Premiere of Notoriously Yours for Adelaide Fringe

Since its debut in 2009, Adelaide independent theatre company five.point.one has earned a reputation for producing a unique style of contemporary theatre that is both exciting entertainment and artistically provocative.

Committed to the production of new writing, the innovative company has premiered some of Australian theatre’s most courageous and thought-provoking playwrights (The Lake by Ben Brooker, Muff by Van Badham and The Eisteddfodd by Lally Katz). Five.point.one also has a strong focus on supporting emerging writers from around Australia, collaborating with them to develop their work.

With the support of AJZ Productions, together with a Pozible fund-raising campaign, five.point.one is now producing the world premiere of Van Badham’sNotoriously Yours for the 2014 Adelaide Fringe festival.

Van Badham (The Bloody Chamber, Malthouse Theatre; The Bull, The Moon & The Coronet of Stars, Griffin Theatre) is multi-talented. A playwright, novelist, screenwriter, critic, social commentator, broadcaster, dramaturg, director and cabaret performer, she has been hailed for having a unique theatrical imagination as well as a razor- sharp grasp of the political moment.

Badham is director/devisor of five.point.one’s production of her play. She says of Notoriously Yours, ‘Like many people, I was greatly alarmed by revelations into government surveillance and spying exposed by US information analyst, Edward Snowden. Notoriously Yours is a work of fiction that considers the implication of government spying on private citizens. Whereas good journalism must communicate only the facts as they are known, theatre has the freedom to imaginatively speculate on future scenarios. Five.point.one and I are producing Notoriously Yours because we are concerned about privacy and freedom in the age of the internet and we want to contribute to a broader cultural and artistic conversation about what Snowden has revealed.’

The professional cast for Notoriously Yours includes Matt Crook, Claire Glenn, Brad Williams (a founding member of five.point.one) and Craig Behenna.

A dedicated and talented team supports Van Badham’s direction of five.point.one’s production of her play. They include Bridget McKay (dramaturg), Manda Webber (production design realisation), Tristan Louth-Robbins (sound designer), Ben Roberts (assistant producer) and Sophie Bruhn (publicist/production assistant).

Notoriously Yours will be presented in the Kevin Crease Studios, within the Channel 9 Studios in North Adelaide. This new fringe hub will host seventeen shows in 2014, and comprises both the Kevin Crease Studios and the Chapel of Love, along with a courtyard bar.

Van Badham has been called ‘a major talent’ by The Guardian, ‘the brilliant Australian playwright’ by The Independent and ‘one of the leading voices of her generation’ by TimeOut London. Adelaide audiences are once again able to see her work, when five.point.one produces Notoriously Yours during the 2014 Adelaide Fringe festival.

Lesley Reed

Bookings: www.adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix

Dates: March 5, 6, 7, 8, 12 at 9.30 pm; March 8 at 4pm; March 9 at 6.30 pm. Closed performance opening night, March 5 at 6.30 pm.

Venue: Kevin Crease Studio, Channel 9 Studios, 202 Tynte Street, North Adelaide.

Tickets: Adults $23; Conc/Fringe Benefits/Union Members/Artist Pass $18.

Note: Coarse language, violence and sexual references.