EDITION 2 – 2019
Kat Stewart Leaping into the unknown
Southbank Theatre Celebrating 10 years
Anchuli Felicia King Going global
David Morton Taking the world by storm
Welcome 2019 is off and racing and it’s been a very full few months filled with some truly fantastic productions on our stages. Back at MTC Headquarters, the team is deep in the throes of preparation for one of the biggest shows of the year – Shakespeare in Love – so get ready for a spectacular night at the theatre this winter. In this issue of Scenes, we hear from Kat Stewart about returning to MTC to star in Heisenberg; meet the man behind the astonishing puppets in Storm Boy; and talk to Director Prue Clark about The Violent Outburst That Drew Me To You. We take a look at Golden Shield, the exciting new work from Anchuli Felicia King and the first NEXT STAGE commission to take to the stage, and we meet one of our current NEXT STAGE Writers-In-Residence, Chris Summers.
There’s so much to look forward to in the coming months, and as always, we couldn’t be happier to have you along for the ride. I hope you enjoy reading all about it in the lead up to your next visit to MTC. See you at the theatre.
Brett Sheehy Artistic Director & CEO
We also hear from members of the MTC community about what the Company means to them and some of their favourite moments from the past decade as we continue to celebrate 10 years of Southbank Theatre.
Prompt Corner (Left) Sarah Goodes in rehearsal for A Doll’s House, Part 2 (2018)
CASTING UPDATES MTC welcomes Gabrielle Chan (Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries), playing Mei Huang/Deputy Minister Gou Shengwei in the cast of Golden Shield, alongside Yi Jin (Madame Butterfly) playing Li Dao, Fiona Choi (The Lady in the Van) playing Julie Chen and Sophie Ross (What Rhymes with Cars and Girls) playing Amanda Carlson/Jan Bollman.
A NEW ROLE We are delighted to announce that, after two years as Associate Director, Sarah Goodes has been appointed as MTC’s Associate Artistic Director. After directing the nationally successful premiere production of Switzerland by Joanna Murray-Smith at both STC and MTC, Sarah joined the Company as Associate Director in 2017. Since then she has directed six productions for MTC, including last year’s stunning A Doll’s House, Part 2 starring Marta Dusseldorp; the three-time Helpmann Award-winning production of The Children, for which she took out the coveted Best Direction of a Play and Best Play awards; and the Australian premiere of Arbus & West, which opened earlier this year. Also this year, audiences will have the chance to see Sarah’s new productions of Così and the world premiere of Golden Shield. An exceptional director and a passionate member of our Artistic Team, we are thrilled to see Sarah take on this new role with the Company.
Cover design: Helena Turinski Photography throughout by Jeff Busby, Tim Grey, Justin Ridler, Michele Tran Scenes is a publication of Melbourne Theatre Company. All information was correct at the time of printing. Melbourne Theatre Company reserves the right to make changes. MANAGING EDITOR Rosie Shepherdson-Cullen EDITOR and WRITER Sarah Corridon ART DIRECTOR Emma Wagstaff GRAPHIC DESIGNER Helena Turinski
In The Violent Outburst That Drew Me To You, Josh Price (An Ideal Husband) and Izabella Yena (Three Blind Mice), complete the cast alongside Harry Tseng (Jasper Jones). Conor Lowe joins the cast of Storm Boy in the title role.
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Melbourne Theatre Company is a department of the University of Melbourne.
Melbourne Theatre Company acknowledges the Yalukit Willam Peoples of the Boon Wurrung, the First Peoples of Country on which Southbank Theatre and MTC HQ stand. We pay our respects to all of Melbourne’s First Peoples, to their ancestors and Elders, and to our shared future.
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Into the wild Prue Clark revisits her teenage years for her MTC directorial debut.
(Above) Prue Clark; (right) Harry Tseng in The Violent Outburst That Drew Me To You
The Violent Outburst That Drew Me To You, Australian playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer’s whip-smart tale of two audacious teenagers clashing with everyone around them, is the centrepiece of MTC’s 2019 Education program. At its helm is Director Prue Clark, who describes the play as an empathetic reflection on teenagehood. ‘It’s for anybody who has ever been a teenager.’ Clark is no stranger to MTC, having already directed play readings for Cybec Electric in 2018, and been assistant director on Noël Coward’s Hay Fever the year prior. Clark is also an alumna of MTC’s Women in Theatre program. At the centre of The Violent Outburst That Drew Me To You is Connor, a teenage boy at war with the world, whose escalating acts of defiance begin as irreverent pranks. His misdemeanours are frequently hilarious, as he pinballs between authority figures trying to set him straight. ‘It’s fast, spirited and scattergun,’ says Clark as she describes doors slamming, and actors transforming into character at lighting speed. Before long, Connor’s behaviour spirals out of control to the point where his parents decide to leave him in a forest to resolve his anger. Connor’s character is reminiscent of the simultaneously endearing and insufferable Ricky Baker from the smashhit film Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Incidentally, Clark was once the personal assistant to that film’s acclaimed director, Taika Waititi, while living in New Zealand. She agrees the film’s pace and style are similar to the wild energy and oddball cheek of Kruckemeyer’s play. ‘They’re both offbeat comedies with an urban teen protagonist inept at nature. And they both have great montage sequences!’ Portraying Connor in The Violent Outburst That Drew Me To You will be Harry Tseng, whom audiences young and old adored as Jeffrey Lu in MTC’s Jasper Jones in 2016. ‘I quite liked being a teenager,’ recalls Clark, ‘but when I look back on those years, I definitely don’t want to do them again!’ Clark vividly remembers being put off by media made specifically for teenagers. As someone who wasn’t necessarily surly and hating school, she didn’t relate to the stereotypical depictions of young people. The theatre Clark yearned for is embodied in The Violent Outburst That Drew Me To You, which tackles teenage disillusionment head-on and suggests that hope, love and friendship are the way through. Kruckemeyer has won national and international awards for his plays featuring recognisable, complex and fully rendered adolescent characters. We meet Connor in a stereotypical mode of frustration, boredom and anger, but that changes in the forest when he meets an even angrier young woman, Lotte. She has good reason to be mad, railing against a climate of toxic masculinity and fighting just to be heard. Far away from home and school,
‘For those of us who cringe at the memory of our own adolescence, this joyful adventure into the wild will assure you that the kids are alright!’
