20 MAY – 26 JUNE Bille Brown Studio 78 Montague Rd, South Brisbane
CAST Andrea Moor
Patricia Highsmith
Matthew Backer
Edward Ridgeway
Switzerland will run for approximately 80 minutes, no interval.
CREATIVES Paige Rattray
Director
Warning: This production contains a blackout, coarse language, adult themes, sexual references, violence, replica weapons and herbal cigarettes. The use of photographic or recording equipment is not permitted inside the theatre.
Anthony Spinaze
Designer
Ben Hughes
Lighting Designer
Steve Toulmin
Composer/Sound Designer
Melissa Agnew
Voice and Dialect Coach
Nigel Poulton
Fight Director
Kathryn O’Halloran Stage Manager Rebecca Minuti
Assistant Stage Manager
RECYCLE THIS PROGRAM Cover photo: David Kelly
FOLLOW THIS PLAY #qtcswitzerland facebook.com/qldtheatreco twitter.com/qldtheatreco Instagram.com/qldtheatreco 1800 355 528 queenslandtheatre.com.au mail@queenslandtheatre.com.au
Support Greening QTC 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
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY Queensland Theatre Company would like to acknowledge the Jagera and 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 peoples whichever Aboriginal nation they may come from.
Welcome Note Artistic Director
SAM STRONG
Dear QTC audience, QTC shows are a bit like children – it’s inappropriate and impossible to have a favourite. That said, I have to confess to particularly looking forward to this one. Switzerland is a new play by one of Australia’s finest playwrights: Joanna Murray-Smith. It contains the qualities that have defined her prodigious body of work – the ability to turn sophisticated ideas and argument into riveting drama and a finely tuned eye for observing human behaviour. Moreover, it turns these gifts toward a thrilling fictional encounter with the personality and works of one of the most fascinating authors of the last half-century, Patricia Highsmith. As well as being a gripping night in the theatre, Switzerland embodies other things that QTC holds dear. As we aspire to lead the country in career pathways for artists, it’s important to acknowledge the impressive and eclectic mix of creatives Switzerland brings together: Queensland acting icon Andrea Moor; prodigal acting son, returned to Brisbane, Matthew Backer; Paige Rattray, one of the best young directors to have emerged in recent years; and QTC’s inaugural young resident designer Anthony Spinaze.
L-R: Andrea Moor, Matthew Backer.
With such a potent cocktail of ingredients, how could Switzerland not be a favourite? Not that I have favourites. Enjoy. Sam
L-R: Andrea Moor, Matthew Backer.
L-R: Kathryn O'Halloran, Paige Rattray
Matthew Backer Andrea Moor
Steve Toulmin
Director's Note PAIGE RATTRAY
‘All these years you couldn’t go “out there” into the real world because you didn’t write it. Things happen unbidden. People don’t behave the way you want them to. And you don’t like it.’ – Edward Ridgeway in Switzerland. In the process of creating fiction we have control. We choose the worlds we create, the words of our characters, meticulously plan their actions, determine their lives and deaths. As human beings that is rarely the case. What happens when someone as controlling of their world as Patricia Highsmith has that control taken away from her? The woman who spent her life meticulously planning so many deliciously interesting murders is now faced head on with her quickly approaching and uneventful - possibly boring - death, one not at all worthy of a great writer. This question lies at the core of our production of Switzerland. Highsmith was an artist who embraced the torment of her childhood (she says when her mother was five months pregnant she tried to abort her with drain fluid) and she believed this dark past made her who she was as a writer. That the only way we can tr ansform is to own our past, carry it on our shoulders, use every dark part of it to create great art. Patricia believed in her greatness but was tormented by the injustice of not being lauded by her American peers. She reviled the ‘Dead White American Male’ literary establishment and their ingrained misogyny. Writer Norman Mailer named her merely a ‘high class detective novelist’ whereas Europeans celebrated and compared her to the likes of Camus. Perhaps this is one of the reasons she moved to Switzerland? In our play, the character Edward Ridgeway says of this choice, “You don’t like Europe but you would rather be a somebody somewhere you hate, than a nobody somewhere you belong.”
