True Stories – Bangarra Dance Theatre
January 21, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Bangarra Dance Theatre is internationally acknowledged as one of Australia’s most exciting contemporary dance companies. Riverside Theatres is honoured to have Bangarra performing their new work TRUE STORIES on Tuesday 3 March and Wednesday 4 March, two performances only.
Inspired by two diverse Indigenous cultures, TRUE STORIES is composed of two fascinating dance pieces by the superb and talented choreographers Francis Rings and Elma Kris.
Emeret Lu (“Very Old Things”) uncovers the passion and energy of the traditional people of the Torres Strait Islands. Debut choreographer Elma Kris explores her peoples’ love of the land, the sea and their unique culture with an exuberance handed down from generation to generation.
In the 1950s on a test site code named X300, a series of atomic explosions were conducted on Maralinga, Tjarutja traditional lands. Frances Rings’ work, titled X300, powerfully and spectacularly explores a landscape assumed vacant but which in reality became a contaminated desert which poisoned the people. Rings’ work is known for its theatricality and inventiveness.
Bangarra Dance Theatre is one of Australia’s most unique and innovative dance companies. Blending traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture with international contemporary dance, Bangarra creates a uniquely Australian dance language.
“True Stories shows precisely why Bangarra Dance Theatre is consistently the most challenging of the country’s dance companies” – The Australian
Artistic Director: Stephen Page
DATES: March 3-4
TIMES: Tues 3 March 8pm, Wed 4 March 8pm
SINGLE TICKET PRICES:
Adults $50, Conc $45, 30 & Under $37, 16 & Under $33
RIVERSIDESAVER PRICES:
Adults $43, Conc $38, 30 & Under $33, 16 & Under $29
BOOKINGS: Riverside Box Office 02 8839 3399 or www.riversideparramatta.com.au
Kookaburra National Musical Theatre Company ?
January 17, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
News last week hit that Kookaburra, the national musical theatre, may be closing its doors for good.
Several years ago, the company was heralded as a welcome addition to the national repertoire of Australian performing arts. It was hoped that Kookaburra would spark new interest in musical theatre on a national level, and support local artists. Now, it seems bad planning and financial troubles will see the company close within three years of it opening for business.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that board Chairman Paul Robertson has been attempting to obtain funding from banks and private donors, whilst CEO and Artistic Director Peter Cousens has been knocked back from receiving funds from the Australia Council and NSW Arts Ministry. The most recent Kookaburra production, Little Women, reportedly already received $50 000 in state funding in order to keep it running, out of a total of $150 000 from the government to keep the company afloat.
Aussietheatre.com recently reported that core staff finished on 19th December 2008, and that plans to save the April production of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change are underway.
If anyone has more information that they could share, please contact Backstage Jobs.
Written by : Naomi Guss
GUY PEARCE STARRING IN WORLD PREMIERE POOR BOY
December 6, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
MTC’s new theatre – The Sumner Theatre – will have its long anticipated opening
with a new play by Matt Cameron and Tim Finn, starring Guy Pearce and directed
by Simon Phillips on Tuesday 27 January.
Poor Boy, which has been commissioned by MTC, is a play with songs about a boy
who announces on his seventh birthday that he is really a grown man who died
some years before.
Combining well-known and new songs by Tim Finn, Poor Boy is a supernatural
ghost story about loss, anguish and redemption.
Pearce plays the grown man Danny, with the other cast to include Matthew
Dyktynski, Sarah Peirse, Greg Stone and Sara Gleeson. Musical Director is Ian
McDonald, Designer Iain Aitken and Lighting Designer Nick Schlieper.
Poor Boy represents a return to the stage for Pearce who was last seen in MTC’s
production of Tennessee Williams’s Sweet Bird of Youth in 2002.
Pearce first came to international attention in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen
of the Desert (1994). He cemented a growing reputation in the noir thriller, LA
Confidential (1997) and then Memento (2000). His other film credits include
William Friedkin’s Rules of Engagement (2000), The Count of Monte Cristo (2001),
The Time Machine (2002), The Proposition (2005), Factory Girl (2006) and Death
Defying Acts (2007). His next screen appearance will be in the adaptation of
Cormac McCarthy’s best-seller The Road.
Presented by arrangement with Poor Boy Enterprises Pty Ltd and Llegup Pty Ltd.
Inspired by an original idea by Tim Finn.
A co-production with Sydney Theatre Company.
The Sumner Theatre
21 January to 8 March
Opening night: Tuesday 27 January at 8:00pm
Booking information: Subscriptions T 03 9684 4555 or www.mtc.com.au
Single tickets (from 1 December 2008):
Ticketmaster 1300 723 038 or www.mtc.com.au
Media source : Christy Hopwood “MTC”
CHICAGO to tour Australia
November 23, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
We had it coming…CHICAGO to tour Australia in 2009 with a stellar cast
Australia, prepare yourself for the razzle-dazzle of the hit musical Chicago, set to tour nationally throughout 2009 following a Gala Opening at Brisbane‟s Lyric Theatre, QPAC. Winner of six Tony Awards®, two Olivier Awards, a Grammy® and thousands of standing ovations, Chicago is Broadway‟s longest-running Musical Revival and the longest running American Musical every to play the West End.
It is nearly a decade since the “story of murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery and treachery” played in Australia. Known for its sizzling score and sensational choreography, Chicago is the story of a nightclub dancer, a smooth talking lawyer and a cell block of sin and merry murderesses.
Producer John Frost today announced his stellar cast: Caroline O’Connor as Velma Kelly, Sharon Millerchip as Roxie Hart, Craig McLachlan as Billy Flynn, and Gina Riley as Matron “Mama” Morton.
“I‟m thrilled to bring back to the Australian stage this wonderful musical, especially with the extraordinary cast we have assembled. Velma Kelly is the role which took Caroline O‟Connor to Broadway for the first time, and her legion of fans will, I‟m sure, be overjoyed to see her perform it once again. Sharon Millerchip has previously played Velma in Chicago ten years ago, and since has won awards for her many musical theatre roles. She will be an astonishing Roxie. Craig McLachlan blew us all away with his incredible audition, and he‟s going to astound people with his talent as a musical theatre performer. And I am very excited to welcome Gina Riley back to the stage. Her strength, her presence and her powerhouse voice will make her a staggering Mama Morton. This truly is the perfect cast.
“Sassy, sinful and seductive, Chicago is a musical that thrills and chills which is why it continues to tour the world after so many years and has been seen by more than 15 million people. And there‟s a whole new audience who loved the Oscar® winning film, and now will have the chance to experience Chicago live.”
The multi-award winning musical will be the first production to take centre stage in QPAC‟s newly refurbished Lyric Theatre when it begins on 19 March 2009. Following the Brisbane season, Chicago will tour to the Lyric Theatre, Star City in Sydney, from 14 May, with other cities to follow. Tickets are already on sale for the Brisbane season, and tickets for the Sydney season go on sale on Monday 17 November 2008.
Media source www.chicagothemusical.com.au