Return to the Dirt program

return to the dirt

BY STEVE PIRIE DIRECTED BY LEE LEWIS

Mitchell Bourke Name

We acknowledge the Jagera and Turrbal people who are the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work, and their unique relationship with the lands, seas and waterways.

We pay our respects to their Elders both past and present, and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

QUEENSLAND THEATRE IS ASSISTED BY THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE AUSTRALIA COUNCIL, ITS ARTS FUNDING AND ADVISORY BODY. QUEENSLAND THEATRE IS SUPPORTED BY THE QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT THROUGH ARTS QUEENSLAND.

At its absolute best, theatre wrestles with the big questions. Who are we? Why are we here? What’s our purpose? Our calling?

Amanda Jolly Executive Director

Return to the Dirt is a play that does all this as it grapples with some of the most enduring themes in literature, including coming-of-age and death. Written by an extraordinary Queensland talent, Steve Pirie, this story has been inspired by his time working as a funeral director in Toowoomba.

Return to the Dirt’s journey towards inclusion in our 2021 Season, by way of winning the Queensland Premier’s Drama Award, is proof positive that ‘Queensland stories’ can be universal stories. Steve’s semi-autobiographical script is set locally, but the story it tells will resonate globally.

It is a first-hand insight into the funeral industry, a peek behind usually discreetly closed doors at the rituals around death, and at a secret world of dark-clad individuals whose job it is to smoothly, silently take care of everything behind the scenes while family and friends grieve.

But it’s important to say it’s also funny and moving, laced with the humour and camaraderie born from real human moments shared by friends and workmates.

We are immensely proud of the Queensland Government’s commitment to creativity and the arts. The Queensland Premier’s Drama Award, now in its twentieth year, is one of the most significant playwrighting competitions in Australia. It is the only award that guarantees the winning entry a fully staged production (in the Queensland Theatre season) along with intensive periods of creative development.

I hope this play will start conversations and remind us again to treasure those who are close to us in the time we have together.

— Amanda

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RETURN TO THE DIRT

BY STEVE PIRIE

True Story

Real Talk

Gravely Humorous

DIRECTED BY LEE LEWIS In a year spent tending to the dead, a young man learns to live.

Steve never imagined he’d end up working in the funeral industry.

But when he finds himself living back home in Toowoomba to save up for his wedding, it’s the only job he can get.

The year he spends working among the dead opens his eyes to what awaits us at the end and what it means to live.

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY THE

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With respect, wit and a nod to pop culture, Steve takes us on a journey that celebrates finding your place in the world, the power of personal redemption and humility in the face of the big questions.

Return to the Dirt is a refreshing, honest and surprisingly uplifting invitation to start the conversations we all try to avoid.

CREATIVES Writer Steve Pirie Director Lee Lewis Designer Renée Mulder Lighting Designer Ben Hughes Composer and Sound Designer Julian Starr Associate Lighting Designer Christine Felmingham Stage Manager Kat O’Halloran Deputy Stage Manager Yanni Dubler Assistant Stage Manager Natalie Callaghan Assistant Stage Manager (Rehearsals) Pip Loth

LOCATION Queensland Theatre 78 Montague Road, South Brisbane

CAST Greg/Ensemble Chris Baz Steve Mitchell Bourke Claire/Ensemble Sophie Cox Deb/Ensemble Jeanette Cronin Lucy/Jess/Ensemble Miyuki Lotz The Playwright Steve Pirie Ellie Aara Afraz/Cleo Davis

We understand the themes may be triggering for some people. If you have any concerns about the content of the play, we encourage you to contact our Box Office.

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS Wedding Dance Choreographer Dale Pengelly Professional Ballroom Dance Instructor Blair Petterd Ballroom Dance Consultant Carol Jelley Vocal Consultant Megan Shorey

DURATION Approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, including a 20 minute interval.

WARNINGS This play contains lighting blackouts, swearing and references to suicide.

