and Brisbane Festival present
by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Re-contextualised and Directed by Nakkiah Lui
The 2018 Season transports us to places we wouldn’t otherwise encounter (or even imagine). The eight plays traverse centuries of time, the breadth of our country, the expanse of the globe, and the inner workings of diverse and brilliant minds. In the coming year, you can be at the centre of a food fight at the Christmas dinner from Hell, evade pursuers across the Scottish Highlands, wrestle with a Kafkaesque bureaucracy in Tehran, help solve a 1960s murder mystery in the Western Australian Wheatbelt, become entangled in a 17th Century scientific feud, or sing melancholy love songs to the exotic Duke of a mythical realm. Be part of the magic of theatre. Be part of the 2018 Season at Queensland Theatre. Sam Strong Artistic Director
1 — 17 Feb
24 Feb — 24 Mar
A razor sharp rom-com that blends Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner with Meet the Fockers
Tongue-in-cheek noir thrills as four actors deliver hundreds of characters and thousands of laughs
In-law Xmas
Food Fight
Prada
Riotous
Skulduggery
Farce
Ways to book Call us Order by calling us 9:30am-5pm, Mon to Fri Freecall 1800 355 528
Drop in Queensland Theatre Administration 78 Montague Road, South Brisbane
Jump online Book online at queenslandtheatre.com.au Or email us mail@queenslandtheatre.com.au
Mail us Queensland Theatre Season Ticketing Team PO Box 3310, South Brisbane, QLD 4101
28 Apr — 19 May
26 May — 23 Jun
Tim Finn writes new songs for Shakespeare’s dark comedy
One football club, one family, and one unforgettable NRL grand final
Autumnal
Classic
Gender Bender
Queenslander
JT
Take the team
12 — 28 Jul
28 Jul — 18 Aug
An irreverent but tender memoir of a father, a son and a question of faith
The smash-hit stage adaptation of the classic Australian coming-of-age mystery
Not PC
Quarter-life Crisis
True Story
Australiana
Normie Rowe
Whodunnit
6 Oct — 3 Nov
10 Nov — 8 Dec
David Williamson meets Isaac Newton on the verge of his greatest scientific discovery
Ibsen’s fiercest leading lady lands poolside on the Gold Coast
Egos
Legends
Alchemy
Pistols
Glitter Strip
Underbelly
and Brisbane Festival present
Directed by Nakkiah Lui
An Octoroon by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins VENUE
CAST
16 September - 8 October Bille Brown Studio Queensland Theatre
Elaine Crombie .........................................................Minnie Chenoa Deemal .........................................................Grace Sarah Ogden ................................................................Dora Melodie Reynolds-Diarra ............................................ Dido
ATTENDANCE INFORMATION
Shari Sebbens ................................................................ Zoe
An Octoroon will run for approximately 2 hours, with no interval.
Colin Smith .................................. BJJ/George/ M’Closky Anthony Standish ............... Playwright/Jonah/Lafouche
WARNINGS
Anthony Taufa ....................................Assistant/Pete/Paul
Contains adult themes and strong coarse language that may offend some people.
CREATIVES Nakkiah Lui ............................................................. Director Renée Mulder....................................................... Designer
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this production of An Octoroon contains images of deceased persons.
Vilma Mattila ........................................... Design Assistant Ben Hughes ........................................... Lighting Designer James Henry....... Sound Designer/Composer/Musical Director Pete Sutherland ....................................... Stage Manager
For the safety and comfort of all patrons, we
Kathryn O’Halloran .................. Assistant Stage Manager
only allow cold beverages in plastic cups or bottles inside the theatre. Glass, food and
CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
hot beverages are not permitted. The use of
Melissa Agnew ............................................ Dialect Coach
photographic or recording equipment is not
Michelle Law ......................................... Responding Artist
permitted inside the theatre.
Mefi Palamo ............................................... Choreography
Cover Photo: David Kelly
NJ Price ............................................. Fight Choreography
An Octoroon had its World Premiere at Soho Rep. Sarah Benson, Artistic Director
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
Cynthia Flowers, Executive Director
Queensland Theatre would like to acknowledge the Jagera and
Subsequently produced by Theatre for a New
Turrbal people who are the Traditional Custodians of this land. We would like to pay our respects to their Elders both past and present, and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Audience at the Polonsky Shakepeare Center Brooklyn, NY, 2015. Jeffrey Horowitz, Founding Artistic Director / Henry Christensen III, Chairman / Dorothy Ryan, Managing Director
RECYCLE THIS PROGRAM Support Greening Queensland Theatre and recycle this program after the performance in the recycling bins provided in the foyer. Read the program before the show at queenslandtheatre.com.au
Queensland Theatre 78 Montague Road, South Brisbane, Queensland, 4101 Tel: 07 3010 7600 Fax: 07 3010 7699 Ticketing: 1800 355 528 mail@queenslandtheatre.com.au META-MELODRAMA
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Welcome At one point in An Octoroon, the onstage playwright describes how the 'theatre is no longer a place of novelty' - that we can 'more or less experience anything nowadays.' Sam Strong Artistic Director
While this is a fascinating provocation, I don't
When Nakkiah first raised the idea of an
think it is true of the play in which it appears.
