April - July 2013

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Proudly supported by the City of Perth

2013APR - JUL

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The Agony, The ecsTAsy & i (16 April – 4 MAy) pg. 4-5 DeATh in BowengABBie (23 April – 11 MAy) pg. 6-7

roBoTs vs ArT (14 MAy – 1 June) pg. 8-9 FAT pig (21 MAy – 8 June) pg. 10-11

seA insiDe (11 – 29 June) pg. 12-13 greAT whiTe (12 – 29 June) pg. 14-15

yirrA yArns (9 – 13 July) pg. 16

See it ALL

the comPLete

woRkSSAve $35 – membeRS SAve $70

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The Blue Room Theatre is the hottest ticket in town according to the Fringe World judges, with our Summer Nights program and artists picking up eight Fringe World Awards recently.

Summer Nights played to packed houses with over 7000 ticket holders coming through our doors, and this season of theatre promises to be just as good.

The Skeletal System, debuting in Fringe World with The Improved, return with the slick new production Great White, old favourites Red Ryder Productions are back with Neil La Bute’s Fat Pig and new kids on the block Toyi-Toyi Theatre bring a movement-infused, politically-charged piece The Agony, the Ecstasy and i.

Death in Bowengabbie, with an award winning script by Caleb Lewis, will be directed by Matt Edgerton with some heavyweight talent on The Blue Room Theate stage; Sea Inside promises to be a completely immersive aquatic experience in the Studio; and Robots vs Art includes a veritable who’s who of local talent in this apocalyptic comedy.

Finally, during NAIDOC Week Yirra Yaarnz will return to The Blue Room Theatre supported by Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company, to present a new selection of short works from emerging indig-enous artists.

This is our carefully selected line-up of the best that independent theatre has to offer, chosen by a panel of local independent artists. Come and see what all the fuss is about.

Kerry O’Sullivan Executive Director

2013APR - JUL

our shows sell out. Book ahead to secure your spot.

blueroom.org.au – booking via our new website is easier than ever

our website and ticketing system are now fully mobile and tablet-enabled. create a login to save time when booking.

08 9227 7005 or in person at our box office located in the venue (Mon – Fri, 9am – 5pm + 1 hr before show time)

book

4 blueroom.org.auPhoto: Ivan Shaw + Simon Runkel

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toyi-toyi theAtRe

the Agony,

the ecStASy AnD i16 APR - 4 mAy

Consider the picture on the left. It looks like it’s an ad. Well, it is an ad. But what is it selling? Maybe it’s that little red dress. Or perhaps those sneakers?

Sorry, we’re not selling shoes. But we are interested in where you buy yours.

This new work by dancer Tarryn Runkel and actor Laura Hopwood is their response to gonzo-journalist Mike Daisey’s The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, the scathing and controversially misleading attack on Apple Inc. They’re asking: how do you live ethically, when everyone’s got something to sell but no one wants to admit the real cost?

The Agony, the Ecstasy and i invites you to see through the shop window, so maybe next time you’ll see what they’re really selling.

seAson: Tues 16 Apr – sat 4 May // Tues – sat // 8:30pm preview: Tue 16 Apr // MeMBers’ nighT: wed 17 Apr // MeeT The ArTisTs: wed 24 Apr

TickeTs: $15 preview // $20 Members /conc // $25 Full suBscriBe + sAve: The complete works saves you $35 – members save $70

co-creATors & FeATuring: TaRRyn Runkel + lauRa HoPwood // DirecTor: CaRa PHIllIPS DrAMATurg: BIll MCCluSkey // seT + cosTuMe Design: TeSSa daRCey // lighTing Design: Joe luI sounD Design: ToMaS FoRd // Av Design: eMMa FISHwICk // MenTor: SaM Fox

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Photo: Ivan Shaw + Simon Runkel

blueroom.org.auPhoto: owen little

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ShAmAn PRoDUctionS & PoetRy in Action

DeAth in

bowengAbbie23 APRiL – 11 mAy

A big, black, tender-hearted comedy about love, loss and the mourning after.

Oscar has made a new life in the city, escaping the tragic shadow of his small town past. He has a fiancée, a new job, a fresh start.

Then a series of mysterious deaths calls him back to Bowengabbie, and the spate of bizarre festive funerals that follow. Is love bringing him back, or is something more sinister at play?

Written by award-winning playwright Caleb Lewis, directed by Matt Edgerton (Bell Shakespeare, Sport for Jove) and starring WAAPA graduate Bryce Youngman (Rake, Packed to the Rafters) in a powerhouse return to the Perth stage, this gently tragicomic tale will make you laugh, gasp and think fondly of home.