If you or someone you know needs information or support, these organisations are there to help: Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 Headspace 03 9027 0100 Lifeline 13 11 14 The use of photographic or recording equipment is not permitted inside the theatre.

16 OCT – 6 NOV BILLE BROWN THEATRE 5

MESSAGE FROM THE PREMIER OF QUEENSLAND Annastacia Palaszczuk MP Premier of Queensland Minister for Trade

It is my pleasure to welcome you to Return to the Dirt by Steve Pirie – the winner of the Queensland Premier’s Drama Award (QPDA) 2020–21.

Based on his own experiences working in a regional funeral home, playwright Steve Pirie will be your guide in this witty and masterful meditation on the logistics of death, and what it means to really live.

Return to the Dirt is the tenth QPDAwinning play to be produced on a Queensland Theatre stage.

Since the Award was established in 2002, it has grown to become the most significant playwriting prize in Australia – with the winner receiving a commission to develop their script, and the guarantee of a season at Queensland Theatre.

The QPDA has amplified some of the most exciting voices in contemporary Australian playwriting – including Michele Lee, Marcel Dorney and Daniel Evans – and it has created professional opportunities for more than 220 actors, writers, and directors.

By partnering with Queensland Theatre to deliver the QPDA, the Queensland Government hopes to connect audiences with new, deeply resonant work, while contributing to the economic recovery from COVID-19 in our vibrant arts sector.

Entries for the Queensland Premier’s Drama Award 2022–23 recently closed, with the finalists to be announced early next year.

I congratulate Queensland Theatre on more than half a century of enriching our State through unforgettable theatrical experiences, and I commend their resilience through a challenging, but triumphant 2021 season.

Thank you for supporting Queensland Theatre and I hope you enjoy this world premiere production of Return to the Dirt.

— Annastacia Palaszczuk MP

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I call them the dinner party questions.

Steve Pirie Writer

Once people found out how I made a living for a short amount of time, there was an understandable curiosity. It's normal, healthy and encouraged to be curious about what we don't know and there is no greater unknown than the Great Unknown. Many people want to know everything, and some want to know nothing, and I can’t judge either.

There were the usual questions such as do you talk to the bodies you work with? (sometimes), do you poo when you die? (also sometimes) and do you ever know the people you work with? (you’re about to find out when you see this.)

As a funeral director, you learn to respond to what’s given to you. You will walk into a room with a group of people who are looking to you to make things better in a time of immense trauma. Sometimes you can, and most times you can’t. You can only make things smoother. But the question I was faced with time after time, long before my job was a distant memory, was simple but tragic. Not an existential question, but one that is hatched out of fear of asking before the time of need comes, and a reasonable response to an industry shrouded in a carefully curated mystery.

and professionalism, in a wider industry that has earned its predatory reputation at times. Years after I left my hometown once again and the job I learned to love, I responded to what was given to me… an idea for a play.

In 2017, Queensland Theatre opened its doors to a group of independent artists who answered a call out. Artists were asked to provide an idea for a work, and a list of what they needed. I put forward a short brief on what I thought the story was, and I asked for a spare desk in the office. I’m a bit shit at working from home, and I needed the pressure of working in the building of the state theatre company to at least make me feel like I was making something. And after many long sessions

What happens now?

I learned to respond. I was taught how to respond by the funeral home I spent time with that was the pinnacle of care Steve Pirie

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of staring at a blank screen and arranging and rearranging notecards, mood boards, playlists and reading drafts on an old couch in the corner, I made something.

Four years later, you’re about to see it.

Return to the Dirt has not been created in a vacuum. Over its lifespan, many hands have held it both privately and publicly.

To all the folks who have taken part in readings and developments over the years and backed this, thank you. You have my gratitude endlessly.

Shari Irwin. If there was a pantheon of Queensland theatre, you would have the highest pedestal, with appropriate air conditioning. Every time you have expressed your love of this play, it has always affected me deeply. Thank you for your support.