Indigenous re-contextualisation of Branden’s
An Octoroon is genuinely unlike anything I have
African American story, I wondered how it
experienced before. This play explodes pretty
might work. Then she put together a reading
much everything it touches: racism, identity,
to show us, and everyone in the room was on
culture, celebrity, theatre and history. It’s
board straight away. True to the spirt of the
challenging, intelligent, provocative, playful and
original, Nakkiah’s production both interrogates
hilarious in equal measure. Endlessly inventive,
and unravels the idea of race across time and
just when you think you have a handle on it, it
place.
will morph again and surprise you.
Thank you to Brisbane Festival and David
This production marks the cross-Pacific
Berthold for making this Queensland exclusive
coming together of two of the brightest stars
Australian premiere possible. What I love about
of world theatre. Thirty-two year old Branden
international arts festivals is that they enable
Jacobs-Jenkins has already had multiple New
you to experience work you wouldn’t otherwise
York and London productions and won pretty
see. An Octoroon is a case in point. This
much every award there is to win, including
co-production with the Festival enables us to
the MacArthur Fellowship or 'genius grant'.
bring you - as one part of our deliberately varied
Playwright Nakkiah Lui has already had three
2017 Season - a production as wild, challenging
plays produced on the Sydney main stage, in
and adventurous as An Octoroon.
between appearing on ABC's Q & A and writing
Buckle in and enjoy the ride.
and acting in the acclaimed television satire Black Comedy (ABC). We’re delighted to be presenting Nakkiah’s directorial debut with An Octoroon.
Nakkiah Lui
Chenoa Deemal
L-R: Anthony Taufa, Colin Smith.
Anthony Standish, Sarah Ogden
Directors Note When I first read An Octoroon I was blown away and had a total reawakening of what theatre can be. What surprised me the most about An Octoroon was how it spoke to the experience and history of Aboriginal Australia. I wished I had written the play. I wondered why I hadn’t. Nakkiah Lui Director
I realised it’s not just because Branden Jacobs-
world, especially post-colonialism. An Octoroon
Jenkins is an incendiary visionary and one of the
evolves the voice of the Black diaspora within
world’s leading playwrights. It is also because
theatrical culture; a culture with traditions
An Octoroon is having a discussion about
founded in Whiteness. The legacy of Whiteness
something we are only just starting to scratch the
within our stories exists across both waters,
surface with here.
and the way An Octoroon cuts through that is
I took An Octoroon to Sam Strong as a writer
something that hasn’t been done here before.
wanting another Black writer's work staged
To me, the play asks the important question of
because I wanted to watch this play. It’s like a
how do you create something new when the
Molotov cocktail; you throw it and it explodes.
legacy of racial supremacy exists all around you in
It’s politically challenging; it reaches into the past
every social structure we have?
and tries to decimate theatre’s innate racial bias.
White Australia doesn’t wear its heart on its
At the same time it celebrates theatre; it indulges in craft and dazzles with humour. In Australia, there is a real fascination with Black Culture, particularly the narratives that come from the United States. Yet we ignore the strikingly similar history and culture. We had slavery and were part of the slave trade. There were massacres and mass killings, apartheid and a civil rights movement. We have very similar statistics when it comes to health, poverty, education, incarceration and the poverty cycle that comes from being a marginalised group. Our civil rights movement was directly influenced by the US – we even had our own branch of the Black Panthers, their HQ was in Brisbane (my Dad was one. He got a tattoo. It now looks like a lizard. Turns out Black does crack). As an Australian Aboriginal woman, An Octoroon isn’t just a play about the racial politics of the US, it’s a play about the racial politics around the
sleeve, it’s always covered. How do you roll up the sleeve? How do you get to the heart? Sometimes we need to tell stories to tell the truth. A massive thank you to Sam Strong for suggesting I direct and all of his support. And another big one to Paige Rattray. Sam and Paige have been just as daring in their support and encouragement of the play and all of us involved. A huge thank you to Christie Evangelisto for her enthusiasm and advice, and to the National Artistic Team at QT for their encouragement. This show is equally Renée Mulder, Ben Hughes and James Henry’s vision as much as mine. Their creative talent astounds me and I feel very privileged to have such a terrific team. And words cannot express my gratitude to Peter Sutherland, who is not just stage managing the show, but also created a wonderful rehearsal room for all of us to jump into as we put on this explosion of a show.
Responding Artist
I don’t see race.
Michelle Law Playwright
Yes, you do. You see it. You experience it. Your
In the rehearsal room of An Octoroon, there are
life benefits from the lives of other, subjugated
set and costume concepts tacked to the walls.
races. To say otherwise is denial. It’s privilege.
They serve feelings of anger, discontent and
It’s choice. You don’t see race because you
trauma felt by people of colour who, throughout
don’t have to, but those who suffer because of
history and to this day, have fought endlessly for
their race must see it in order to survive.
their basic human rights. On the floor, there are
The cast and crew 'meet and greet' for
feelings of equality, empathy and safety among
Queensland Theatre’s An Octoroon happened
a predominantly coloured cast and crew and
in the wake of the Charlottesville riots in
their allies. Things are changing.