This insecurity may not seem in keeping with the straight talking, cruel and progressive woman you may have heard about - the writer of Carol (originally published as The Price of Salt) recently adapted into a film starring Cate Blanchett, The Talented Mr. Ripley and Strangers on a Train. Patricia is a complex and contradictory character. The moment it feels like you might have found the core of who or what she was, a new piece of information or research will come into the fold that blows that theory to a million pieces. This has been thrilling to work with in the rehearsal room and often we have forgotten this is a play written by Murray-Smith and not from the hand of Highsmith herself. In writing these notes I even accidentally wrote Patricia Murray-Smith! That is how beautifully written and detailed Joanna’s swirling imagining is of the last days of Patricia’s life. Our production has been a great collaboration between many people; Anthony Spinaze’s stunning set and costume design (which you can read more about over the page); Steve Toulmin’s creeping composition; and the exquisite shadows of Ben Hughes’ lighting. Joanna has gifted our fearless actors, Andrea Moor and Matthew Backer, characters brimming with intellect which they have explored, twisted, chewed up and formed into calculated, mad and layered individuals. Thank you to all of the production team and particularly Peter in the workshop for the realisation of Patricia’s home and Queensland Theatre Company for having me work with your great company. And thank you to you, the audience, for coming to see our play. The one thing we don’t have control of is the audience reception - how you will interpret our darkest dreams that we put in front of you with a mix of excitement and terror. So over to you, we hope it gives you as much of an experience in the viewing as it has been in the making.
Andrea Moor
L-R: Matthew Backer, Andrea Moor
L-R: Andrea Moor, Matthew Backer.
Designer's Note ANTHONY SPINAZE
Joanna Murray-Smith’s Switzerland takes elements from the real life of mystery writer Patricia Highsmith and turns them into a thoughtprovoking and engrossing thriller. When I first met Paige Rattray to discuss how she envisaged the play from a director’s perspective we agreed that, like Murray-Smith, we wanted to draw on elements of reality and use them to tell an intelligent and thrilling story. Highsmith’s real house - where she lived out her final years in Tegna, Switzerland - was our inspiration. Our starting point was a 1995 French documentary about her life that presented long roaming shots throughout the house and gave us a clear idea of the reality of how and where she lived. Some elements simply demanded to be used in their original form – we immediately fell in love with the French doors, and a mysterious plastic bag hanging from the ceiling. Other elements had to be changed to suit the theme and the tone of the story. The most noticeable change was the colour palette: although Highsmith’s house was decorated in warm colours (creams and terracottas) we decided that we needed a cooler palette, something to create a bit of distance from the characters
and to complement the thriller elements of the script. And although Highsmith’s house looked like a bunker from the outside, the inside was quite warm and lovely, decorated with her various belongings and hand-made furniture. The challenge was to keep the essence of Patricia, but none of the warmth. We wanted the space to feel unsettling, and we accomplished this with the help of some dangerous and deadly looking props, an old coat hanging on a hook and some severe angles (which I also carried through into the irregularly shaped false proscenium). Patricia Highsmith was a great storyteller, and Joanna Murray-Smith has created a riveting story inspired by her life. It is enthralling and clever, exciting and thoughtful, playing with elements of reality and constructing a gripping thriller from them. We hope that the production design does the same – taking the core of Highsmith’s life and remaining true to the essence of her while pushing naturalistic elements towards an exciting thriller. If you leave the theatre feeling excited and inspired, with a better understanding of this fascinating and contradictory woman, we have done our job.
Design model by Anthony Spinaze
Novelist About Patricia Highsmith "It is impossible," wrote Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995), the Dark Lady of American Letters "for me to live from day to day without putting myself to a judgement ‌ " Patricia Highsmith was an American novelist and short story writer. She wrote 22 novels, primarily psychological thrillers, including Strangers on a Train which was famously adapted by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951 (although it is said he wimped out when it came to the ending). Her novels have strong plots but also explore the psychology of her characters. It has been suggested that this was a method she used to deal with her own psychological issues. Highsmith created some of the greatest suspense novels in modern literature, writing dozens of works that would become notorious for their startling violence and unstable, morally ambiguous characters. She became very well known for the Ripley series and the amoral serial killer character Tom Ripley. Patricia Highsmith died alone in Switzerland in 1995. Photograph: Ruth Berhard.
Playwright JOANNA MURRAY-SMITH
Joanna Murray-Smith has written many plays, including: Honour; Love Child; Nightfall; Rapture; Scenes From a Marriage; The Female of the Species; Ninety; Rockabye; The Gift; Day One, A Hotel, Evening; Fury; adaptations of Hedda Gabler and the three onewoman shows Bombshells; Songs for Nobodies and Pennsylvania Avenue; the latter currently completing a nationwide tour. Many of her plays have been produced around the world, including seasons on the West End and Broadway. In London, Honour played both on the
West End and at the Royal National Theatre, for which Dame Eileen Atkins, in the title role, won the Olivier. Following its West End season, The Female of the Species was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Her plays have been performed by many of the world’s leading actors, including Dame Diana Rigg, Jane Alexander, Laura Linney, Corin Redgrave and Annette Bening. She has published three novels, Truce, Judgement Rock and Sunnyside (all Penguin). She wrote the libretto for the Australian Opera Love in the Age of Therapy, composed by Paul Grabowsky and The Divorce, composed by Elena Kats-Chernin. Her novels and plays have been nominated for many awards. In 2004, US Variety described her as “Australia’s foremost female playwright.”