Paige Rattray. Thank you for giving me your time and care during the very early stages. You still intimidate me with how good you are, and one day I’ll say something smart in front of you. It’s nice to have goals.

Sam Strong. Thank you for championing this. One day the paths will align for us to walk together towards something exciting.

Sanja Simic. Your care, tenderness and support on this has been immeasurable, second only to your friendship. I deeply value you and your artistry.

Todd MacDonald. Thank you for recognising the potential in this.

Your support of new work in this city is something I see and appreciate.

Thank you for taking the risks.

Daniel Evans. I’m so grateful we got to spend time together on this. I’m crossing everything that this isn’t the last time we mind meld on something. The SP device is still there to use.

Mitchell Bourke, Steve Pirie

Barbara Lowing, Bryan Probets, Morgan Francis, Giema Contini, and Charlotte Stent. Thank you for bearing with us during a lockdown and the long Zoom days, the dead drops of props and daily check ins. You made the impossible a joyous struggle. I’m in your debt.

Lee Lewis. Thank you for dealing with a writer in the room, particularly one who desperately wants to get it right. It’s been nothing short of a joy to trust you on this.

Thank you for holding this with me.

To the folks who I worked with in Toowoomba who inspired this. I’m not sure if you will ever read this, but if you do, I hope you’re well, happy, and doing your fair share of washing the hearses.

Miss me, but let me go.

Claire Christian. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It was always the easiest choice.

— Steve

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It’s cruel to ask directors to write a program note, particularly in the third week of rehearsal. Especially when it’s a new play.

Lee Lewis Director

The third week is often the time when the play is lying in pieces on the floor of the rehearsal room, when the actors are all wrestling with the impossibility of animating the hardest moments, and when I feel like I will never be able to put it all back together again in time for opening. Right at the point where I have more questions than answers about the play, I am asked to look forward to the program you are reading now and give you some insight about the play.

Impossible!

Lee Lewis, Mitchell Bourke, Sophie Cox

Don’t get me wrong, I love this play.

When I first read Return to the Dirt in the Queensland Premier’s Drama Award, I was deeply moved and quietly thrilled by the theatrical voice conjuring the story of a young man’s ‘getting of wisdom’.

Reading it in 2020, in the height of the first phase of Covid, the words on the page offered warmth and perfectly ordinary hope, reminding me of all the reasons we need to see our own original stories on our stages. Australian hope is very different to American or British hope. And I knew that if we were to make

Kat O'Halloran, Lee Lewis, Steve Pirie

it to the end of a risky 2021 Season, we would need a big bucket of Australian playwriting hope to look forward to.

And here it is! From the streets of Toowoomba, a story to remind us that in the hardest of times, we can find strength and inspiration in the people around us, if we listen. Steve Pirie has woven a story of small town care and love and humour from some threads in his own life, but the cloth he has created dresses the characters of every town in Australia.

I didn’t grow up in Toowoomba, but I grew up with Deb and Greg and Bec and Lucy, and even Len. This play is a remarkable reminder of the knowledge and labour and resilience that is hived in communities around the country. This play is a love letter to hometowns. They are where we can go back to when we need to rebuild — they are a source of strength.

Steve Pirie is our contemporary Australian answer to Thornton Wilder’s very American vision of hope with which we started the year at Queensland Theatre. Thank you for being on the journey with us this year. I hope this final play of the 2021 Season offers you complex and uplifting thoughts to see the year out… It could offer some very interesting conversations to every family at Christmas!

— Lee

Lee Lewis, Mitchell Bourke

return to the dirt

BY STEVE PIRIE

DIRECTED BY LEE LEWIS

WATCH ONLINE 29 NOV – 5 DEC | $25

Chris Baz, Miyuki Lotz

YOUR LASTING LEGACY You can help inspire the next generation of theatre lovers.