America. It was particularly eerie timing.
I suspect An Octoroon will make some people
White nationalism is making a comeback. Or
feel validated and heard. But it will certainly
maybe it never left. In Australia, you see it in our ongoing abuse, and chronic indifference towards Indigenous Australians. You see it in our treatment of refugees on Manus Island. You see it in the resurgence of One Nation and
make others feel unsafe, or at the very least uncomfortable. I’m excited to see this discomfort; not to enact any revenge or to point fingers or to inflict guilt, but to show audiences what theatre looks like when people’s lives
other conservative rhetoric. As a country, we
depends on it.
campaign for free speech and equality, but it’s
Stories, and plays like An Octoroon, aren’t just
freedom that serves a select few.
nice gifts and theatre subscriptions that you
I came to read An Octoroon knowing little
buy for amusement; you’re handing someone a
about the play besides its premise, so what I
ticking bomb, whether you like it or not.
expected was some seriously impenetrable race
Boom.
discourse. What I got was a deliciously brash, laugh-out-loud work that relished in its own sacrilege. It was comedy writing at its best: a hardcore, political smack down layered with gallows humor. It had balls.
Renée Mulder's costume designs
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Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Renée Mulder
PLAYWRIGHT Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s credits include Everybody (Signature Theatre), War (LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater), Gloria (Vineyard Theatre; Pulitzer Prize-finalist), Appropriate (Signature Theatre; Obie Award), An Octoroon (Soho Rep; Obie Award) and Neighbors (The Public Theater). He is a Residency Five playwright at Signature Theatre and under commissions from LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater, MTC/ Sloan, and the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. His recent honors include the MacArthur Fellowship, the WindhamCampbell Prize for Drama, the Benjamin Danks Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation Theatre Award, the Steinberg Playwriting Award, and the Tennessee Williams Award.
DESIGNER Queensland Theatre: Rice (with Griffin Theatre Company), The Effect (with Sydney Theatre Company), Sacre Bleu, Fat Pig. Other Credits: As Designer: Sydney Theatre Company: Black is the New White, Orlando, Battle of Waterloo, Perplex, The Long Way Home, Dance Better At Parties, Mrs Warren’s Profession, The Splinter, Edward Gant’s Amazing Feats of Loneliness, In A Heart Beat, Actor on a Box - The Luck Child, Rough Draft #14 and #9; Griffin Theatre Company: The Bleeding Tree, A Hoax, The Boys; Griffin Independent: The Pigeons; Bell Shakespeare: Romeo & Juliet (Education); La Boite Theatre Company: As You Like It, Ruben Guthrie, I Love You Bro; Theatre Forward: The Sneeze; New Theatre: The Herbal Bed; Sydney Young Actors Studio: The Hypochondriac, La Dispute. As Costume Design: Sydney Theatre Company: Chimerica, Endgame, Children of the Sun, Vere (Faith), Mariage Blanc. As Associate Designer: Sydney Theatre Company: Cyrano De Bergerac; As Design Assistant: Sydney Theatre Company: The Mysteries; Token Events: Good Evening. As Part of Costume Art Department: Bell Shakespeare: Pericles. Film: As Designer: A Parachute Falling in Siberia (short). As part of Art Department: The Distance Between (short). As part of Art Department Armour: Narnia – Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Positions: National Artistic Team, Queensland Theatre; Resident Designer, Sydney Theatre Company (2012-2014). Training: NIDA, Queensland College of Art.
Nakkiah Lui DIRECTOR Nakkiah Lui is a writer/actor and Gamillaroi/Torres Strait Islander woman. She was a co-writer/star of Black Comedy ABC and is a monthly columnist for The Australian Women’s Weekly Online. She has been an artist in residence at Griffin Theatre Company (2013), playwright in residence at Belvoir from 2012 - 2014 and a member of Queensland Theatre's National Artistic Team (2015 -). In 2012, Nakkiah was the first recipient of The Dreaming Award from The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Arts Board of the Australia Council. The same year, Nakkiah was also the inaugural recipient of the Balnaves Foundation Indigenous Playwright award. In 2014, Nakkiah was the recipient of the Malcolm Robertson Prize and a Green Room Award for Best Independent Production. Nakkiah’s previous works include; This Heaven Playwright, Belvoir 2013 and Finborough Theatre 2015, I Should Have Told You Before We Made Love (That I’m Black) Playwright, You Are Here Festival 2012, Stho Sthexy Playwright, MKA Melbourne 2013, Blackie Blackie Brown: The Traditional Owners of Death Playwright, Bondi Feast, Tamarama Rock Surfers 2013. Sovereign Wife Dramaturg, Melbourne Theatre Company 2013. Black Comedy Writer/Actor. ABC, 2014, Blak Cabaret Playwright, Sydney Festival/Malthouse Theatre Company 2015, Kill the Messenger Actor/Playwright, Belvoir 2015, Blaque Showgirls, Malthouse Theatre Company 2016 and Black is the New White, Sydney Theatre Company, 2017. Nakkiah is also a young leader in the Australian Aboriginal community and has contributed to The Guardian and Junkee. She has appeared on Q&A and The Drum on ABC and is a regular guest and presenter on ABC Local Radio in Sydney.
