Lockdown Forces Further Changes to STC 2021 Season

As the restrictions for Greater Sydney continue, Sydney Theatre Company has made further changes to its performance schedule with the announcement that Shake & Stir Theatre Co’s adaptation of Roald Dahl classic Fantastic Mr Fox will not be going ahead in 2021 and the upcoming season of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, directed by STC Resident Director Shari Sebbens, will be rescheduled into the 2022 season. 

STC Artistic Director, Kip Williams said, “We believe wholeheartedly in these productions and I want to say a huge thank you to A Raisin in the Sun director Shari Sebbens and the cast and crew who had already begun work preparing for the show, as well as the Fantastic Mr Fox team. 

“I am so pleased that we have been able to commit to staging A Raisin in the Sun in our 2022 season. This is the first time this American masterwork is being produced for an Australian mainstage - it’s going to be incredibly special and well worth the wait”. 

An iconic work of American theatre, A Raisin in the Sun was slated to perform at STC's Wharf 1 Theatre from 28 August - 9 October. Written by Hansberry in 1959, the play was the first by an African American woman to be shown on Broadway and it continues to challenge and move audiences generations later.

STC Resident Director Shari Sebbens thanked the cast and creative team for their hard work in preparing the show for the stage, “While it’s incredibly tough to lose A Raisin in the Sun at this stage, this remarkable show deserves to be seen by as many people as possible and rescheduling until next year is the best way we can achieve that. I am so grateful to the entire cast and creative team for their spirit and work and cannot wait to share this classic in the new year."

Adapted for the stage by award-winning producers Shake & Stir Theatre Co, Fantastic Mr Fox was due to perform at Roslyn Packer Theatre during the school holidays from 22 September - 3 October. Aimed at ages five and up, the production sees live actors interact with lush and beautifully realised animations, as all the magic and touching detail of Dahl’s fantastical world comes to life on stage.

Since the introduction of restrictions for Greater Sydney in June, 284 STC performances have been impacted nationally across nine productions: A Raisin in the Sun, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Dismissal: An Extremely Serious Musical Comedy, Grand Horizons, Triple X, White Pearl, The 7 Stages of Grieving, The Picture of Dorian Grayand the Company’s creative development program, Rough Draft. 

More details on the rescheduled performances will be announced at the Company’s 2022 season launch later this year.

Image: Bert LaBonté and Zahra Newman were due to perform in STC's A Raisin in the Sun.