the pair gain a better understanding of each other and themselves. ‘In the forest, Connor glimpses a future less fraught than what he’s living now.’ In Clark’s conversations with the design team for this production, a key visual reference has been the films of Wes Anderson. ‘He creates striking visual images,’ says Clark, describing the whimsical, cinematic worlds. ‘The first part of this play has a pop-up aesthetic, one that lends itself to similar tableau-style compositions and stylised performance.’ There’s a special surprise in store for audiences as the play shifts into its second act. ‘Finegan provides a beautiful provocation in the script when he says the forest may be real or imagined.’ The Violent Outburst That Drew Me To You sees Clark reunite with previous design collaborators Romanie Harper (set and costume) and Amelia Lever-Davidson (lighting), whose production of Contest by Emilie Collyer was critically-acclaimed as ‘remarkable’ with ‘buckets of grunt and style’. ‘It’s so exciting to come back into MTC with my crew,’ says Clark, describing the pair as endlessly creative, rigorous thinkers. ‘There’s nothing second-best about the play, just because it has been programmed for a younger audience, and we are approaching it that way too.’ Amidst Connor’s violent outbursts and Lotte’s sardonic quips, this play presents a story of hope. ‘Hope feels pretty pertinent right now,’ says Clark, ‘as we face a
future that can seem overwhelming. I believe hope is an important ingredient for activism, it’s a much more useful and propelling force for change than despair and disillusionment.’ This production’s theatrical cleverness and ebullient rhythm will resonate with young changemakers who, like Connor and Lotte, are on the cusp of adulthood. ‘From my experience working with teenagers, they’re completely delightful, and driven to make a change in the world.’ And for those of us who cringe at the memory of our own adolescence, this joyful adventure into the wild will assure you that the kids are alright. Prue Clark spoke to MTC Education Coordinator Nick Tranter.
Thanks to support from the Crown Resorts and Packer Family Foundations, this production will tour to six regional venues across Victoria and Tasmania, giving rural students access to the same high-quality performance and production values as Melbourne audiences. To learn more about MTC’s award-winning Families and Education program, visit mtc.com.au/education.
The Violent Outburst That Drew Me To You plays at Southbank Theatre, The Lawler from 2—18 May before embarking on a regional tour. HEAR FROM THE CAST OF THE VIOLENT OUTBURST THAT DREW ME TO YOU MTC.COM.AU/BACKSTAGE
Leaping into the unknown Kat Stewart finds performing on stage much the same as the new play she’s starring in: a high voltage rush of adrenaline.
Kat Stewart began her acting career on stage. She was a founding member of Melbourne’s iconic Red Stitch Actors Theatre, and has returned – between major TV roles on shows such as Offspring and Underbelly – to revisit her roots in theatre. In May, Stewart returns to Melbourne Theatre Company in Heisenberg; a new play by Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time). What keeps you returning to the stage? What does theatre give you as an actor that other mediums like film and TV don’t? Acting for stage is a Gladiator sport and it’s easy to lose your nerve if you stay away for too long. There is nowhere to hide and there is a purity to it that I love. The highs are thrilling and the lows can be similarly crushing because there is nothing you can do except move on to the next moment. You are exposed! I love the tribe that forms between actors, director and crew during a production. I love working for screen too but I do cherish being able to work a story in sequence without a safety net and with that relationship with the audience which is ‘live’ in every sense. The title of the show takes its name from the scientific Heisenberg theory. What can you tell us about this theory? In a nutshell, German physicist Werner Heisenberg in 1927 asserted that it is impossible to measure the position and momentum of a particle simultaneously with absolute precision. Stephens applies this idea of natural unpredictability to two completely disparate people. I have read that he also took this approach in the writing of the play, not knowing how the characters would react and strike moment to moment. It certainly feels that alive to me reading it. This is your first time performing in a Simon Stephens play. What inspires you about his writing? I have loved Simon Stephens’s work since I saw Motortown many years ago. I think he is incredibly smart and muscular. Weirdly, Heisenberg feels nothing like his other plays. It is almost fragile in the best possible way. It takes me by surprise and at its heart, it is optimistic which I think in these times is really wonderful. In Heisenberg, you play an American woman named Georgie, who falls for a much older Irishman named Alex. Do you think it’s significant to have both an American and an Irish character living in London in this play – is their cultural identity fundamental to the narrative? I am reluctant to lay my cards out on the table too equivocally (having not yet started rehearsing at the time of writing this) but I do think it’s interesting that both characters aren’t residing in their homelands. They both have a kind of dispassionate objectivity about who they are and what they see in each other. Beyond that for me it is a delicious meeting of two extraordinarily wellwritten characters who should have so little to say to each other. And yet they continue to surprise us. Why do Georgie and Alex suit each other so much when they are so unalike? I’ll be honest and say I think there are some pretty crumby romances out there. I have a real aversion to
‘It is a delicious meeting of two extraordinarily well written characters who should have so little to say to each other. And yet they continue to surprise us.’