Vilma Mattila DESIGN ASSISTANT Queensland Theatre: Constellations
(Queensland Theatre Senior Youth Ensemble 2017). Other Credits: As Designer: The Farm Company: Frank Enstein; La Boîte Theatre Company: A Streetcar Named Desire; Helsinki Theatre Academy’s Kookos Theatre: Platonov, They Shoot Horse’s Don’t They, Violent Society. As Assistant Designer: Helsinki City Theatre: Armi; Alexander Theatre: Antigone. Positions: Resident Designer, Queensland Theatre. Training: Master of Arts studies in Scenography, Aalto University; Bachelor of Arts in Scenography, Aalto University School of Art, Design and Architecture (exchange at Queensland University of Technology and Griffith University).
Ben Hughes LIGHTING DESIGNER Queensland Theatre: Noises Off (with Melbourne Theatre Company), Constellations, Switzerland, Much Ado About Nothing, The Seagull, Happy Days, Grounded, HOME, The Button Event, The Effect (with Sydney Theatre Company), The Mountaintop, Black Diggers (with Sydney Festival), Design For Living, 1001 Nights, The Lost Property Rules, Orbit, Mother Courage and
Her Children, The Pitch & The China Incident, Kelly, Head Full of Love, Fractions (with Hothouse Theatre), Orphans, An Oak Tree, Sacre Bleu, Fat Pig, The Crucible, 25 Down, Stones in His Pockets, I Am My Own Wife, John Gabriel Borkman, The Estimator, Private Fears in Public Places, Man Equals Man, Waiting for Godot, Eating Ice Cream with Your Eyes Closed, The Exception and The Rule, Ruby Moon. As Associate Lighting Designer: Toy Symphony, Heroes. As CoDirector/Designer: Trollop. Other Credits: Sydney Theatre Company: Black is the New White; Melbourne Theatre Company: Let The Sunshine (with Queensland Theatre); The Danger Ensemble: Macbeth, Caligula, The Wizard of Oz (with La Boite & Brisbane Festival), Sons of Sin, Children of War, Loco Maricon Amor, The Hamlet Apocalypse; La Boite: A Streetcar Named Desire, Snow White (with Opera Queensland & Brisbane Festival), Medea, A Doll’s House, Cosi, Kitchen Diva, Statespeare; State Theatre Company of South Australia: Straight White Men (with La Boite); Belvoir: Samson (with La Boite); Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre: Vikram and the Vampire, Cabaret, Dracula, Zeitgeist, My Sublime Shadow; Stella Electrika: The New Dead: Medea Material; Expressions Dance Company: Mozart Airborne (with Opera Queensland), The Host, Carmen Sweet, Propel; Queensland Ballet: Flourish, Giselle, A Classical Celebration, ...with Attitude; Phluxus2 Dance Collective: The Paratrooper Project. As Associate Lighting Designer: Elision Ensemble: The Navigator; Meryl Tankard: The Oracle; Opera Queensland: Aida; Expressions Dance Company: Where The Heart Is. Positions: Affiliate Artist, Queensland Theatre (2014 & 2011); Resident Lighting Designer, Queensland Theatre (2013); Associate Artistic Director - The Danger Ensemble; Emerging Artist, Queensland Theatre (2007); Professional Member, Association of Lighting Designers; Accredited Member, Australian Production Design Guild. Awards: 2011 Groundling Award – Outstanding Contribution to Lighting Design.
James Henry SOUND DESIGNER/COMPOSER/ MUSICAL DIRECTOR Queensland Theatre: Debut. Other Credits: As Musical Director: Melbourne Festival: Tanderrum. As Composer/Sound Designer: Yirramboi Festival: Kulin Tide Strings (with Silo Strings Quartet); Ilbijerri Theatre Company: Coranderrk (with Belvoir), Blood On The Dance Floor (with Jacob Boehme), North West Of Nowhere (with the Victorian Government Department Of Health & Human Services & Vaccho), Tanderrum (with Melbourne Festival); Insite Arts: Sand Song (with Walbira Murray); White Night Melbourne: Still Here (with National Gallery of Victoria); Winton Wetlands: Multimedia Soundscape; Footscray Community Arts Centre: A Call From The West The Continuing Legacy of Mr William Cooper; Circus Oz: Blakflip; G Opening Ceremony: Dreamtime. As Singer/ Musician: Black Arm Band (US and UK Tour); Buried Country tour; Wantok Musik Foundation: Ulumbarra Gather Together; Tina C - Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word (Tour); Archie Roach - Into the Bloodstream (Tour); As Arranger: 1967: Music in the Key of Yes; G Opening Ceremony: Dreamtime. As Producer: Countries to Welcome. As Workshop Facilitator: Music Outback.
