Image by Becky Matthews
In the near future, the world has reached breaking point: the government is forcibly mandating birth control, people are fleeing across borders, communications have broken down between major powers and volatile states, and nuclear war hangs on the horizon. Ditch makes manifest the threats, predictions, and fears gathering for generations and presents the world as it may one day be.
Image by Chris Lundie
On a seemingly ordinary night in 1962, LA gossip columnist Hedda Hopper invites movie stars and rivals Bette Davis and Joan Crawford for a night of airing dirty laundry, throwing insults, and making a few deals. After lots of drinks and a fine wager from Bette, Marilyn Monroe makes an appearance and the whole night goes off the rails.
Image by Brett Boardman
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a seminal text in English Romantic literature which many Australians would have encountered in a high school classroom. It’s a poem detailing the penance an old mariner must pay for a moment of arrogance and cruelty against a “lesser” being. Little Eggs’s reimagining for the stage adds texture and movement, bringing new life to an old text.
Image by Kevin Patterson
Extremism has been a hot topic for at least the last two decades and with every new attack, when innocent people are targeted and murdered again and again, people ask why and they ask how. The British theatre company Knaive Theatre brings its debut production to Sydney to provoke discussion about the backstory for one of the world’s most infamous terrorists.
Image by Clare Hawley
Suzie Flack has eschewed “women’s” sport for the real, original, men’s league of AFL. She has always been as good as the boys, ie better than the girls, and she wants her chance to prove herself as the first woman to ever play for the men’s team. Fierce is a complex examination of gender, bodies, ability, and want within the all-Australian realm of professional sport.
Image by Clare Hawley
Bob and Jennifer Jones are a typical American couple living out their lives in a quiet, woodsy neighbourhood. Bob was recently diagnosed with a rare neurological disease but they’re coping as best as they can. When the other Joneses, Pony and John, move in, their world is unsettled enough for them to question what’s left unsaid.
Image by Brett Boardman
Mental illness is a very isolating experience because many of the symptoms of mental illnesses, especially depression, attack the parts of the mind that interpret relationships, make meaningful connections, and experience joy. Often the effects of mental illness are not felt until a tragedy occurs, a suicide or another violent physical manifestation of the illness, when the impact radiates outwards through family, friends, and communities.
Image by Geoff Sirmai
In celebration and recognition of International Women’s Day on March 8th, Week Five of the Short + Sweet Theatre Festival was all about platforming women’s voices and work. Both the Wildcard and the Top 80 plays featured short plays written and/or directed by women and many focusing on issued concerning women in our society.
Image by Matthew Abotomey
Catastrophic climate change is an inevitable reality and we’ve been biding our time for decades. Some people in society choose denial and avoidance and others, like the guerrilla gardeners, are choosing revolution. When Kat stumbles into their plans, they plant the seed for her to change her life.
Image by Steve Wimmer
Gods Cowboys reunite after 20 years for a special fundraiser event of tomfoolery and shenanigans. Slim, Buck, and Billy are God-fearing cowboys looking to spread the good word through comedy, live music, and a love of red meat. For two nights only, the trio brought their 1990s classic set back to the stage for a great cause.
Night Writes 