Kat Stewart in Heisenberg
cloying sentimentality. But I obviously don’t think that Heisenberg falls into that category! I guess it’s up to the audience to decide whether Georgie and Alex suit each other. I think life can be pretty chaotic and here we have two people who have both been written off in the romance stakes, ignoring what is expected of them and being brave. Or is it foolhardy? That’s the sometimes excruciating yet wonderful tussle in the writing for me. How does Georgie reinvigorate Alex’s life and vice versa? I think Georgie recognises something in Alex that others haven’t. She takes an interest. And it turns out this basically invisible older man is incredibly interesting. Her energy is kind of alarming yet contagious. His appreciation of her and his refusal to judge her is incredibly disarming. What would you say is at the heart of Heisenberg the play? I just love how Director Tom Healey describes it as ‘… an ode to the possibility of transformation. It is about staring down loneliness, defying convention,
and the high voltage rush of leaping into uncertainty.’ For me, Heisenberg is incredibly hopeful in no small part because of the massive risk involved. It’s also odd, smart, funny, challenging and affecting. What are you looking forward to about returning to Melbourne Theatre Company? I just love working at MTC. It is hard to describe the warmth of the place and the incredible calibre of creatives. Also, selfishly, I am very excited to be returning without the logistical shenanigans of nursing a 4-monthold as I was during my last visit with Disgraced in 2016!
Heisenberg plays at Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio, from 17 May—29 June and is supported by Production Partner Genovese. HEAR MORE FROM THE KAT STEWART MTC.COM.AU/BACKSTAGE
An ode to Shakespeare Simon Phillips directs the ultimate romantic comedy – Shakespeare in Love.
which of course involves design, however Tylesova almost always brings an understanding of the work that Phillips doesn’t. He describes her skill as a ‘distinct distillation’ of a million ideas. Both Phillips and Tylesova wanted the set design to pay tribute to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, but in the same way the music and language play with accuracy, they wanted their set to have a sweep of romanticism that would not be found in the Globe. ‘In this case, it’s a royal blue curtain.’ That curtain wouldn’t have existed in Elizabethan theatre, Phillips says, however it represents the spiritual heart of the story and offers a skewed reality that helps the audience lean into the imagination of the story. Phillips is currently in the throes of auditioning his final cast members. ‘I need a super-supply of character actors,’ he asserts. Finding his romantic leads – Will and Viola – requires classic, strong, stage actors who are playful enough to grasp the humour of the work, with an outstanding facility for verse. ‘They carry the show,’ he says matter-of-factly.
Director Simon Phillips’s first memory of Shakespeare in Love was watching the 1998 film and being amazed at how the narrative so deftly operated on two distinct levels. The first was the artful way Shakespeare’s love story, Romeo and Juliet, was woven into the narrative, and the second was the script’s implicit appreciation of the stage. ‘The way the story celebrates theatre without being too self-conscious about it was deeply satisfying for me,’ he says. After closing MTC’s 2018 Season with a blockbuster production of Twelfth Night, Phillips feels ready to tackle another story rooted in the rites and rituals of Elizabethan theatre. Just as the film did, Lee Hall’s adaptation of Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman’s screenplay continues to take liberty with the period and course of events in Shakespeare’s life. However, this historical inaccuracy doesn’t faze Phillips, he claims. ‘If it wasn’t done so playfully, perhaps I’d take issue with it, but it’s so artful and full of spirit all we can do is celebrate it.’ ‘We don’t actually know that much about the man,’ he continues, ‘there’s a huge amount of conjecture about whether or not he even wrote these plays. For me it’s less about Shakespeare the person, and more about the fact he left this almost inconceivably brilliant body of work. And this story taps into some of the heartbeat of that.’