Pete Sutherland STAGE MANAGER Queensland Theatre: Quartet, Oedipus Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Black Diggers, Venus in Fur, Kelly, Elizabeth – Almost by Chance a Woman, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (with Belvoir), No Man’s Land, Grimm Tales, Betrayal, The Crucible, The School of Arts (with QPAC), The Female of the Species, Rabbit Hole, The August Moon, The Fortunes of Richard Mahony (with Playbox), Molly Sweeney, Buried Child, Dirt, Fred, Fountains Beyond, The Skin of Our Teeth and Bell Shakespeare co-productions Faustus, The Alchemist, The Tragedy of Richard III, Anatomy Titus Fall of Rome: A Shakespeare Commentary. Other Credits: La Boite Theatre Company: Blackrock, The Village, Single Asian Female; Bell Shakespeare: The Tempest, Henry V, King Lear, The Government Inspector, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, Measure for Measure, The Wars of the Roses, Hamlet; Black Swan State Theatre Company: A Streetcar Named Desire, The Seagull, As You Like It, The Sapphires; Sydney Theatre Company: Blacked Up, Stones In His Pockets, Barrymore; Griffin Theatre Company: Wicked Sisters; Marion St Theatre: Brief Lives, Tom and Clem; Melbourne Theatre Company: Dumb Show, The Herbal Bed, A Little Night Music; Legs on the Wall: Eora Crossing, Flying Blind; Sydney Conservatorium of Music: The Beggar’s Opera; Darwin Theatre Company: The Winter’s Tale, Cosi, Diving For Pearls, Emma; Queensland Conservatorium of Music: Orpheus in the Underworld. Training: Bachelor of Dramatic Arts (Technical Production), NIDA.
Kathryn O’Halloran ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
Queensland Theatre: As Stage Manager: Rice (with Griffin Theatre Company), Once in Royal David’s City (with Black Swan State Theatre Company), Switzerland, Happy Days, Treasure Island, An Oak Tree, Hurry Up and Wait! As Assistant Stage Manager: Tartuffe (with Black Swan State Theatre Company), Quartet, The Seagull, God Of Carnage, Rabbit Hole. Other Credits: As Stage Manager: Creative Regions: It All Begins With Love; Brisbane Powerhouse; QPAC; Out Of The Box; State Library of Queensland; National Play Festival. As Event Coordinator: Sydney Festival - Seymour Centre, Carriageworks, AAMI Ferrython, Festival First Night. As Assistant Stage Manager: SpoonTree Productions: The Man The Sea Saw; Sydney Festival - Domain Concert Series; Queensland Ballet. Positions: Technical Coordinator - Brisbane Festival. Training: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical Production), Queensland University of Technology.
Elaine Crombie
Melodie Reynolds-Diarra
MINNIE Queensland Theatre: Country Song, Bloodland (with Bangarra Dance Theatre & Sydney Theatre Company), Fountains Beyond, Sunshine Club
DIDO Queensland Theatre: Debut. Other Credits: As Actor: Sydney Theatre Company: Black is the New White, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (with The Dreaming Festival); Ilbijerri Theatre Company: Coranderrk –We Will Show the Country (with Sydney Opera House), The Dirty Mile, Chopped Liver, Black Sheep, Glorious Baastards (with Melbourne International Comedy Festival), Headhunter (with Polyglot Theatre), Wild Cat Falling, Honey Spot, King For This Place; Bell Shakespeare: Actors At Work; Playbox: Holy Day; Black Swan State Theatre Company: Stolen, Shrunken Iris, Master Builder, Quilting the Armour, Yandy; Company B: Yibiyung; Melbourne Theatre Company: The Man from Mukinupin; Redstitch Actors’ Theatre: Jackie by Elfriede Jelinek; Belvoir: No Sugar. As Associate Director: Malthouse Theatre: The Shadow King. As Writer: Skylab. Television: Natural Justice, Broken Shore, Hard Rock Medical and Redfern Now. Audio Book: My Place. Training: Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
(with Sydney Theatre Company). Other Credits: Malthouse: Blaque Showgirls; The Follies Company: The New Black; Sydney Festival: I Am Eora; Q Theatre Company: The Maids; The New Theatre: Parramatta Girls; Belvoir: Conversations With The Dead; Sydney Theatre Company: The Cherry Pickers. Film: Black Talk, Jackie Jackie. Television: Top of the Lake: China Girl, Get Krack’n, Black Comedy, 8MMM Aboriginal Radio, Redfern Now. Training: Advanced Diploma of Performing Arts, Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts; Associate Diploma of Music, Centre of Aboriginal Studies in Music - Adelaide University.
Chenoa Deemal GRACE Queensland Theatre: The 7 Stages of Grieving (with Grin and Tonic Theatre Company), St Mary’s in Exile, Mother Courage and Her Children. Other Credits: Corrugated Iron Youth Arts: Mr Takahashi & Other Falling Secrets; Darlinghurst Theatre: A Man with Five Children; Imaginary Theatre: The Voice in the Walls; Riverside Theatre Company: Rainbow’s End; Centre Stage: The Works of William Shakespeare by Chicks; Metro Arts: Red Sanctuary. Short Film: Love Song Dedication, Transit. Television: Splatalot. Training: Advanced Diploma of Acting, ACPA; Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting), Queensland University of Technology.
