Melborn Reborn: Alive on Stage

Convicts on the run, a boot camp for balloons, a bubbling volcano... Welcome to MelBorn ReBorn, a showcase of eight short plays brought to you by Melbourne Writers’ Theatre, scheduled for October 5-16 at the Carlton Courthouse.

Tales of horror, moments of hilarity…each play has been hand-picked by Petra Kalive of Underbelly fame (Antonella Moran), a diversity to please all appetites. This year’s production managers are bold, brassy theatre-makers Frank Otis and Neil Triffett, and the season includes TV’s own wordsmith David Astle among the writers, the Mr Dictionary on SBS’s Letters and Numbers.

Joining Astle is a celebrated group of Melbourne writers ­– Therese Cloonan, Christine Croyden, James May, Frank Otis, Carmen Saarelacht and Bruce Shearer.

Jack Hibberd, the innovative playwright behind Dimboola and A Stretch of the Imagination, founded the Melbourne Writers’ Theatre in 1982. Over 30 years, the group has helped local writers develop scripts for the stage, launching the careers of many esteemed writers. Now in its fifth year, the MelBorn showcase gets richer every season, with the 2011 selection set to be another hit.

MelBorn ReBorn. Not for the faint-hearted.

“The opportunity for writers to see their work performed provides such integral development for their practice. A season like MelBorn, where long and short form competition winners are programmed as part of a season, is an exciting endeavour and one that shouldn't be missed. This year we see a wonderfully diverse range of form and content.” - Petra Kalive (dramaturge, actress, writer-director)

Actors: Nadia Andary, Marianne Collopy, Whitney Duff, Jonathan Dyer, Carly Grayson, Hannah Greenwood, Maurice Mammoliti, Scott McAteer, Jennifer Monk, Sean Pary, Sarah Plummer, Jana Wilkes. Directors: Hannah Camilleri, Bruce Cochrane, Michele McNamara, Frank Otis, Elizabeth Semmel, Neil Triffett.

Performance Details

Venue: Carlton Courthouse, 349 Drummond St, Carlton

Dates:October 5-16, 2011

Tickets: $20 full, $15 concession: www.trybooking.com/12311

Times: Wednesday-Saturday 8pm, Sunday 6.30pm

Website: www.melbwriters.org.au

Images: The Actors, Hanna Greenwood and Sarah Plummer.

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