Aussie Classic Begins New Era at Bankstown
A vivid, moving and funny play which explores the concept of loyalty both to family and to country will be the first production for the newly named Bankstown Theatre Company (formerly Bankstown Theatrical Society).
The long standing South-West Sydney community group recently made a name change to coincide with a new era at the re-opened Bankstown Arts Centre, and will perform the Australian classis Hotel Sorrento from August 26th.
The play by one of Australia’s most significant playwrights, Hannie Rayson, has won several Australian and international awards and was made into the hit 1996 AFI award winning film of the same name.
It tells the story of three sisters coming together after ten years: Hilary who lives in Sorrento with her father and her sixteen-year-old son; Pippa visiting from New York where she works in advertising; and Meg, who returns home from England with her English husband after her new novel Melancholy is shortlisted for the Booker prize. Unspoken aspects of their shared past, jolted by the autobiographical flavour of Meg's book, haunts their reunion.
The play is one close to the heart of its Director, Diane Wilson.
“Hotel Sorrento is a play I’ve always wanted to direct since I saw the movie in the nineties. I later saw the play and was intrigued by the ideas that the piece generated. It is about expatriatism, our perception of home and the tensions that exist between those who've left and those who've stayed behind. It is about the responsibilities of family obligations and national ties, the rights to individuality within a clan and a country.
“I think people will see in this play characters that are very real to them. All of the characters are ‘types’, types that the audience will identify with or know from their everyday lives. I also think it is a play that will send the audience out into the night with all sorts of things to talk about over coffee,” Diane added.
The play features Janet Cairncross, Melissa Goman, Vince Cairncross, Christopher Griffith, Catherine Simpson, Simon Fry, Pauline Gardner and Ben Bennett.
Hotel Sorrento plays at the Bankstown Arts Centre from August 26th to September 4th for eight performances, including new Saturday twilight shows. Bookings on (02) 9676 1191 or visit www.btsinc.org
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Win Tickets
Competition completed.
Win a pair of tickets to the opening night performance of Bankstown Theatre Company’s Hotel Sorrento at 8pm this Friday, August 26 at 8pm (2 pairs available).
The Task: Share a family story that should be played out on the stage?
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Closes – 8pm tonight (August 22)
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