Sarah Ogden DORA Queensland Theatre: Debut. Other Credits: Melbourne Theatre Company: The Crucible, Top Girls; Hayloft Project: Arden V Arden; La Mama: Heaven; Mutation Theatre: Love me Tender; Stuck Pigs Squealing: Night Maybe; Steam Productions: Ruby Moon; Arena Theatre Company/Malthouse: Moth (National Tour); OK/ Midsumma: Dark Summer; Hoy Polloy: Electronic City; Winterfall Theatre: As You Like It; MKA: Signs of Rust; Bell Shakespeare: Actors At Work; Daniel Schlusser/Store Room: Life is A Dream; QSE: The Comedy of Errors, Coriolanus, Mad Lear, Shakespeare’s Shorts; Metro Arts: The Bald Primadonna; La Boite Theatre Company: The Final Bow - Farewell to Hale St; Gordon Frost: The Secret Garden (National Tour). Television: Stories I Want To Tell You In Person, The Wayne Manifesto. Training: BDA (Acting), Victorian College of the Arts; BCI (Drama), Queensland University of Technology. Awards: Orloff Family Charitable Trust Award (VCA), Green Room Awards nominations - Best Actress Mainstage Moth, Best Ensemble - Independent Life is a Dream. Sarah has been a proud member of Equity since 1994.
Shari Sebbens ZOE Queensland Theatre: Debut. Other Credits: Sydney Theatre Company: Black is the New White, The Bleeding Tree, The Battle of Waterloo; Belvoir: Back At The Dojo, Radiance; Griffin Theatre Company: The Bleeding Tree, Return to Earth, A Hoax (with La Boite); Malthouse: Shadow King (with Darwin Festival); Tap Gallery: Lobby Hero; Darwin Festival: Wulamanayui and the Seven Pamanui; Film: Australia Day, Teenage Kicks, The Darkside, The Sapphires. Short Film: OnO, Alone, You Wanna Order Pizza? Television: Soul Mates, 8MMM Aboriginal Radio, The Gods of Wheat Street, Redfern Now. Training: WAAPA (Aboriginal Theatre), NIDA. Awards: Graham Kennedy Award – Most Outstanding New Talent.
Colin Smith BJJ/GEORGE/ M’CLOSKY Queensland Theatre: The Odd Couple, Black Diggers (co-production with Sydney Festival and Brisbane Festival). Other Credits: La Boîte Theatre Company: A Streetcar Named Desire; Room to Play: One Was Nude One Wore Tails; Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble: The Tempest, Mary Stuart, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Bomb-itty of Errors, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Shakespeare’s Shorts: Express Macbeth, Instant Romeo and Juliet, The Half-Hour Hamlet, Midsummer’s Mechanicals, The Merchant of Venice, Richard III, As You Like It, Food of Love: A Shakespeare Cabaret, Twelfth Night, Metamorphoses, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare’s Briefs or Let’s Kill All the Lawyers; Brisbane Arts Theatre: Monstrous Regiment, Night Watch, The Fifth Elephant, Men At Arms; Queensland Ballet: Vis-à-vis: Moving Stories. Short Film: The Last Aussie Hero 3: The Search for Kip, Episode 1.5: Lord of the Philosophers Stone. Television: Secrets & Lies, Sea Patrol, Mortified.
Anthony Standish
Anthony Taufa
PLAYWRIGHT/JONAH/LAFOUCHE Queensland Theatre: The Wider Earth (with Dead Puppet Society), Trollop, End of the Rainbow, Kelly, The Seeding Bed, The Removalists, American Buffalo, The Woman Before, Puss in Boots, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, A Property of the Clan, The Exception and The Rule, Man Equals Man. Other Credits: La Boite Theatre Company: Cosi; ELBOW Room: Prehistoric; Hot House Theatre/ Merrigong Theatre/Glen St Theatre: Australia! The Show!; QAC/Forward Movement: Zoo-Illogical; Metro Arts/Forward Movement: Magda’s Fascination with Wax Cats, Little Hitler’s Ode to an Austrian Bentwood; 4MBS: The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; the Restaged Histories project: Omon Ra; Markwell Presents: What Simon Said. Film: Australia Day, Drive Hard, A Grey Eulogy, Girl Clock, Don’t Tell, Reef ‘n’ Beef, The Great Raid. Television: Hoges, Wanted, Mabo, Lightning Point, Heartbeat, Sea Patrol, Dirty/ Clean/Inbetween, Gezus. Positions: Emerging Artist 2006, Queensland Theatre. Anthony dedicates his performance to his grandmother, Rae 'Del' Batchler.
ASSISTANT/PETE/PAUL Queensland Theatre: Debut. Other Credits: Sydney Theatre Company: Cloud Nine, Black is the New White, The Golden Age, Orlando, Love & Information; Theatre of Image: MonkeyJourney to the West; Serious Boys: Glengarry Glenross; Bell Shakespeare: Comedy of Errors, The Players; Ion Nobiru: Birthday Boys; Cry Havoc: Titus Andronicus; Sydney Shakespeare Company: Othello; Darlinghurst Theatre: 10,000 Beers, Man with Five Children; Griffin Theatre Company: Brothers Size; King’s Men: Othello; Optic Verve-Band of Creatures: Manbeth; Hoppla Festival Darling Harbour: Moliere in 30 minutes; Q Theatre: Mash Up. Film: Down Under, Super Awesome!, Before the Rain; Short Film: The Polygamist, NOVR, Let It Rain, The Tongans, Father’s Way, Cheap Rent, Make Me, Getting In. Training: NIDA, Bachelor of Arts, La Trobe University.
