State Theatre Company of SA Season 2015

Lesley Reed reports on the launch of the State Theatre Company of SA’s 2015 season, which promises ‘Many Worlds in One’.

Sumptuous period costumes, lecterns and a video screen were the stage dressing for the State Theatre Company of South Australia’s 2015 season launch at the Dunstan Playhouse this week. The program was presented simply and effortlessly, yet it soon became obvious that more than a little effort, research and even risk-taking has been invested in the stunningly diverse array of works the company has chosen for next year.

2014 has seen a State Theatre Company season that already includes box office records and seven Helpmann Award nominations, plus two Helpmanns for the company’s co-production of Pinocchio with Windmill Theatre. 

It is clear that 2014’s successes have helped develop a strong and growing sense of confidence at STC in its future direction. This is borne out in its announcement in past days of the company’s readiness to ‘move out from under the wing of Government’ and adopt the same essentially privatised structure of most of Australia’s other major performing arts companies. It’s a brave leap for this energetic company.

According to State Theatre Company Artistic Director Geordie Brookman (pictured photographer: Kris Washusen), a theatrical season begins with a leap of imagination too, beginning with a word on a page and culminating in the creation of many worlds within one. ‘Theatre makers dive through their own worlds of experience,’ he says, ‘selecting elements to channel onto the stage while also projecting themselves into worlds they have never experienced and attempting to channel that to the audience at the same time…2015 will see some of our finest artists evoke a fascinating range of worlds, characters and stories.’

The 2015 State Theatre Company of South Australia season starts with Beckett Triptych, which includes three of Samuel Beckett’s theatrical gems, Footfalls, Eh Joe and Krapp’s Last Tape. The production will feature three of Australia’s greatest actors, Paul Blackwell, Peter Carroll and Pamela Rabe, brought together especially for the 2015 Adelaide Festival.

For the first time in almost twenty years Ray Lawler’s Summer of the Seventeenth Doll returns to the Dunstan Playhouse in a 60th Anniversary production. Geordie Brookman teams up with Chris Pitman (Babyteeth, Speaking in Tongues, Cloudstreet) to shed new light on this Australian classic.

UK author Kit Williams’ iconic children’s book, Masquerade will be adapted for the stage by award-winning Australian playwright, Kate Mulvany. Adelaide’s Nathan O’Keefe (The Importance of Being Earnest, Pinocchio) stars as the bumbling Jack Hare, alongside West End star Helen Dallimore (Wicked) in a production that will also play at the Sydney and Melbourne Festivals.

Likely to be one of the highlights of the 2015 theatrical calendar, Betrayal brings back together the creative team behind the acclaimed 2013 production of Hedda Gabler. With Geordie Brookman directing, Helpmann Award-winning Alison Bell returns in Harold Pinter’s ruthless exploration of the complexity of the human heart. The play will premiere in Adelaide before seasons in Canberra and at Melbourne Theatre Company.

In a new adaptation by Adelaide writer Emily Steel, Paul Blackwell (Vere) swindles his way through the corrupt city of Venice in Volpone. First performed in 1605, the brilliant satirical comedy was written by Shakespeare’s contemporary, Ben Jonson. 

A modern crime thriller, Mortido is a world premiere co-production with Belvoir Theatre, starring Colin Friels (Malcolm, Water Rats, Blackjack). The play will mark Colin Friels’ first production in Adelaide since 1992.

Silliness completes the STC 2015 season, with a new production of The Popular Mechanicals, led by Helpmann Award-winning actress Amber McMahon. First directed by Geoffrey Rush in 1987 for Company B Belvoir, the play follows the back-story of the Rude Mechanicals from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The 2015 State Education production is the New York Fringe Festival award-winning production, This is Where We Live, written by Vivienne Walshe. Co-produced with HotHouse Theatre, the production will open in Albury, before undertaking a metropolitan and regional tour in South Australia, followed by its Adelaide season.