1996
1998
2008
2009
2012
LOVE CHILD
HONOUR
THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES
NINETY
BOMBSHELLS
QTC productions of Joanna Murray-Smith plays
Switzerland.
CH
DID YOU KNOW?
Switzerland is also known as Confoederatio Helvetica which is why they are abbreviated to CH
Switzerland has a population of
8 MILLION
5
NEIGHBOURS Switzerland shares its borders with Italy, France, Germany, Austria and the Principality of Liechtenstein.
> 100 YEARS
Switzerland boasts the highest percentage of people over the age of 100 in Europe.
CHOCOLATE In 2012, between 18 chocolate production companies, there was 172,376 tons of chocolate produced in Switzerland
WINE&BEER In the same year, the average Swiss person drank 56.5L of beer and 36L of wine.
Sources: aboutswitzerland.org
The Swiss currency is not the euro- instead Switzerland uses the Swiss Frank (CHF)
EUROPE’S “WATER TOWER” The sources of the Rhein, Rhone, Ticino (Po) and Inn (Danube) are found in Switzerland.
The ‘Ripley series’ Patricia Highsmith’s most well-known and highly acclaimed novels, commonly referred to as the ‘Ripley series’, were published between 1955 and 1991. Her most renowned title, The Talented Mr. Ripley was the first to introduce her most infamous character, Tom Ripley – a young, suave, sexually ambiguous con artist and serial killer, devoid of all conscience. Throughout all subsequent books Ripley Under Ground, Ripley’s Game, The Boy Who Followed Ripley and Ripley Under Water, his cunning, charm or brutality allows him to narrowly evade all the repercussions of his transgressions and continue his life of wealth and leisure with his unassuming wife, heiress Héloïse.
The Talented Mr. Ripley was adapted to film in 1999 starring Matt Damon as Ripley and previously in 1960 in the French production, Purple Noon (Plein Soleil). Ripley’s Game was adapted in 1977 as The American Friend starring Dennis Hopper and in 2002 starring John Malkovich under the original title. The latest film adaptation was Ripley Under Ground in 2005. The Talented Mr Ripley is available for sale in the foyer throughout the season.
BIOGRAPHIES
PAIGE RATTRAY
BEN HUGHES
DIRECTOR
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Queensland Theatre Company: Debut. Other Credits: As Director: Sydney Theatre Company: Boys will be boys, Rough Draft #13: Underland; ARTHUR: Bright World (with Theatre Works), The Sea Project, Return to Earth (with Griffin Independent), The Myth Project: Twin (with MTC NEON), The Mesh (with Red Stitch) The Midlands, The Sea Project (with Mudlark), Dirtyland (with The Spare Room), Cut Snake, Waltzing Woolloomooloo: The Tale of Frankie Jones; Griffin Theatre: Heartbreak Hotel; Milk Crate Theatre: This House is Mine; ATYP: Out of Place, Bronte; Carriageworks/Serenity Productions: Bill W and Dr Bob; NIDA: The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Blessed Are The Wild. As Dramaturg: Sydney Theatre Company: The Golden Age. As Assistant Director: Sydney Theatre Company: Arms and the Man, Battle of Waterloo, Travelling North. Positions: Richard Wherrett Directorial Fellow, Sydney Theatre Company (2015, 2016); Co-founder of Independent Theatre Company ARTHUR, Resident Director at Griffin Theatre (2011); Affiliate Director at Griffin Theatre (2010). Awards: Melbourne Fringe – Best Emerging Writer Cut Snake (with Amelia Evans and Dan Giovannoni); Drama Victoria – Best Performance by a Theatre Company – VCE Drama Cut Snake; Gloria’s Fellowship. Training: NIDA.
ANTHONY SPINAZE
DESIGNER Queensland Theatre Company: As Design Assistant: Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet. Other Credits: As Designer: NIDA: Spring Awakening, Capricornia, The Portrait of Dorian Gray. As Costume Designer: NIDA: Not Who I Was; Brevity Theatre: Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Space Cats. As Design Assistant: Opera Australia: Aida. Film: As Designer: TRIPLE J: Loose Change’s Grown Up. As Costume Designer: AFTAS: An Easy Death. Awards: 2015 William Fletcher Foundation Award for Emerging Artists. Positions: Resident Designer: Queensland Theatre Company 2016 – present. Training: Bachelor of Dramatic Art (Design), NIDA; Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical Production), QUT.