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Thank you for your support Queensland Theatre gratefully acknowledges our donors who share our passion and support our work TRUST AND FOUNDATIONS Australian Communities Foundation Keith & Jeannette Ince Fund Australian Communities Foundation Davie Family Fund Copyright Agency Limited Doug Hall Foundation Ian Potter Foundation Tim Fairfax Family Foundation John T Reid Charitable Trusts Queensland Community Foundation $10,000 PLUS 3 Anonymous Louise M Gourlay EM Jameson & AL Anderson Martin & Andrea Kriewaldt Susan Learmonth & Bernard Curran Pamela Marx Cathryn Mittelheuser AM Bruce & Sue Shepherd University of Queensland $5,000-$9,999 John & Lynnly Chalk Sue Donnelly Roslyn Atkinson & Richard Fotheringham John & Gay Hull Dr Joan M. Lawrence AM John Reid AO & Lynn Rainbow-Reid AM $2,000-$4,999 Anonymous J M Alroe Anne & Peter Allen Rachel Crowley Wesley Enoch Alan Galwey Claire Glasson Geoffrey Hirst AM & Sally Wilde Hudson Family Colin & Noela Kratzing Ross & Sophia Lamont Andrew & Kate Lister Karl & Louise Morris Bruce & Irene Moy The Prior Family Tim & Kym Reid Cecily Stevenson Sandy Vigar Pearson David Williamson AO Bruce & Jocelyn Wolfe $1,000 - $1,999 Anonymous Assoc. Prof Damien Thomson & Dr Glenise C. Berry Christopher & Margot Blue Robert Bond William Ash & Margi Brown Ash Lisa & William Bruce Dianne J Dickson Sue & Mike Gowan Ian & Ruth Gough Sophia Hall Malcolm & Andrea Hall-Brown Amanda Jolly & Peter Knights Tempe Keune David & Katrina King Fred & Margaret Leditschke
If you want to be part of what makes Queensland Theatre great, please consider donating. Donations over $250 are acknowledged for 12 months from the date of donation. To find out more about supporting Queensland Theatre queenslandtheatre.com.au/Support-Us
Andrea Moor The Nicklin Family Greg & Wendy O'Meara Donal & Una O'Sullivan Blayne & Helen Pitts Marianna Serghi Greg & ESally Vickery $500 - $999 10 Anonymous Melissa Agnew Leanne Austin Noela Bartlett Geoffrey Beames Peter Bridgman & Susan Booth Rodd & Wendy Chignell Margaret & Michael Clancy Bob Cleland Tony Costantini Alan & Annette Davie Dianne J Dickson Sharyn Ghidella Merrilyn & Kevin Goos Ruth Hamlyn-Harris Fontina & Roger Hardy Louisa Bewley & Geoff Harris Rob & Zelle Hodge Heidi Irvine Michael & Karlie Keating Barry & Laraine Kelly Hugo Kritsos B Lloyd Susan Mabin Philip & Fran Morrison R & B Murray Denise O'Boyle Di & Robert Parcell Catherine Quinn Angela Ramsay John Richardson & Kirsty Taylor Gary Sawyer Wendy Tonkes Kathy Uzsoki Lily Vrtik Andrew & Shelley Ward LEGAL CHAPTER 2 Anonymous Michael & Anne Back Jennifer Batts Michelle & Victor Borzillo Sarah Bradley Peter Bridgman & Susan Booth Michael & Anne-Maree Byrne Sheryl Cornack Ralph Devlin AM QC & Frances Devlin Scott Falvey H G Fryberg John & Lois Griffin
Margaret & Norman Wicks Margaret Williams Ian Yeo & Sylvia Alexander $250 - $499 10 Anonymous Leanne Austin Cheryl Beaton Melissa Bennett Virginia Bishop Ethna Brown Michelle Cameron M Cannon & J McCarthy Judith Carrey Ralph Collins Conrad & Pella Comino June Craw Lisa Davidson Kate Foy Graeme & Jan George Peter & Gay Gibson Robert Ginns Anita Green David Hardidge Juanita Hartkopf Karen Heel Paul & Kathie Hendon Stephen & Yvonne Henry Jodie Hoff Leo & Juni Irwin John & Lynn Kelly Ray & Audrey Lawrence Geoff & Alison McGlashan Angie & Peter McPhee Mark Menhinnitt Kartini Oei Lyn & Joanne Scott Jill Standfield Kaye Stevenson Brent Thomson Gillian Tye Vicki Williams Pam Willsher Doug & Jenny Woodward Daryl & Trish Hanly K & M Hodge Kevin & Joanne Holyoak Fleur Kingham The Hon Justice John Logan RFD Stephen & Hana Mackie Richard & Denise Morton Debra & Patrick Mullins James & Anne Noble Tina Previtera and John Lock Barbara Houlihan & Jeff Rolls Peter G Williams Margaret Wilson
Principal Partner
Brisbane Festival is an initiative of the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council