By leaving a gift in your will, Queensland Theatre can continue to champion great storytellers and theatre makers who create memorable work for audiences to enjoy now and into the future.

We understand the decision to make a bequest is personal.

Please contact Zoë Connolly, Director of Development, on 07 3010 7602 for a confidential conversation.

Steve Pirie Playwright Steve is a writer, theatre maker and youth arts worker currently based in Meanjin / Brisbane.

A graduate of the University of Southern Queensland, he is also the co-Artistic Director of Mixtape Theatre Collective, an independent company based in Toowoomba, Queensland. His first play, Escape From the Breakup Forest, has since been published by Playlab following state-wide seasons, and in 2014, Steve’s work 3 O’Clock, Flagpole was selected for development as part of the Lab Rats initiative. In 2017, he was an independent artist with Queensland Theatre where he developed his work, Return to the Dirt as part of his residency, which was presented at La Boite’s HWY Festival in 2018. Steve has been a participant in Playlab’s Alpha Processing program and was a 2019 Artist in Residence with La Boite.

In 2020, Steve was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier’s Drama Award for his works Motive (co-written with Emily Burton), City Hearts Loves You and Return to the Dirt. He is currently completing his Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Psychology) with Queensland University of Technology.

Currently, Steve is a sessional tutor at the Griffith Conservatorium and an Associate Artist with Queensland Theatre. Steve’s production credits include various creative positions with The Good Room, the Australian Theatre for Young People, Imaginary Theatre Co, Brisbane Powerhouse, Artsworx, Queensland Theatre, La Boite, The Young Company in Cairns, Vena Cava Productions and the Festival of Australian Student Theatre.

Steve is the winner of the Queensland Premier’s Drama Award 2020–21.

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Lee Lewis Director

Queensland Theatre: Prima Facie, Our Town, Mouthpiece, Rice.

Other credits: Griffin Theatre Company: Family Values, First Love is the Revolution, Prima Facie, Is There Something Wrong With That Lady?, The Almighty Sometimes, Kill Climate Deniers, Eight Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography, The Homosexuals or ‘Faggots’, Rice, Masquerade, Gloria, The Bleeding Tree, Emerald City, A Rabbit for Kim Jong-il, The Serpent’s Table, Replay, Silent Disco, Smurf In Wanderland, The Bull, The Moon and the Coronet of Stars, The Call, A Hoax, The Nightwatchman, The Literati, The Misanthrope (with Bell Shakespeare); Sydney Theatre Company: Mary Stuart, Honour, Love-Lies-Bleeding, ZEBRA!; Melbourne Theatre Company: Gloria, Hayfever, Rupert; Belvoir: That Face, This Heaven, Half and Half, A Number, 7 Blowjobs, Ladybird; Bell Shakespeare: The School for Wives, Twelfth Night; Australian Theatre for Young People: Battlegrounds, Citizenship; Darwin Festival: Highway of Lost Hearts; WAAPA: As You Like It; NIDA: After Dinner, Big Love, The Winter’s Tale; The Hayes Theatre Company: Darlinghurst Nights. Positions: Artistic Director, Queensland Theatre; Artistic Director and CEO, Griffin Theatre Company; Richard Wherrett Fellow, Sydney Theatre Company. Awards: Helpmann Awards – Best Play, Best Director The Bleeding Tree; Green Room Awards – Best Ensemble, Best Production, Best Director The Bleeding Tree.