Queensland Theatre Company: Much Ado About Nothing, The Seagull, Happy Days, Grounded, HOME, The Button Event, The Effect (co-production with Sydney Theatre Company), The Mountaintop, Black Diggers (co-production 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 (co-production with Hothouse Theatre), Orphans, An Oak Tree, Sacre Bleu, Fat Pig, Let The Sunshine (co-production with Melbourne Theatre Company), 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 Co-Director/Designer: Trollop. Other Credits: The Danger Ensemble: Caligula, The Wizard of Oz (co-production with La Boite Theatre Company and Brisbane Festival), Sons of Sin, Children of War, Loco Maricon Amor, The Hamlet Apocalypse; La Boite Theatre Company: Medea, A Doll’s House, Cosi, Kitchen Diva, Statespeare; Belvoir: Samson (co-production with La Boite); The Nest Ensemble: Home; Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre: Vikram and the Vampire, Cabaret, Dracula, Zeitgeist, My Sublime Shadow; Woodford Folk Festival: Fire Event (2012 and 2013); Cre8ion: Fluff; Stella Electrika: The New Dead: Medea Material; Expressions Dance Company: 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 Company (2014 and 2011); Resident Lighting Designer, Queensland Theatre Company (2013); Associate Artistic Director – The Danger Ensemble; Emerging Artist, Queensland Theatre Company (2007); Professional Member, Association of Lighting Designers; Associate Lecturer – Queensland University of Technology. Awards: 2011 Groundling Award – Outstanding Contribution to Lighting Design.
ANDREA MOOR
COMPOSER/SOUND DESIGNER
PATRICIA HIGHSMITH
Queensland Theatre Company: That Face. Other credits: La Boite Theatre Company: Tender Napalm, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Attack of the Attacking Attackers; For Belvoir: The Blind Giant Is Dancing, Jasper Jones, Ivanov, La Traviata, Blue Wizard, Radiance, Is This Thing On?, 20 Questions, The Baulkham Hills African Ladies Troupe, Scorched, The Seed; Sydney Theatre Company: Little Mercy, Edward Gant’s Amazing Feats Of Loneliness (Co-production with La Boite Theatre Company), Our Town; Griffin Theatre Company: The Bleeding Tree, Beached, A Hoax; For Ensemble Theatre: Great Falls, Liberty Equality Fraternity, Circle Mirror Transformation. Strut & Fret: Blanc De Blanc. Sydney Festival: All The Sex I’ve Ever Had. Independent productions include: Prehistoric, After All This, Queen Of Wolves, Me Pregnant, Rommy, Porn.Cake, Trapture. As AV Designer: Angela’s Kitchen (Griffin), Between Two Waves (Griffin), Tot Mom (STC), God Of Carnage (STC). Events: Papua New Guinea's 40th Year of Independence Celebrations, EKKA Arena Spectacular (2013, 2014, 2015). Music: As a songwriter and music producer, Steve has worked with artists including Megan Washington, Ricki-Lee Coulter and Samantha Jade.
Queensland Theatre Company: As Actor: Design For Living, Pygmalion, An Oak Tree, Let the Sunshine (co-production with Melbourne Theatre Company), The Crucible, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Absurd Person Singular, Vincent in Brixton. As Director: Quartet, Grounded, Boston Marriage, Australia Day, Venus in Fur, Water Falling Down. Other Credits: As Actor: La Boite: The Narcissist; Kooemba Jdarra: Bitin’ Back; Griffin Theatre Company: Myth, Propaganda & Disaster, Flame, The Return, Kayak, Witchplay, 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; Pork Chop: 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. As Director: …and moor theatre: Tender, The Ghost Writer, Beautiful; JUTE Theatre Company: Intimacy; WAAPA: Festen, Top Girls; USQ Shakespeare in the Park: The Tempest; NIDA: The Roaring Girl, Furious. Television: Mortified, H20, Home & Away, All Saints, White Collar Blue, Backberner, Heartbreak High, Water Rats, GP, Flying Doctors, A Country Practice, Army Wives. Awards: Churchill Fellowship (2014); Matilda Award – Gold Matilda for direction of Venus in Fur, Best Supporting Female Actor The Crucible (2009), Marten Bequest Scholarship (1994), London Monthly Review Best Actress, Edinburgh Festival (1991). Training: NIDA (BA Acting), Doctorate of Creative Industries, (DCI QUT).
