production with Bell Shakespeare Company), The Importance of Being Earnest, Private Fears in Public Places, A Christmas Carol, The Venetian Twins, Scapin, The Lonesome West, Mano Nera, The Cherry Orchard, Road to the SheDevil’s Salon. Other Credits: shake & stir theatre company: Tequila Mockingbird, 1984, Animal Farm; La Boite Theatre CompanyEdward Gant’s Amazing Feats of Loneliness (co-production with Sydney Theatre Company), As You Like It, The Wishing Well, The Danger Age, The Year Nick McGowan Came to Stay, Operator, Creche and Burn, Way Out West, Milo’s Wake, Hermes and the Naked Flame(co-production with Queensland Arts Council); Zen Zen Zo: Vikram and the Vampire; Queensland Music Festival: Credo the Innocence of God; Queensland Ballet: The Amazing Magician Goes Troppo; Harvest Rain: The Woman in Black; HotHouse Theatre Company: Australia: The Show . Film: The Railway Man, Tracks, The Great Gatsby, Singularity, Punishment, Daybreakers, Subdivision, Triangle, Hildegarde, The Proposition, Nim’s Island, A Heartbeat Away and The Horseman.Television: Monarch Cove, Starter Wife, Fat Cow Motel, Pyjama Girl, Love Weights. Positions: Queensland Theatre Company: Emerging Artist (2003), Artistic Associate (2004-2006). Awards: Matilda commendation; The Lonesome West, Road to the She-Devil’s Salon, Matilda Award; Best Supporting Actor As You Like It (2012), and Gold Matilda Award for Body of Work (2012).
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Jodie Roche STAGE MANAGER
Amy Burkett ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
Queensland Theatre Company: As Stage Manager: Design For Living, Trollop, End of the Rainbow, Managing Carmen (co-production with Black Swan State Theatre Company), Head Full of Love, Romeo & Juliet, Pygmalion, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (co-production with Black Swan State Theatre Company), Orphans, The Little Dog Laughed, That Face, The Importance of Being Earnest, I Am My Own Wife. As Assistant Stage Manager: The Glass Menagerie, Private Fears in Public Places, American Buffalo, Absurd Person Singular, The Memory of Water. Other Credits: Black Swan State Theatre Company: The White Divers of Broome; La Boite Theatre Company: Summer Wonderland, Sex Cubed, Last Drinks, The Dance of Jeremiah, Amigos; Expressions Dance Company: When Time Stops; Queensland Ballet: Giselle, Cinderella, Vis a Vis #1 & Prelude 2011, The Little Mermaid (China Tour); Opera Queensland: Aida, The Merry Widow, The Elixir of Love, Waltzing Our Matilda, Rigoletto, Fidelio, La Traviata, The Magic Flute, The Barber of Seville, Madama Butterfly; Brisbane City Council: Lord Mayor’s Carols in the Park. Training: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical Production Management), Queensland University of Technology. Awards: Ashley Wilkie Award for outstanding contribution to the performing arts. Queensland Theatre Company: As Assistant Stage Manager: Youth Ensemble Showcase 2013. Stage Management Secondment: Romeo & Juliet. Other Credits: As Assistant Stage Manager: La Boite Theatre: The Wizard of Oz; Sydney Theatre Company: Mrs Warren’s Profession; City of Sydney: Martin Place Christmas Concerts, Chinese New Year Parade; Paris Opera Ballet: Giselle. As Stage Manager: La Boite Theatre: The Wizard of Oz Lismore Tour; Sydney Chamber Opera: The Lighthouse. As Production Manager: Cooktown Re-enactment Association: Cooktown Re-enactment 2013; NIDA: The Old Tote Celebration; Don’t Look Away: Rooted. As Radio Mic Tech: System Sound: Legally Blonde the Musical. Stage Management Secondments: La Boite Theatre: As You Like it, Belvoir: Conversation Piece, Royal Court Theatre: Constellations. Training: Bachelor of Dramatic Art (Production) NIDA.