a musical, making it financially unviable, Phillips says. His challenge now is to tell the same story with half the cast. ‘I knew MTC was the place to bring this,’ he says grinning; thrilled by the challenge. ‘The Company has the same sense of adventure as me.’ Hall’s script prescribes a specific style, which is both comedic and theatrical. ‘To be funny, the play needs to be set in Elizabethan times; however the language is contemporary, which makes it accessible.’ The use of music throughout, from composer Paddy Cunneen, stitches the narrative together fluidly, Phillips explains. Set and Costume Designer Gabriela Tylesova will be responsible for realising the visual language of the play, with strong influence from Phillips. The two are long-time collaborators having worked together on Twelfth Night, Love Never Dies, Urinetown the Musical, Muriel’s Wedding – The Musical, L’elisir d’amore, The Pillowman, Cyrano De Bergerac, Tomfoolery, The Visit, Ladies in Black and Elixir of Love. Phillips admits he’s a ‘freak’ when it comes to controlling the overall vision of his work,
Presenting Shakespeare in Love soon after Twelfth Night feels delightfully appropriate for Phillips, as the two narratives bleed into each other. He can only hope MTC audiences love it half as much. ‘This will be a big, sprawling, love-filled, life-affirming romp of a play.’ There’s very little not to love he assures. ‘It is, far and away, my favourite romantic comedy. Which is probably unsurprising, given it combines the work of two of my favourite playwrights: Shakespeare and Stoppard.’ Just over two months out from rehearsals, a team of 17 wardrobe staff have already commenced work on creating the more than 80 costumes in the show. This sartorial army will balloon out to 30 in the coming weeks, comprising milliners, wig makers, shoemakers, buyers, art finishers, cutters, patternmakers, sewers, ruff makers and hand finishers. For Phillips, Tylesova and MTC’s production team, it’s a scale that excites and incites nerves of equal measure. But Phillips, as always, is certain it will be worth it.
‘It deliciously mixes the rudimentary stuff of life – comedy, passion, music and mayhem.’
Having directed a number of Stoppard’s plays in Australia, Phillips was approached to tackle the next iteration of Shakespeare in Love. The original stage production premiered in London in 2014 with a cast of 29 actors playing 23 characters, plus four musicians who doubled as ensemble members. This gave the play the structure of Shakespeare in Love plays at Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse from 15 July—14 August and Canberra Theatre 22—31 August. It is supported by Opening Night Partner Abercrombie & Kent.
You continue the story This year marks 10 years of Melbourne Theatre Company in Southbank. To celebrate, we asked members of MTC’s community to reflect on the most recent chapter of the Company’s exciting history and what Melbourne’s home of theatre means to them.
CHRISTIE WHELAN BROWNE Actor I first became involved with MTC in Year 10. My friends made a compilation VHS of all of my school musical performances and sent it in to ask if I could do work experience…and they said yes. Year 10 Christie would never have imagined that [one day] she would work for this Company. Sometimes I think back to that young girl and I think she’d just be blown away. My first show at MTC [The Drowsy Chaperone], was a huge learning curve for me. I never got to study acting at university, so I learned so much from Simon Phillips and everyone that worked on that show.
‘MTC belongs to Victoria and Victorians.’
MTC provides a workplace for so many people and so many actors. The storytelling is so great, the commitment to the work from the Company is incredible and there’s the support from donors who are so generous in their support of the art. If you see me in the bows you’ll often see me crying – and it’s not because I’m loving the applause – it’s because I am seeing the faces of people who have been moved by what they have just seen. And that’s why I do it.
‘It’s one of my favourite places to work.’
DEREK YOUNG
DEREK YOUNG am Donor and former Chair of the MTC Board MTC is a very special organisation. It’s both small enough to be a family and large enough to be a state wide institution. It belongs to Victoria and Victorians, and they’re very supportive and protective of it. Melbourne’s a great place to make and see theatre because we have an unbelievably talented group of creatives throughout Victoria, and we have a very knowledgeable audience who, if you make a good
production, will come and support it and tell their friends about it. Melbourne audiences really reward good productions. What inspires my continuing support of MTC is its never-ending professionalism and the quality of what they produce. When you see MTC on its best nights it is sublime; to be able to help everyone it takes to produce those productions – that’s what inspires me.
‘We are all united… bringing all our skills, our passion and interest to create the vision of a show.’
YEARS
ADAM HOWE
SOUTHBANK THEATRE
ADAM HOWE MTC Technical & Production Director Having been interested in theatre from a very young age, I’m quite amazed that I’ve been able to turn a passion that I had as a teenager into the career I now have at one of Australia’s flagship theatre companies. I oversee all of the production departments that look after putting on a show. That includes set and props construction, scenic art, wardrobe, millinery, wigs, stage management, lighting, sound, AV and automation. We have a wide range of staff members from different walks of life, but ultimately we are all united and come together with all our skills and passion to realise the vision of a show.
JYDEN BRAILEY 2018 MTC First Peoples Young Artists Program Participant
‘MTC gives young people the opportunity to have a voice …’
I never would have thought about a career in the performing arts before I got involved with MTC. I think continuing to inspire young people is really important, and is something that MTC does an amazing job of.
‘I never would have thought about a career in the performing arts before I got involved with MTC.’ JYDEN BRAILEY
Supporting MTC really helps to enhance the community that work tirelessly to bring you the best theatre it possibly can.