Miriam Margolyes (Neighbourhood Watch, Harry Potter, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries) returns to Australia for the world premiere of The Importance of Being Miriam, the 2015 State Extra production.

STC’s 2015 State Umbrella production is Torque Show’s Madame: The Story of Joseph Farrugia, produced by Vitalstatistix. The new production is movement-based theatre about the life of outrageous adult entertainer and founder of Adelaide’s Crazy Horse Revue, Joseph Farrugia, aka Madame Josephine.

In its first international tour in six years, State Theatre Company’s co-production with Windmill Theatre of the multi award-winning Pinocchio will play New York City’s famous New Victory Theatre, the only Broadway Theatre devoted to work for young audiences.

In 2015 STC will form creative partnerships with Griffin Theatre, Melbourne Festival, Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival, the New Victory Theatre, Canberra Theatre Centre, Melbourne Theatre Company, Belvoir, Hothouse and others. 

The National Play Festival will travel to Adelaide for the first time in 2015, with the support of State Theatre Company, Arts SA, Adelaide Festival Centre and others.

Says State Theatre Company of South Australia’s Artistic Director Geordie Brookman of the company’s 2015 lineup, ‘This season reflects a growing certainty from us as a company about the type of theatre we want to make and the type of theatre we want to bring audiences. It is a theatre focused on storytelling and the relationship between the stage and the audience.’

Brookman hopes audiences will come along for the ride, share the experience, as well as engage with the company. It seems the exciting STC program almost guarantees this. Who knows, in 2015 the company may yet again see attendance records broken.

www.statetheatrecompany.com.au

THE PRODUCTIONS

Beckett Triptych

Footfalls, Eh Joe & Krapp’s Last Tape

VENUES: STATE THEATRE SCENIC WORKSHOP & REHEARSAL ROOM

SEASON DATES: 20 FEB – 15 MAR 2015

Summer of the Seventeenth Doll

By Ray Lawler

VENUE: DUNSTAN PLAYHOUSE, ADELAIDE FESTIVAL CENTRE
SEASON DATES: 24 APR – 16 MAY 2015

Masquerade

By Kate Mulvany, based on the book by Kit Williams 

With music by Pip Branson and Mikelangelo

VENUE: Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide

SEASON DATES: 20  – 31 MAY 2015

Betrayal

By Harold Pinter

VENUE: DUNSTAN PLAYHOUSE, ADELAIDE FESTIVAL CENTRE

SEASON DATES: 24 JUL – 15 AUG 2015

Volpone (or The Fox)

By Ben Jonson
In a new adaptation by Emily Steel

VENUE: DUNSTAN PLAYHOUSE, ADELAIDE FESTIVAL CENTRE

SEASON DATES: 21 AUG – 12 SEP 2015

Mortido

By Angela Betzien

VENUE: DUNSTAN PLAYHOUSE, ADELAIDE FESTIVAL CENTRE

SEASON DATES: 16 – 31 OCT 2015

The Popular Mechanicals

By Keith Robinson, William Shakespeare and Tony Taylor

VENUE: SPACE THEATRE, ADELAIDE FESTIVAL CENTRE

SEASON DATES: 6 – 28 NOV 2015

This Is Where We Live

VENUE: SPACE THEATRE, ADELAIDE

SEASON DATES:  12 – 16 MAY 2015

The Importance of Being Miriam

By Peter J Adams

VENUE: DUNSTAN PLAYHOUSE, ADELAIDE FESTIVAL CENTRE

SEASON DATES: 25 MAR – 2 APR 2015

MADAME: The Story of Joseph Farrugia

VENUE: BURNSIDE BALLROOM
SEASON DATES: 21 APRIL – 02 MAY 2015

Mendelssohn’s Dream

VENUE: ADELAIDE TOWN HALL

SEASON DATES: 8PM, FRI 16 OCT 2015 6.30PM, SAT 17 OCT 2015

Images: Geordie Brookman, Beckett Triptych and Mortido (by Kris Washusen) and The Importance of Being Miriam (by James Hartley).