MATTHEW BACKER
EDWARD RIDGEWAY Queensland Theatre Company: Brisbane. Other Credits: Belvoir: Kill the Messenger; Bell Shakespeare Company: The Tempest, Henry V; Sydney Theatre Company: Orlando, Machinal; Griffin Theatre Company: Ladies Day, Uncanny Valley; Peach Theatre Company: The History Boys; The Leapfrog Touring Company: The Chaos Fairy & The Wizard; HotHouse Theatre: Frenzy for Two; Parade Theatre: Mr Chicken Goes to Paris; Dodger Theatricals/Dainty Group: Jersey Boys; Theatre Works, St Kilda: Private View. Film: Latte e Miele (Milk & Honey), Whispers Among Wolves, Chicom, Oiling Point. Television: Deadly Women, Fresh Blood (I’m With Stupid), History Hunters. Training: Bachelor of Dramatic Art (Acting), NIDA; Improvisational Comedy, Upright Citizen’s Brigade (New York), People’s Improv Theatre (New York), The Second City (Los Angeles). Awards: Mike Walsh Scholarship (2014); Gloria Dawn and Gloria Payten Foundations Fellowship (2014). Nominations: Sydney Theatre Award Nomination: Best Supporting Actor, The Tempest (2015)
"I think you know you haven't finished with Ripley. The great Ripley. The greatest Ripley." - EDWARD RIDGEWAY IN SWITZERLAND
BIOGRAPHIES
STEVE TOULMIN
BIOGRAPHIES
NIGEL POULTON
KATHRYN O'HALLORAN
FIGHT DIRECTOR
STAGE MANAGER
Queensland Theatre Company: Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, Fractions, King Lear, Shopping and F$$$ing, The Skin of Our Teeth. Other Credits: As Choreographer: The (New York City) Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, Bell Shakespeare Company, Sydney Theatre Company, Washington Opera Company, Opera Australia, Circus Oz, Melbourne Theatre Company, Belvoir St, La Boite Theatre, Playbox Theatre and Kooemba Jdarra. As Performer/Director/ Co-writer: Metro Arts: Dead Cargo. Film/Television: Fight Coordinator and Swordmaster: Pirates of The Carribean V, Deadline Gallipoli, The Water Diviner, The Bourne Legacy, Vikingdom, Winter's Tale, The Good Wife, Person of Interest, Boardwalk Empire, Salt, I am Legend, Sopranos (1997), The Ministers, 30 Rock, Law & Order. Positions: President (past), instructor and fight director with the Society of Australian Fight Directors Inc. and The Society of American Fight Directors. Awards: Green Room Award - Outstanding Contribution to the Melbourne stage (2012); Recipient of Australia Council for the Arts grant and Queensland Arts Council grant (2005, 2008). Training: Theatrical Biomechanics with Gennadi Bogdanov, classically trained fencer with Historical European Martial Arts.
Queensland Theatre Company: As Stage Manager: Happy Days, Treasure Island, An Oak Tree, Hurry Up and Wait! As Assistant Stage Manager: 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 Co-ordinator: Sydney Festival: Carriageworks, AAMI Ferrython, Festival First Night. As Assistant Stage Manager: SpoonTree Productions: The Man The Sea Saw. Sydney Festival: Domain Concert Series. Queensland Ballet: Don Quixote, Alice in Wonderland, Swan Lake, King Arthur and The Tales Of Camelot, The Little Mermaid, Carmen, Fonteyn Remembered, Romeo & Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. As Stage Management Tutor: QUT Technical Production Course. Training: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical Production), QUT.
REBECCA MINUTI
MELISSA AGNEW ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER Queensland Theatre Company: Debut. Other Credits: As Assistant Stage Manager: Now Look Here Theatre: The Lover and a Slight Ache. Training: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical Production), QUT.
VOICE AND DIALECT COACH Queensland Theatre Company: Around 60 productions including Quartet, Ladies in Black, The Odd Couple, Boston Marriage, Black Diggers, The Mountaintop, Venus in Fur. Other Credits: Black Swan State Theatre Company: A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (co-production with QTC). Film: The Proposition. Television: The Pacific. Voice coaching for TV and radio news presenters across Australia. Training: PhD from the University of Sydney. Teaching Positions: Voice, Speech and Dialect teacher/coach; Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University (Musical Theatre), NIDA, QUT, National Theatre Drama School.
"Sometimes I wonder if it isn't the most exhilirating expression of aliveness: The act of killing." - PATRICIA HIGHSMITH IN SWITZERLAND
L-R: Matthew Backer, Paige Rattray, Andrea Moor, Kathryn O'Halloran.
Offer your guests something different: an unforgettable night of theatre at QTC Let QTC create a unique evening at the theatre to entertain your clients and colleagues. A range of dinner and cocktail packages are available and can be tailored to suit your specific requirements. Suitable for groups of up to 200 people, an evening of fine food and wonderful theatre will be a memorable experience for you and your guests.