Winner – Judges’ Commendation for Best Writing in the Adelaide Fringe

Praise for the original production:

“a deserved hit of the Fringe” THe auSTRalIan

“Put it on your essential viewing list” adelaIde THeaTRe GuIde

seAson: Tues 23 Apr – sat 11 May // Tues – sat // 7pm preview: Tue 23 Apr // MeMBers’ nighT: wed 24 Apr // MeeT The ArTisTs: wed 1 May AuslAn inTerpreTeD: Thurs 2 May

TickeTs: $15 preview // $20 Members/conc // $25 Full suBscriBe + sAve: The complete works saves you $35 – members save $70

FeATuring: BRyCe younGMan // DirecTor: MaTT edGeRTon // wriTer: CaleB lewIS // proDucer: GeMMa SIdney

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thAtSAnono

RobotS vs ARt14 mAy – 1 JUne

The future is here – robots have taken control of the planet and humans are an endangered species. The survivors have been put to work extracting the mineral deposits that power robot society.

The robots go about their daily routines, until one of them writes a play. Executive Producer Master Bot summons former theatre director Giles back from the mines to help the robots cre-ate their very first piece of art. Will Giles succeed in showing them how to feel?

Directed by Phil Miolin and featuring Sean Walsh, Damon Lockwood, Renee Newman-Storen and Ben Mortley, Robots vs Art will make you laugh and have you hoping like hell that when the robots take over, the right ones are in charge.

“a slick and entertaining comedy of ideas” aGe

“The comedy, one liners and theatre/arts industry insider jokes lined throughout the play are top notch and worth the cost of the ticket alone” THeaTRe.aSn.au

seAson: Tues 14 May – sat 2 June // Tues – sat // 8:30pm preview: Tue 14 May // MeMBers’ nighT: wed 15 May // MeeT The ArTisTs: wed 22 May


FeATuring: Sean walSH, daMon loCkwood, Renee newMan-SToRen & Ben MoRTley // DirecTor + Design: PHIlIP MIolIn proDucTion + sTAge MAnAger: JennIFeR FRIend // sounD + lighTing Design: Joe luI // Av Design: TIMoTHy BaRReTTo

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ReD RyDeR PRoDUctionS

FAt Pigby neiL LAbUte

21 mAy – 8 JUne

Tom meets Helen and falls for her pretty face and great laugh. Helen is ‘plus-sized’. ‘Big-boned.’ ‘Jolly.’ Tom’s colleagues don’t get it. He’s a catch and you run with your own kind. It’s one of the laws of nature.

Beast. Pig. Fat bitch. At what point do you take a stand?

Beautifully sweet, wickedly funny, and heart-breakingly cruel, Neil LaBute’s award-winning Fat Pig looks at our slavish addiction to ‘ideals’ of beauty and how being a hero is a tough gig.

Red Ryder Productions (Dealer’s Choice, The Mozart Faction) returns with a play about need: our need for truth; our need to be liked; and the crazy things that happen when these collide.

Very rare is the dude who stands up for the shit he believes in.

“The most legitimately provocative and polarizing playwright at work today.” new yoRk MaGazIne

seAson: Tues 21 May – sat 8 June // Tues – sat // 7pm preview: Tue 21 May // MeMBers’ nighT: wed 22 May // MeeT The ArTisTs: wed 29 May


FeATuring: alICIa oSyka, GeoRGIa kInG, BRendan ewInG & wIll o’MaHony // DirecTor: eMIly MClean AssisTAnT DirecTor: Ian SInClaIR // proDucers: alISon van Reeken, BenJ d’addaRIo + eMIly MClean seT + cosTuMe Design: FIona BRuCe // lighTing + sounD Design: Joe luI // sTAge MAnAger: MeaBH walTon By aRRanGeMenT wITH oRiGin THeaTRICal™, on BeHalF oF SaMuel FRenCH, lTd.

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RUSSyA connoR

SeA inSiDe11 – 29 JUne

Open your mind. This immersive theatrical experience will transport you into a world of sea and sky.

A sensual, highly visual performance combining aerial work, sound, spectacular imagery, and physical movement, Sea Inside invites you on a contemplative journey through a mysterious underwater landscape.

Transforming the theatre space, Sea Inside is a reminder of the beauty that can be experienced through the most primal and basic relationship of all: between us and the natural world around us.

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart And perhaps live along some distant day into the answers…(R.M.Rilke)

seAson: Tues 11 June – sat 29 June // Tues – sat // 8:30pm preview: Tue 11 June // MeMBers’ nighT: wed 12 June // MeeT The ArTisTs: wed 19 June


DirecTor + proDucer + Av Design + FeATuring: RuSSya ConnoR // lighTing Design: TeGan evanS cosTuMe Design: ToToMoTo auSTRalIa // score: alI SCHMIdl // TexT: R. M. RIlke + RuSSya ConnoR sTAge MAnAger: HaRRIeT MoRley // FilMs: eRez BeaTuS, alan BIRd + STeFan oTTo

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the SkeLetAL SyStem

gReAt white12 – 29 JUne

Ocean. Stillness. Dinner.