Renée Mulder Designer

Queensland Theatre: Boy Swallows Universe, Prima Facie (with Griffin Theatre Company), Triple X (with Sydney Theatre Company), Mouthpiece (with QPAC), The Effect (with Sydney Theatre Company), Nearer the Gods, An Octoroon, Rice (with Griffin Theatre Company), Sacre Bleu, Fat Pig. Other credits: As Designer: highlights include Sydney Theatre Company: Grand Horizons, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Banging Denmark, Perplex, The Torrents, Black is the New White, Hamlet Prince of Skidmark, Orlando, Battle of Waterloo, Mariage Blanc, The Effect, The Long Way Home, Dance Better at Parties, Actor on a Box, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, The Splinter, The Bleeding Tree (with Griffin Theatre Company); Melbourne Theatre Company: Home I’m Darling, Arbus and West; La Boite: As You Like It, Ruben Guthrie, I Love You Bro; Griffin Theatre Company: Dogged, Prima Facie, Rice, The Boys, Hoax; Bell Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet. As Costume Designer: Sydney Theatre Company: Playing Beatie Bow, The Harp In The South Part One and Two, Saint Joan, Top Girls, Chimerica, Endgame, Children of the Sun, Vere (Faith) (with STCSA).

As Set Designer: Sydney Theatre Company: Edward Gant’s Amazing Feats of Loneliness (with La Boite).

Positions: Design Director (present), Member of National Artistic Team (2016–17), Queensland Theatre; Resident Designer (2012–14), Sydney Theatre Company. Awards: Sydney Theatre Awards – Best Costume Design Top Girls, Best Stage Design (Mainstage) – The Beauty Queen of Leenane; Matilda Award – Best Design Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness; Green Room Award – Outstanding Design (Costume) Home, I'm Darling.

Ben Hughes Lighting Designer

Queensland Theatre: Boy Swallows Universe, Triple X (with Sydney Theatre Company), Mouthpiece (with QPAC), Antigone, L’Appartement, Twelfth Night, Good Muslim Boy (with Malthouse), Scenes from a Marriage, An Octoroon, Noises Off! (with Melbourne Theatre Company), Constellations, Switzerland, Much Ado About Nothing, The Seagull, Happy Days, Grounded, HOME, The Button Event, The Effect (with Sydney Theatre Company), The Mountaintop, Black Diggers (with Sydney Festival), Design for Living, 1001 Nights, The Lost Property Rules, Orbit, Mother Courage and Her Children, The Pitch & The China Incident, Kelly, Head Full of Love, Fractions (with Hothouse Theatre), Orphans, An Oak Tree, Sacre Bleu, Let The Sunshine (with Melbourne Theatre Company), Fat Pig, The Crucible, 25 Down, Stones in His Pockets, I Am My Own Wife, John Gabriel Borkman, The Estimator, Private Fears in Public Places, Man Equals Man, Waiting for Godot, Eating Ice Cream with Your Eyes Closed, The Exception and The Rule, Ruby Moon. As Associate Lighting Designer: Toy Symphony, Heroes. As Co-Director/Designer: Trollop. Other credits: Highlights include Adelaide Festival: Two Feet; Opera Queensland: Don Giovanni, Snow White (with La Boite & Brisbane Festival); Sydney Theatre Company: Black is the New White; The Danger Ensemble: Let Men Tremble, Caligula, The Wizard of Oz, Sons of Sin, Loco Maricon Amor, The Hamlet Apocalypse; La Boite: The Time Is Now, Naked and Screaming, From Darkness, The Mathematics of Longing, A Streetcar Named Desire, Straight White Men (with STCSA), Medea, Samson (with Belvoir), A Doll’s House, Cosi; Australasian Dance Collective: Aftermath, Converge, Mozart Airborne (with Opera Queensland), The Host, Carmen Sweet, Propel; Queensland

Ballet: The Masters Series, Flourish, Giselle, A Classical Celebration, ... with Attitude; QPAC/Red Leap: The Arrival. Positions: Artist Company (current), La Boite; Affiliate Artist (2014, 2011), Resident Lighting Designer (2013), Queensland Theatre; Associate Artistic Director, The Danger Ensemble. Awards: Groundling Award for Outstanding Contribution to Lighting Design.

Julian Starr Composer and Sound Designer

Queensland Theatre: Debut.