For more information:
Nikki Porter Corporate Partnerships Manager 07 3010 7612
Q&A with
DEAD PUPPET SOCIETY As preparations ramp up for The Wider Earth rehearsals, we had a chat with our co-producers, Dead Puppet Society's Artistic Director David Morton and Executive Producer Nicholas Paine. What is it about Charles Darwin that inspired you to create The Wider Earth? Nick: We were inspired to create this work when we were visiting Handspring Puppet Company in South Africa in 2013. We got talking with the Producer about how Charles Darwin stopped in Cape Town on the HMS Beagle just prior to returning home to England. David: We were both familiar with the work of Charles Darwin but what we didn’t realise was that he was just 27 years old when he made this stop and only 22 when he left on the voyage. We thought that his journey could make a stunning coming-ofage story full of exquisite creatures, and to make comment on the wonder of our planet.
Tell us more about the cast for The Wider Earth. Nick: The production features eight of some of the country’s finest actors and puppeteers. Together, they form the ensemble that will tell you the story. David: The line between actor/puppeteer is blurred. In some scenes you’ll have actors playing characters alongside puppets, and in other scenes those actors will be manipulating puppets and performing more choreographic sequences. It will certainly keep them on their toes … and hopefully you, too! The Wider Earth: 9 July - 7 August Bille Brown Studio, QTC TO BOOK CALL 1800 355 528 or VISIT queenslandtheatre.com.au
How are the puppets constructed? David: The puppets were all sketched and then designed using CAD, a precise design software, over a six-month period, all of which are based on life size animals. Nick: We then send these files to the laser cutter to be printed on various wooden materials. They then arrive in a million pieces and we’ve spent the last three months assembling them! David: The puppets are then arted with wicker, leather, and ink, and have polished obsidian eyes attached.
Platypus
Polly - a Beagle
Squirrel
SUPPORTERS Dead Puppet Society acknowledges St. Ann’s Warehouse as the original development partner
englishfamily F OUNDATION The Puffin Foundation, Ltd.
This project is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland
PATRON His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC Governor of Queensland MEMBERS OF THE BOARD Richard Fotheringham (Chair) Elizabeth Jameson (Deputy Chair) Kirstin Ferguson Erin Feros Simon Gallaher Peter Hudson Nathan Jarro ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Sam Strong EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Sue Donnelly Executive Assistant: Tammy Sleeth Programming Manager/Senior Producer: Sophia Hall Artistic Coordinator: Samantha French Producer (New Work and Development): Shari Irwin Touring and Regional Program Coordinator: Christine Johnstone Producer (Education and Youth Programs): Heidi Irvine Programming Project Officer: Laurel Collins Chief Financial Officer: Michael Cullinan Systems Accountant: Roxane Eden Assistant Accountant: Jolene Wright Venue and Operations Supervisor: Julian Messer Finance and Operations Officer: Louisa Sankey
Marketing and Audience Development Manager: Yvonne Henry Head of Campaigns: Jane Hunterland Marketing Coordinator: Liana Cantarutti Marketing Assistant: Yuverina Shewpersad Digital Marketing Officer: David D’Arcy Graphic Designer: Aleesha Cuffe Publicist: Kath Rose and Associates Ticketing Supervisor: Eloise Sowden Ticketing Officers: Donna Fields-Brown and Madison Bell Deputy Executive Director: Amanda Jolly Corporate Partnerships Manager: Nikki Porter Development Coordinator: Dee Morris Communications and Grant Coordinator: Anja Homburg Database Trainer and Supervisor: Dale Ric-Hansen Production Manager: Toni Glynn Technical Coordinator: Daniel Maddison Production Coordinator: Canada White Touring Coordinator: Michael Rogerson Head of Workshop: Peter Sands Company Carpenter/Head Mechanist: John Pierce Costume Supervisor: Nathalie Ryner Wardrobe Coordinator: Barbara Kerr Indigenous Reference Group: Nathan Jarro (Chair), Adam James, Angela Leitch, Paula Nazarski, Todd Phillips, Michael Tuahine
National Artistic Team: Jimi Bani, Wayne Blair, Margi Brown Ash, Marcel Dorney, Christie Evangelisto, Kat Henry, Nakkiah Lui, Annette Madden, Renee Mulder, Lucas Stibbard Front of House (QTC): Leisha Du Bois, Anita Hughes, Sally Lewis, Jermaine Beezley, James Gatling, Kate Hardy, Nathan Hollingworth, Georgia Knight, Cillian McDonald, Madeleine Moore, Cinamon Murphy, Ellen Tuffley, Michael Veal FOUNDING DIRECTOR Alan Edwards, AM, MBE (1925 – 2003) Queensland Theatre Company is a member of Live Performance Australia. Production Staff: Carpenters: Jamie Bowman Props Maker : Aleksis Waaralinna Scenic Artist: Leo Herreygers Cutter/Costume Maker: Michelle Wiki Costume Maintenance: Jane Jericho Wig and Hair Stylist: Michael Green Production Electrician: Matt Allan Sound Consultant: Kyle Berry Mechanist: Lilith Tremmery
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Rehearsal Photography: Stephen Henry Researcher: Michelle Miall
WELCOME TO 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 in-house trained attendants and move in an orderly fashion to outside the Studio.