IMOGEN PRICTOR
One of the best things about the First Peoples Young Artists Program was bringing together Indigenous people from all over Australia, sharing our stories, and creating work out of what we are interested in. The community at MTC is very friendly and welcoming. It’s been a great gateway into the performing arts and for further developing my skills. It’s opened up many doors for me.
There are two layers to what MTC does. One is experienced by the audience member walking into the theatre and being completely transported by the story unfolding on stage, but it’s important to keep in mind that there’s a second story. Behind the scenes, over a period of six months or more, there have been thousands upon thousands of decisions made about the most minute detail of what ends up in the final production.
IMOGEN PRICTOR 2018 MTC Ambassador For me, MTC means a creative outlet. My school doesn’t have an extensive drama program so being an MTC Ambassador was a great opportunity for me to be involved in the theatre industry and I’ve definitely formed friendships for a lifetime. MTC gives young people the opportunity to have a voice, when they might otherwise not feel confident speaking up. Everyone in the program felt that our voices were heard by people who were really interested in our opinions and wanted to build on them. In the future I would love to look at a career in the performing arts. MTC has definitely helped me understand that it’s possible. There’s an amazing range of jobs behind the scenes that are crucial to the industry.
GO BACKSTAGE TO WATCH INTERVIEWS FROM MEMBERS OF THE MTC COMMUNITY AT MTC.COM.AU/SOUTHBANK10
MTC invites you to make a tax-deductable donation today to help continue the story. Your support is essential in bringing worldclass theatre to Melbourne, cultivating emerging artists and engaging the next generation of theatre makers and audiences. Learn more and donate online at mtc.com.au/continuethestory
Taking the world by storm Dead Puppet Society make our imagination soar in Storm Boy.
(Above) David Morton; (right) Storm Boy; (below right) Production photo from Dead Puppet Society’s puppetry in The Wider Earth by David Morton
Dead Puppet Society creates deeply imaginative theatre where the traditional meets the technological, and the mythic meets the modern. From Brisbane to London their work has captivated numerous awards and nominations, including a recent nomination for London’s prestigious Olivier Awards. We spoke to David Morton, Puppet Designer and Associate Director at Dead Puppet Society, about his approach to designing the puppets for our Season 2019 production of Storm Boy. When did you first come across the script Storm Boy and what compelled you to agree to the production? I first came across the script for Storm Boy when [Director] Sam [Strong] shared it with me at the start of last year. I had known the story from childhood, and was excited to work on the production, not just because of the special place these characters hold in so many people’s hearts, but because of the chance to create a vast and beautiful world that is iconic of this specific Australian landscape. What were your first impressions reading the play? Were you able to identify initial challenges and opportunities from the very first read? My first impression on reading the play was how beautifully sparse the dialogue is, and how it drives the sense of time in the piece to hark to larger seasonal movements, both of the environment, and the lives within it. It’s an amazing opportunity to attempt to create an ecosystem on stage, particularly in this sort of story, where the hopes and struggles of the characters are so intrinsically linked to the world around them. How do you approach a new design project, especially when animal puppets are involved? I always begin by studying anatomical drawings to find the key articulation points and to get a clear idea of the biomechanics of the real animal. From there I begin to design the mechanism that the performers can use to bring the otherwise material object to life. Non-human actors are nothing without integration into the larger theatrical world in which they play, unfortunately it’s not quite as easy as making an all-terrain creature that will survive everything that is asked of it. Nearly every choice that’s made around the design of the puppets will be guided by the needs of the rest of the design team. What types of materials are you using? I always use natural materials when building creatures, often taking inspiration from the landscape in which they live. The core mechanisms will be a combination of aluminium and plywood. What made you become a puppet designer? Most of my work is as a writer/director, not a puppet designer. However, many of the scripts that I have
worked on or written in the past have had characters who couldn’t be played solely by human performers. So we started to create puppets to work alongside the actors in these roles. How does it feel seeing your puppets on stage under lights? My approach to puppetry has always been highly integrated within the larger production, so it’s usually a kick at seeing the entire story come to life rather than the puppets specifically. However, unlike a human performer that the audience believe as having life from the get go, puppetry is a much more fragile art that requires the collaboration of all of the theatrical elements, as well as the imaginations of the performers and the audience. When you get the mix of those components right, I think the effect can be mind-blowing. How do you imbue the emotion of an animal character like Mr. Percival into a puppet? The personality of the creatures all comes down to the performers and the work that we’ll do together in the rehearsals. Without the human touch to bring them to
life the puppets really are just objects. They’re designed to be played, just like a musical instrument, and it’s the channelling of the performers impulses and thoughts into the otherwise inanimate object that allows it to appear to come to life.
Storm Boy is a co-production with Queensland Theatre and plays at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner from 17 June—20 July. GO BACKSTAGE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE DESIGN OF STORM BOY MTC.COM.AU/BACKSTAGE
Going global Melbourne-born, New York-based, Anchuli Felicia King is one of the country’s most incisive playwrights.