PATRON His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, Governor of Queensland MEMBERS OF THE BOARD Elizabeth Jameson (Chair) Rachel Crowley (Deputy Chair) Wayne Denning Prof Richard Fotheringham Peter Hudson Susan Learmonth Dr Andrea Moor David Williamson ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Sam Strong EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Sue Donnelly ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Paige Rattray RESIDENT DRAMATURG Isaac Drandic EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Jacki Micola DEVELOPMENT, FINANCE & OPERATIONS DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Amanda Jolly CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS MANAGER Nikki Porter DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR Alana Tierney COMMUNICATIONS & GRANT COORDINATOR Anja Homburg CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR Georgia Lynas FINANCE MANAGER Valerie Cole ASSISTANT ACCOUNTANT Georgia Knight FINANCE OFFICER Sarra Lamb VENUE & OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR Julian Messer FRONT OF HOUSE COORDINATOR Kate Hardy
MARKETING & TICKETING MARKETING & AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Tracey Webster HEAD OF CAMPAIGNS Jane Hunterland MARKETING ASSISTANT Louisa Sankey MARKETING ASSISTANT (DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT) Thomas Manton–Williams DIGITAL MARKETING OFFICER David D’Arcy GRAPHIC DESIGNER Aleesha Cuffe PUBLICIST Kath Rose and Associates DATABASE TRAINER / SUPERVISOR Rory Killen TICKETING SUPERVISOR Eloise Sowden SENIOR TICKETING OFFICER Donna Fields-Brown TICKETING OFFICERS Madison Bell, Annabelle Hazell PRODUCTION PRODUCTION MANAGER Toni Glynn TECHNICAL COORDINATOR Daniel Maddison PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Pip Loth TECHNICAL COORDINATOR Lachlan Cross HEAD OF WORKSHOP Peter Sands COMPANY CARPENTER/ HEAD MECHANIST John Pierce COSTUME SUPERVISOR Nathalie Ryner WARDROBE COORDINATOR Barbara Kerr
Queensland Theatre is a member of the Australian Major Performing Arts Group.
PROGRAMMING PROGRAMMING MANAGER / SENIOR PRODUCER Sophia Hall ARTISTIC COORDINATOR Samantha French PRODUCER (NEW WORK AND DEVELOPMENT) Shari Irwin RESIDENT DESIGNER Vilma Mattila ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATOR Hana Tow EDUCATION AND YOUTH PROGRAMS PRODUCER (EDUCATION & YOUTH PROGRAMS) Heidi Irvine PROGRAMMING COORDINATOR Laurel Collins ASSOCIATE ARTIST (EDUCATION AND YOUTH) Travis Dowling INDIGENOUS REFERENCE GROUP Wayne Denning (Chair) Jimi Bani Dr Valerie Cooms Isaac Drandic Nathan Jarro NATIONAL ARTISTIC TEAM Jimi Bani Wayne Blair Margi Brown Ash Marcel Dorney Christie Evangelisto Kat Henry Nakkiah Lui Annette Madden Renée Mulder Lucas Stibbard FRONT OF HOUSE Laura Bamford Isaac Buckland Ben Davidson Roxane Eden James Gatling Anita Hughes Cillian McDonald Laura Richardson Ellen Tuffley Michael Veal Keziah Young
FOUNDING DIRECTOR Ian Edwards, AM, MBE (1925-2003) QUEENSLAND THEATRE PRODUCTION STAFF CARPENTER Jamie Bowman PROPS MAKER Aleksis Waaralinna SCENIC ARTIST Leo Herreygers COSTUME MAKER AND CUTTERS Michelle Wiki Angela Gearing Millie Adams COSTUME MAKER Oscah Clark WIG DRESS/ HAIR STYLIST Rebecca Anthony COSTUME MAINTENANCE Jane Jericho COSTUME MAKER AND ART FINISHERS Louisa Bannah Bianca Bulley SILVERSMITH Kate Hardy HEAD ELECTRICIAN Mat Allan SOUND CONSULTANT Charlotte Kirby ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Christie Evangelisto Ella Gordon Opera Queensland REHEARSAL PHOTOGRAPHY Stephen Henry MICHELLE LAW HEADSHOT Tammy Law PHOTOGRAPHS USED IN THIS PRODUCTION ARE PROVIDED COURTESY OF Broome Museum and Historical Society Northern Territory Library State Library of Western Australia State Library of South Australia Further details available on request
Information correct at time of printing
WELCOME TO THE BILLE BROWN STUDIO 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 Bille Brown Studio 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 outside the Studio.
QUEENSLAND THEATRE 3 Play Packages from $144*
“It’s all about variety for Queensland Theatre in 2018” Sydney Morning Herald “The new season follows a record-breaking year for the company” Daily Review “Sam Strong … has stamped his authority on the company with a strong program” The Courier Mail
The 2018 Season