What scares you? Being alone? Feeling alone?

Written by Equity Award winner Will O’Mahony, Great White is the terrifying new play about two tiny people trapped in a too huge ocean with a too hungry fish.

From the creators of the FRINGEWORLD smash hit The Improved, Great White is a love story that explores fate, human frailty and every swimmers worst nightmare...

seAson: wed 12 June – sat 29 June // Tues – sat // 7pm preview: wed 12 June // MeMBers’ nighT: wed 19 June // MeeT The ArTisTs: wed 26 June AuslAn inTerpreTeD: 20 June


FeATuring: adRIanne daFF, , MIkala weSTall // DirecTor + wriTer: wIll o’MaHony seT + cosTuMe Design: alICIa CleMenTS // sounD Design: wIll Slade // lighTing Design: Joe luI

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Photo: ashley de Prazer

“There were many sightings of the River Boys, until one day they ran into the darkness and were never seen again.”

Yirra Yaarnz is a collection of monologues from emerging Western Australian Aboriginal play-wrights responding to the broad theme of ‘The River’. Mentored by award-winning playwright Hellie Turner through Yirra Yaakin’s Writer’s Group, this presentation is created by emerging producer Eva Mullaley.

Yirra Yaarnz celebrates NAIDOC with a thought-provoking season of new works focused around the mythology and metaphors of the river.

This is a development initiative supported by Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company’s Recording Stories and Next Step programs.

yiRRA yAAkin theAtRe comPAny

yiRRA yAARnZ9 – 13 JULy

seAson: Tues 9 – sat 13 July // 7pm


wriTers + FeATuring: MaTHew CooPeR, zaC JaMeS, SHakaRa walley, aMy SMITH wriTers: Ron BRadFIeld JR, andRea FeRnandez, RayMa MoRRISon, CHaRMaIne THoMaS DirecTor + proDucer: eva Mullaley // proJecT MAnAger: IRMa woodS // DrAMATurg: HellIe TuRneR lighTing Designer + operATor: TeRIan evanS // sTAge MAnAger: ReBeCCa GaRleTT

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Fresh The Blue Room Theatre is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the development of new works and emerging artists from around Australia.

viBrAnT Year round, day and night, we have performances, readings, rehearsals, workshops and more. We’re the beating heart of the Perth Cultural Centre.

perForMAnce Around 90% of ticket revenue is returned to the artists you’ve just seen. We rely on the support of our donors, members, government and industry to make our programs happen. Our track record of punching above our weight is legendary.

you cAn help Donations are put towards supporting our artists to take the next step in their careers, providing Auslan-interpreted performances, our sustainability program and other projects.

Head to our website blueroom.org.au or call (08) 9227 7005 to make a tax-deductible donation.

SUPPoRt

EngagE. ChallEngE. ExCitE. SurpriSE. rEflECt. WE hElp it happEn

City of Perth proud partners of The Blue Room Theatre

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sTAFF (Below l-R)

Executive Director Kerry O’Sullivan

Venue and Operations Manager Roger Miller

Producer Susannah Day

Marketing Manager Thom Smyth

Office & Front-of-House Manager Sally Martin

Finance Officer Karen Connolly

Housekeeping John White

BoArD Chair – Natalie Jenkins Treasurer – Tanya Payne Secretary – Libby Klysz Damon Lockwood Philippa Maughan Lisa McCready Helen Munt Louanne Munz Mark Storen

The Blue Room Theatre employs front-of-house, bar and ushering staff on a casual basis – we couldn’t do it without them.

seAson selecTors Gita Bezard, Fiona De Garis, Damon Lockwood.

volunTeers See behind the scenes and get a free show. Email [email protected] for more info.

who we ARe

The City of Perth is helping The Blue Room Theatre go green through the Environment Grants and Sponsorship Program.

We are currently completing a carbon audit with Simply Carbon to identify areas where we can become more sustainable, reducing our use of resources and saving us money we can reinvest in our artists.

Once we know what we use, we can know where to cut, and the results of the audit will inform our environmental policy.

This will lead to real change in the way we do business – head to our website for updates on the progress of this important project.

EngagE. ChallEngE. ExCitE. SurpriSE. rEflECt. WE hElp it happEn

City of Perth proud partners of The Blue Room Theatre

Phot

o: N

eil W

alla

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SUPPoRting

the enviRonment

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April - July 2013