In August, Melbourne Theatre Company presents Anchuli Felicia King’s play Golden Shield; a legal drama that questions the morality of Silicon Valley tech-giants collaborating with the Chinese government to develop a firewall and digital surveillance technology. It may not be the simplest subject matter for a twenty-something grad-student to tackle, but King balances the heaviness of this political realism with a deft humour that demonstrates her impressive dramaturgical maturity. It took King a bit over a year to write Golden Shield. She drew inspiration from several real-life court cases unfolding in America at the time, where tech conglomerates were being sued for their alleged collusion with the Chinese government. ‘The play centres on a fictional version of one of these cases and uses that to explore various issues surrounding how online censorship in China has evolved, and how international law actually gets arbitrated,’ King says. ‘But the core of the work for me, and the question of the play, is about translation and communication. It’s about how we can translate and communicate effectively in a world that is so globalised, and so technologized. How do we get beyond the jargons that we’ve learned to have meaningful human interactions? That’s actually the focus of everything that I write – how we can communicate in a world that seems so fractious.’ Directing this world premiere production is MTC’s Associate Artistic Director Sarah Goodes, who says the play is an astounding new work from a very exciting new voice. ‘Reading Felicia’s brilliant play, I was captivated by its investigation of cross-cultural values and philosophies of our information age, while the bilingual characters illuminate the frequently fraught lines of human interaction.’ Golden Shield marks the first play to come out of MTC’s landmark NEXT STAGE Writers’ Program, an initiative made possible by the donors and foundations of MTC’s Playwrights Giving Circle, which is dedicated to giving Australian writers the support, investment, and time they need to develop and create their best work. MTC Literary Director Chris Mead works closely with all 20 NEXT STAGE commissioned writers and Writers-In-Residence and says Golden Shield is a prime example of what the program is all about. ‘Felicia possesses an astonishing talent—she writes with grace and insight, but also with a ferocious grasp of cultural, political and personal fault-lines. Each moment in the play looks to the future, the past and the present; and indeed the play is itself a history of the present. It’s not just about the Internet or China but about both the promise and the cost of progress. She asks: The future is in our hands so, how responsible are we, and, how do we reject restrictions while protecting freedom?’ There is no doubt that King’s star is on the rise. This year, her work will appear on the stages of MTC, Sydney Theatre Company and London’s Royal Court. She is the youngest playwright ever featured in Playwriting Australia’s National Play Festival, and has been identified as one of the country’s most gifted new theatrical voices. She says she has a hard time categorising herself solely as a playwright though. Perhaps it’s because the scope of her skill includes sound design, composition, costume design, VFX and projection design, 2D animation and technodramaturgy. ‘I think of it as all part of the same practice,’ she says. ‘I’ve been training to be a theatre artist for a really long time, and every portfolio that I’ve worked on has contributed to that training. For a long time I wasn’t comfortable calling myself a playwright, because I really felt like a craftsman.’
Nicholas Bell, Yuchen Wang, Jing-Xuan Chan and Josh McConville star in Golden Shield. Golden Shield has been commissioned through MTC’s NEXT STAGE Writers’ Program, made possible by the Donors and Foundations of the Playwrights Giving Circle.
‘To have the privilege of doing a play at the Sumner is just unparalleled.’ ANCHULI FELICIA KING It could also be because playwriting came to King later than many of her peers. While studying English and Theatre Studies at the University of Melbourne, she discovered theatre through music, which she’d played all her life. After several friends asked her to live-score their productions, King’s entry into the world of theatre, and ultimately playwriting, was unwittingly paved via the hub of performing arts on campus, Union House Theatre. Leaving Melbourne directly after her undergraduate degree, King spent the last three years completing her masters at Columbia University while collecting awards and coveted residencies at some of New York’s most groundbreaking theatre companies including Punchdrunk and Roundabout. She is also an Associate Artist of 3-Legged Dog Art & Technology Centre, an experimental, artist-run production development studio in Lower Manhattan.
King embodies the humour and lightning-paced wit of someone far beyond her 24 years. She has the hybrid accent of a woman who has called several countries home, and while she recognises New York as the city that has refined her craft, she considers Melbourne the bedrock of her creative rising. ‘Having the world premiere of this play on the mainstage at MTC is amazing to me, it really feels like a homecoming. And [Melbourne being] the place where I started doing theatre, where I fell in love with theatre; to have the privilege of doing a play at the Sumner is just unparalleled.’
Golden Shield plays at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner, from 12 August—14 September. MEET THE CAST OF GOLDEN SHIELD MTC.COM.AU/BACKSTAGE
Shifting isolation NEXT STAGE Writer-In-Residence Chris Summers says his connection to the Company has shifted his approach as a playwright.