Thanks to our Supporters In 2015, 34% of QTC’s total expenditure was covered by our core government support. The rest of our projects are funded by box office revenue, one-off grants, sponsorships and the generosity of you, our donors. Your gifts are an essential part of what allows us to do the work we all feel is so important. It is no exaggeration to say we would be incomplete without you, so please let us take this moment to THANK YOU! Your gifts touch every corner of the Company, and we are extremely grateful. Trust & Foundations Australian Communities Foundation Creative Partnerships Australia Copyright Agency Cultural Fund English Family Foundation Ian Potter Foundation John T Reid Charitable Trusts Tim Fairfax Family Foundation $10,000+ Donors 1 Anonymous, Pamela M Marx, Cathryn Mittelheuser, Bruce & Sue Shepherd $5,000-$9,999 Patricia Byrne, John & Lynnly Chalk, Wesley Enoch, Richard Fotheringham & Roslyn Atkinson, John & Gay Hull, Thomas Wright $2,000-$4,999 2 Anonymous, William Ash & Margi Brown Ash, John H Casey, Sue Donnelly, Kirstin & Glen Ferguson, Erin Feros, Alan Galwey, Geoffrey Hirst & Sally Wilde, Colin & Noela Kratzing, The Prior Family, Tim & Kym Reid, Cecily Stevenson, Damien Thomson & Glenise Berry, EM Jameson & AL Anderson, University of Queensland $1000-$1999 4 Anonymous, Julieanne Alroe, Anne & Peter Allen, Geoff Harris & Louisa Bewley, Lisa & William Bruce, Matheiu & Anastasia Ellerby, William & Claire Glasson, Merrilyn & Kevin Goos, Ian & Ruth Gough, Michael Gowan, Hudson Family, Tempe Keune, David & Katrina King, Bernard Curran & Susan Learmonth, Andrew & Kate Lister, Dean & Kath Merlo, Karl & Louise Morris, Nicklin Medical Service, Donal & Una O’Sullivan, Plate Marketing, Geoffrey Rush, Marianna Serghi, Sandy Vigar & Martin Pearson
$500-$999 6 Anonymous, Melissa Agnew, Denise Arnold, Melissa Bennett, Virginia Bishop, Julian Buckley & Bec Langdon, Rita Carter-Brown, Bob Cleland, Alan & Annette Davie, Toni Glynn, Malcolm & Andrea HallBrown, Stephen & Yvonne Henry, Heidi Irvine, Amanda Jolly, Ross & Sophia Lamont, Joan M. Lawrence, Fred & Margaret Leditschke, Susan Mabin, Jacinta Messer, R & B Murray, Gregory & Wendy O’Meara, Paddington Clinic, Robert & Diane Parcell, Blayne & Helen Pitts, Catherine Quinn, Angela Ramsay, John Richardson & Kirsty Taylor, Gary Sawyer, Wendy Tonkes, Margaret & Norman Wicks, David Wilson, Ian Yeo & Sylvia Alexander $250-$499 8 Anonymous, Leanne Austin, Chris Bourke, Ethna Brown, Joan Brown, Ian Bunzli, Richard Bunzli, Cambray Consulting, Judith Carrey, Rodd & Wendy Chignell, Michael & Margaret Clancy, Ralph Collins, Fotina Hardy, Kate Foy, Anita Green, Daryl Hanly, David Hardidge, Rob & Zelle Hodge, Michael & Karlie Keating, Caroline Kelly, Sean Leader, B Lloyd, Mad Dance House, Brad Mammino, Kate McLoughlin, Angie & Peter McPhee, Dee Morris & Reny, Anastasia Nicholas, Kartini Oei, Lyn & Joanne Scott, Karen Smith-Pomeroy, Bronwyn Springer, TAFE Queensland, Coralie Van Straaten-Peretz, Paul Venus, Pam Willsher, Michael & Colleen Wilson
Legal Chapter 4 Anonymous, Michael & Anne Back, Jennifer Batts, Sarah Bradley, Madeleine Brennan, Peter Bridgman & Susan Booth, Sue Brown, Michelle & Victor Borzillo, Carter Newell Lawyers, Sheryl Cornack, Leone Costigan, Peter Davis, David de Jersey, Ralph & Frances Devlin, Richard Douglas, Scott & Lee Falvey, H G Fryberg, Richard Fryberg, Anthony Glynn, John & Lois Griffin, Milton Griffin, K & M Hodge, Kevin & Joanne Holyoak, Joshua Jones, Stephen Keim, Declan Kelly, Liam Kelly, Laora Pty Ltd, John & Janice Logan, Stephen & Hana Mackie, Phil & Margaret McMurdo, Kerri Mellifont, Richard & Denise Morton, Debra & Patrick Mullins, Anastasia Nicholas, Andrew O’Brien, Dan O’Gorman, Robertson O’Gorman, Leanne O’Shea & Peter Gilroy, Dominic O’Sullivan, Adam Pomerenke, Tina Previtera, Bernadette Rogers, Jeff Rolls & Barbara Houlihan, Walter Sofronoff, Michael Strewart, Natalie Strijland, van de Graaff Lawyers, Greg & Sally Vickery, Peter G. Williams, Elizabeth Wilson
Donations over $250 are acknowledged for 12 months from the date of donation. Visit queenslandtheatre.com.au to find out how you can support our work.