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L-R: Louise Brehmer, Lap Phan
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L-R: Barbara Lowing, Louise Brehmer, Lap Phan
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Play a Supporting Role You may not be on the stage but you can play a supporting role by donating to our work. With your support we can create memorable, world-class productions and continue our behindthe-scenes work of running education programs for young people, touring productions and providing opportunities for many extraordinary actors, directors, playwrights and designers. You can choose to support* any of the following areas of our work:
YOUTH AND EDUCATION Workshops, theatre camps, performances and mentoring $250*: materials for a school workshop $500: bus to bring disadvantaged students to the theatre $1,600: scholarship to the Youth Ensemble
REGIONAL Touring and working with isolated communities $2,500: visit by artists to regional/remote school $5,000: professional development workshops for regional artists $12,000: weekly regional touring cost for primary school show
Photographs L-R: Theatre Residency Week participants 2013, Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin Baitz (QTC & Black Swan State Theatre Company), Tucker Turtle created by Todd MacDonald (Creative Development) and Gloria by Elaine Acworth (Creative Development). *Costs listed are examples only
Making theatre is a team activity and everyone’s contribution is important.
NEW WORKS Playwriting workshops, creative developments and play readings $250: 2-hour session with a dramaturg $500: play assessment by an established playwright $1,000: play reading with actors
ARTIST DEVELOPMENT Training and mentoring for actors, designers, directors and other theatre workers.
MAINSTAGE Mainstage productions including tours. $1,000: additional props for larger productions
$250: 2-hour physical movement workshop
$2,000: modifications to prepare a show for touring
$500: full-day voice workshop
$20,000: towards an international actor
$1,000: weekly cost of a director’s assistant
For more information please contact our Philanthropy Manager on 07 3010 7621 or visit queenslandtheatre.com.au/supportus
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Chair Chris Freeman AM
Deputy Chair Rhonda White PO Box 3567, South Bank, Queensland 4101 Tel: (07) 3840 7444 www.qpac.com.au
Trustees Simon Gallaher Sophie Mitchell Mick Power AM Maggi Sietsma AM Executive Staff Chief Executive: John Kotzas Director – Presenter Services: Ross Cunningham Director – Corporate Services: Kieron Roost Director – Patron Services: Tony Smith Director – Marketing: Roxanne Hopkins
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Queensland Performing Arts Trust is a Statutory body of the State of Queensland and is partially funded by the Queensland Government The Honourable Ian Walker MP Minister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts Director-General, Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts: Sue Rickerby
Acknowledgements Rehearsal Photography: Stephen Henry Choreography Consultant: Antony Deary Vocal Coach: Melissa Agnew Safety Advisor: Niki-J Price Funky Town original band recording by J.D.Franzke
To ensure that patrons enjoy the performance, management asks you to note: • Cameras, tape recorders and paging devices should not be used inside the auditorium. • Switch off alarms and mobile phones prior to the performance. • A single cough measures approximately 65 decibels of sound. The use of a handkerchief helps greatly to soften the sound. The management reserves the right to refuse admission, also to make any alterations to the cast which may be rendered necessary by illness or other unavoidable causes. Patrons are advised that the Performing Arts Centre has EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURES, a FIRE ALARM system and EXIT passageways. In case of an alert, patrons should remain calm, look for the closest EXIT sign in GREEN, listen to and comply with directions given by the inhouse trained attendants and move in an orderly fashion to the open spaces outside the Centre.
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Clovely Estate is proud to sponsor Queensland Theatre Company Visit our City Cellar Door at 210 Musgrave Road, Red Hill for the full Clovely Estate experience. Taste our award-winning wine or join us for our 5-course degustation dinners where our wines are matched with Southern Queensland’s freshest produce. Let us host your next seminar, cocktail party, dinner or wedding with our team of chefs and our talented winemakers, for a truly memorable event!
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