Chris Summers is one of MTC’s NEXT STAGE Writers-InResidence. In the six months he has been connected to the Company, he has completed a play and set to work on at least two others. Summers tells us about the benefit of writing inside the walls of a professional theatre company, and how he is moved by truly great art. What made you start writing for theatre? I’d always been an imaginative kid – inventing stories, investing in fantastical worlds. With no musical talent and even less aptitude for drawing or painting, writing became my way of expressing myself. I wrote my first short play when I was 17, which won the Young Playwright’s Award at Sydney Theatre Company, directed by none other than MTC Literary Director Chris Mead. Working with Chris and professional actors to unpick, challenge and reveal the meaning of my words, and then share them with an audience, got me hooked. What was the last play you wrote about? My last play, Pedagogy, won the Max Afford Playwrights Award and was presented at Playwriting Australia’s Chris Summers
‘… and maybe – just maybe – one of my plays will be presented as part of an MTC season.’ CHRIS SUMMERS National Play Festival in 2016. It was based on my real-life experience of moving to Western Victoria to teach drama in a small school as part of a not-for-profit organisation. Focused on the relationship between one teacher and one student, it was about the acts of teaching and learning (inside and outside the classroom), idealism and the individual’s capacity to affect change, and the state of education in regional Australia. It was an important step forward in my writing, blending autobiography with comedy and honest social commentary, and it’s a play I’m very proud of.
STAGE residency has completely shifted this for me: it has given me support to develop my ideas through both rigorous dramaturgy and casual conversations with artists and the Artistic Team, the structure of deadlines, meetings, presentations and workshops within the Company, and the space to be present in the building alongside some of Australia’s best theatre-makers and producers. This has allowed me to already complete a new play – a romantic comedy about trauma called Being Better – and the confidence to get to work on the next one.
What does this residency mean to you? Playwriting is a very strange profession, in that you are writing for an extremely collaborative medium, which requires dozens of people (and often a company) to bring to life, yet you write your drafts in isolation. The NEXT
What’s the last piece of art that you loved and why? I know a work of art is having an impact on me when I completely lose track of time while watching. I couldn’t tell you how long The Favourite [a film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos] was because I was so completely engrossed
in the shifting power-plays, blind-sided betrayals and expressions of complicated, selfish, self-interested love between three women. Add to that the innovative cinematography and richly detailed world. The Favourite was something I’d never seen before, and couldn’t wait to watch again. What do you hope to achieve in the next 18 months of your writing residency at Melbourne Theatre Company? I’ll be undertaking a workshop of my play Mycoremediation; or A Family Trip – a comedy-drama about the troubled history and potential future of psilocybin (magic mushrooms) use in psychotherapy – later this year. I will continue to attend and learn from all of MTC’s fantastic new shows, and maybe – just maybe! – one of my plays will be presented as part of an MTC season. Fingers crossed!
MTC’s NEXT STAGE Writers’ Program is made possible by the Donors and Foundations of the Playwrights Giving Circle.
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Michelle Williams @home Property Management
Corporate Partnerships
Family roots
In addition to Genovese Coffee, we would like to acknowledge the following organisations who have partnered with MTC for 10 years or more.
Genovese Coffee has been roasting beans for nearly half a century, and for the last 10 years they’ve been a proud partner of MTC.
We thank them for their generous support. DONALD CANT WATTS CORKE SEASON PARTNER One of Australia’s largest, privately owned providers of quantity surveying, project management and associated services, DCWC advised MTC on the development of the Southbank Theatre ten years ago. FRONTIER SOFTWARE PREMIUM SEASON PARTNER
MTC Production Partner, Genovese, is a Melbourne institution. Established in 1970, Alfio Genovese opened the company’s first coffee roasting factory in Brunswick with the aim of bringing the finest tradition of espresso coffee to the Australian market. Forty-nine years on, Genovese Coffee remains family owned, with the second and third generation continuing the tradition of fine Italian espresso handed down from Alfio. Today Genovese Coffee is available Australia-wide, and has an international presence in Singapore, Paris, Sri Lanka and USA. The current site in East Coburg houses the company offices as well as a state of the art roasting plant, showroom and training facility. We spoke to Genovese’s General Manager Adam Genovese about the company’s on-going support for MTC and the secret to the perfect cup of coffee. What is it like working in the family business? It’s extremely rewarding in so many ways and as a third generation member of the family, it’s a privilege to help continue on with a legacy that is now nearly 50 years old. How has the business changed since the 70s? Espresso coffee in the 1970s was still a relatively new phenomenon, whereas today it is part of the cultural landscape of Melbourne. How long has Genovese been a Partner of MTC? We’ve been partners since the new Southbank Theatre opened in 2009. How does Genovese support MTC? We’re proud to call ourselves Production Partners. This means we specifically support one particular production through sponsorship each year, as well as via the provision of coffee products and services throughout the theatre and MTC HQ. What has been your favourite MTC production over the last ten years? The Drowsy Chaperone (above right) – one of the most entertaining evenings I can remember. Is there anything MTC subscribers might find surprising about Genovese? You can be served a Genovese Coffee in the Californian Desert at a place called The Amargosa Opera House!
Industry leaders in HR, payroll and talent management software and services, Frontier Software provides payroll software and associated support services to the MTC Human Resources Department. HEAT DOWARD SEASON PARTNER One of Australia’s largest personal care companies, Heat, supplies the MTC Wardrobe Department with quality cosmetic and hair care products, transforming the actors into their onstage characters. (Above) The cast of The Drowsy Chaperone on stage at Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse.
MTC works with Invicium Print Management to produce innovative marketing materials, including our highly anticipated annual season brochure.