If you would like to find out more about supporting our work please contact Amanda Jolly, Deputy Executive Director, 3010 7621 or Nikki Porter, Corporate Partnerships Manager, 3010 7612.
GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS Government Partners
Production Sponsors
Official Airline Partner
Building Enhancement Program
Regional Sponsor
solar
Season Sponsors
Season Supporters
Media Supporters
Promotional Partners: Coev Haircutters
The Wider Earth 9 Jul - 7 Aug
St Mary’s in Exile 27 Aug - 25 Sep
Disgraced 14 Oct - 6 Nov
12 Nov - 4 Dec
It’s not too late to see some of the great shows in Queensland Theatre Company’s Season 2016. Choose a 3 Play Package and you'll receive subscriber benefits like ticket exchanges, discounts to other shows and events PLUS a Dendy Cinemas annual membership, valued at $18. Visit us at 78 Montague Road, South Brisbane or phone 1800 355 528 or online at queenslandtheatre.com.au
L-R: Anthony Spinaze, Kathryn O'Halloran, Paige Rattray, Matthew Backer, Andrea Moor.
L-R: Matthew Backer, Andrea Moor
Stimulating theatre with stories from near and far. Stimulating conversation with wines from our backyard. Choose award-winning wines, produce and gifts from Clovely Estate – artisan tastes nurtured in the South Burnett.
www.clovely.com.au
PROUDLY SUPPORTING AUSTRALIAN THEATRE We’re proud to partner with the Queensland Theatre Company to bring you Joanna Murray-Smith’s Switzerland. HERBERTSMITHFREEHILLS.COM
Dedicated to providing better access to the arts via quality Auslan performance interpreting throughout Queensland For more information check out our website www.creativeaccess.com.au Like us on Facebook
facebook.com/creativeaccessoz/
QUEENSLANDTHEATRE.COM.AU/SUPPORT-US
Best night ever.
There’s no doubt about it – we all have unforgettable nights in the theatre. Moments that touch us deeply, make us smile and sometimes make us cry. The opening night of Ladies in Black was one of those times. It is an inspiring example of what we all want for QTC’s future, a world-class, world premiere show, created right here in Brisbane. It takes time, money and creative brilliance to make a work like Ladies in Black. In development for over four years, it involved 45 different artists and more than 10,000 hours of loving work. It needed significant resources to contract the very best artists and bring together the highest quality theatrical elements. We could not have made a work like this without the support of our donors. If you want to see QTC make the best theatre in Australia, please consider donating to our Annual Appeal. All donations, large or small, will help us create truly outstanding and memorable productions. When you next sit in a darkened theatre, at the end of one of those unforgettable nights, you’ll know you had a hand in making it possible.
For more information contact:
Amanda Jolly Deputy Executive Director 07 3010 7621
COMING TO THE BILLE BROWN STUDIO
CALL 1800 355 528 OR VISIT queenslandtheatre.com.au A QUEENSLAND THEATRE COMPANY AND DEAD PUPPET SOCIETY PRODUCTION
78 Montague Rd, South Brisbane PO Box 3310 South Brisbane BC QLD 4101 Tel 07 3010 7600 Fax 07 3010 7699 Ticketing 1800 355 528 queenslandtheatre.com.au mail@queenslandtheatre.com.au
9 JUL 7 AUG SUPPORTERS Dead Puppet Society acknowledges St. Ann’s Warehouse as the original development partner
englishfamily F OUNDATION The Puffin Foundation, Ltd.
BY DAVID BURTON
27 AUG 25 SEPT PRODUCTION SPONSOR:
facebook.com/qldtheatreco twitter.com/qldtheatreco instagram.com/qldtheatreco © The State of Queensland (Queensland Theatre Company) 2016 Disclaimer: Every endeavour has been made to ensure that the contents of this brochure are correct at the time of printing. However, things can change. Queensland Theatre Company reserves the right to vary advertised programs and to add, withdraw or substitute artists as necessary. Recycle this program Support Greening QTC 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