Which productions are you most excited about in Season 2019? We are always extremely excited about the play we are presenting, so we’re absolutely looking forward to Heisenberg this year.
K&L GATES PREMIUM SEASON PARTNER
Like staging a theatre production, producing the best cup of coffee requires care, consideration and skill. Can you share some of your tips for brewing delicious coffee? Whatever blend or Single Origin bean you choose, always ensure you buy your beans freshly roasted. Make sure, if you can, that you buy a good grinder, but if not, buy small quantities of freshly ground coffee. Always keep your machine or brewing device clean and use filtered water. Never be afraid to ask for brewing tips where you buy your beans. You’ll be surprised the little things that you pick up. Most of all never let anyone tell you what you should enjoy, only you can be the judge of that. Genovese Coffee is served at the Southbank Theatre foyer bars and at Arts Centre Melbourne, so no matter where your next MTC date is, you can enjoy a fantastic espresso coffee experience.
INVICIUM MARKETING PARTNER
K&L Gates is a global law firm committed to maintaining a strong connection to the business community through supporting arts and culture. PRODUCTION RESOURCE GROUP SEASON PARTNER Global leaders in entertainment and event production, PRG’s technology and expertise have helped bring many of MTC’s shows to life. SCRIPT BAR & BISTRO SOUTHBANK THEATRE PARTNER Conveniently located on Southbank Boulevard, Script Bar & Bistro provides inspired, seasonal catering for MTC’s many corporate events at Southbank Theatre. THE AGE MAJOR MEDIA PARTNER One of Melbourne’s largest newspapers, The Age connects readers and subscribers to their passion points in our city. The Age helps us to spread the word about our upcoming shows to their thousands of readers across Victoria. THE DECK RESTAURANT SEASON PARTNER
For more information on partnerships at MTC, please visit mtc.com.au/partnerships or contact partnerships@mtc.com.au
Located in Southgate, The Deck specialises in modern European cuisine and regularly hosts our donors, corporate partners and subscribers for pre-theatre dining.
KENYA UNDER CANVAS A Limited Edition Small Group Journey 15 – 23 September 2019 | 9 Days Limited to 17 guests | From $13,995 per person twin share Come on a journey that recalls the vintage safari days of Hemingway and Finch Hatton, when pioneering adventurers travelled across East Africa in search of extraordinary wildlife, accompanied by liveried attendants who pitched camp in breathtaking locations and provided immaculate service. This modern-day adventure is bush luxury at its finest. Enjoy private camps set up exclusively for you, tents equipped with every comfort – plush beds and en-suite bathrooms, handwoven rugs and campaign furniture – staff on hand 24/7, and gourmet bush cuisine served on fine china with crisp linen. There are still places available on our September 2019 departure, at the very height of the Great East African Migration in the Masai Mara. Don’t miss out.
See our website for more information, talk to your travel agent or call A&K on 1300 851 800. www.abercrombiekent.com.au
Special offers Film Offer
Film Offer
NT LIVE: ALL ABOUT EVE
ALL IS TRUE
Margot Channing is a legend. True star of the theatre. The spotlight is hers, always has been. But now there’s Eve. Her biggest fan. Young, beautiful Eve. But you know all about Eve … don’t you …? Gillian Anderson and Lily James star in the delectable new stage adaptation of the beloved Hollywood movie, filmed live exclusively for Australian cinemas. For your chance to win a double pass to a preview screening at Cinema Nova on Wednesday 15 May at 6.30pm (opening nationally 25 May), email offers@mtc.com.au with ALL ABOUT EVE in the subject line.
The year is 1613, Shakespeare is acknowledged as the greatest writer of the age. But disaster strikes when his renowned Globe Theatre burns to the ground, and devastated, Shakespeare returns to Stratford, where he must face a troubled past and a neglected family. Haunted by the death of his only son Hamnet, he struggles to mend the broken relationships with his wife and daughters. In so doing, he is ruthlessly forced to examine his own failings as husband and father. His very personal search for the truth uncovers secrets and lies within a family at war. In cinemas May 9. For your chance to win an in-season double pass, email offers@mtc.com.au with ALL IS TRUE in the subject line.
Corporate Partners
Ticket Offer
The Langham, Melbourne
Victorian Opera’s A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC
The Melba experience is a combination of ingredients – fresh produce, bountiful seafood, a myriad of cuisines to choose from, smiling, skillful chefs creating dishes with flair at live cooking stations and a relaxed atmosphere. All reasons why Melba’s popularity and reputation continues to grow.
From the master of the genre, Stephen Sondheim, comes the most musical of musicals. Over the course of a weekend in the country, an entangled group of worldly characters rekindle lost love, court new liaisons and flirt with romantic possibilities. Get ready to fall in love with some magical night music as Victorian Opera welcomes a dream cast including Simon Gleeson, Nancye Hayes, Ali McGregor, Verity Hunt-Ballard and Alinta Chidzey.
Book online at melbarestaurant.com.au or call 1800 641 107.
For your chance to win two tickets, email offers@mtc.com.au with A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC in the subject line along with your preferred performance. A Little Night Music is playing at Arts Centre Melbourne from 27 June until 6 July.
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