Other credits: Metro Arts: Elektra/ Orestes; Belvoir: Miss Peony; The Seymour Centre: The Shifting Heart; The Old Fitz Theatre: Hyperdream; West End: ZOG; Park Theatre: Cry Havoc, Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis; Soho Theatre: You Only Live Forever; The Union Theatre: Othello; Hampstead Theatre: Sleepwalking; Lithuania Tour: Axolotl; The Finborough Theatre: How To Survive an Apocalypse, Scrounger, The Wind of Heaven; Vaults Festival: White Noise, Killing It; Edinburgh Festival: Gulliver Returns, The Good Scout; Tristan Bates Theatre: Aisha; 17th Valtice Castle, Czech Republic: The Comedy of Errors, Pericles; The Fizzy Sherbet Podcast; The Finborough Theatre: Late Night Staring at HighRes Pixels. Training: Technical Theatre and Stage Management, NIDA. Positions: Associate Sound Designer, The Finborough Theatre London; Touring Sound Engineer, An Inspector Calls (UK/Ireland Tour); Sound Engineer, The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo; Sound Engineer, Songs For Nobodies (West End); Sound Engineer, The Tap Pack (West End). Awards: The Sarah Awards New York City – Best Audio Fiction Fizzy Sherbet Podcast, White Tuesday; Off-West End Theatre nominations – Best Sound Design Scrounger, Aisha.

Jeanette Cronin

Kat O’Halloran Stage Manager

Queensland Theatre: As Stage Manager: Taming of the Shrew, Triple X (with Sydney Theatre Company), Hydra (with STCSA), Hedda, The 39 Steps, Rice (with Griffin Theatre Company), Once in Royal David’s City (with Black Swan State Theatre Company), Switzerland, Happy Days, Treasure Island, An Oak Tree, Hurry Up and Wait!. As Deputy Stage Manager: Twelfth Night. As Assistant Stage Manager: Scenes from a Marriage, An Octoroon, Tartuffe (with Black Swan State Theatre Company), Quartet, The Seagull, God of Carnage, Rabbit Hole. Other credits: As Stage Manager: La Boite: Caesar; Opera Australia: Madame Butterfly (regional tour); Creative Regions: It All Begins With Love. As Event Coordinator: Sydney Festival. As Assistant Stage Manager: SpoonTree Productions: The Man The Sea Saw; Sydney Festival: Domain Concert Series; Queensland Ballet. Training: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical Production), QUT. Positions: Technical Coordinator, Brisbane Festival.

Yanni Dubler Deputy Stage Manager

Queensland Theatre: As Stage Manager: Antigone, The Button Event.

As Deputy Stage Manager: Boy Swallows Universe.

As Assistant Stage Manager: L’Appartement, Hydra, Nearer the Gods, Jasper Jones, St Mary’s in Exile, Brisbane, Black Diggers, Boston Marriage, Gloria.

The Penultimate (Traction). Other credits: As Stage Manager: Circa: Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show (2021 tour); shake & stir theatre co: Fantastic Mr Fox (2020 and 2021 tours), A Christmas Carol (2020), Dracula (2017 tour), George’s Marvellous Medicine (2016–17 tour), Tequila Mockingbird (2016 tour), Wuthering Heights (2016 tour), Revolting Rhymes & Dirty Beasts (2015 tour); Queensland Music Festival: Opera at Jimbour; Flipside Circus: Dogs in the Schoolyard; Queensland Ballet: Senior Program Showcase, The Nutcracker (2018, 2019), The Little Green Road to Fairyland (2019 tour), Prelude ’17; Too Close to the Sun: The Bluebird Mechanicals; Kay & McLean Productions: North by Northwest (2018–19 tour); George P. Johnson: Invictus Games Sydney 2018 Opening and Closing Ceremonies; La Boite: The Mathematics of Longing; Jack Morton Worldwide: GC2018 Commonwealth Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies; Access Arts: Undercover Artist Festival; Sunshine Coast Chamber Music Festival, Brisbane Powerhouse, QPAC, Brisbane Writers Festival, World Athletics, Australian Girls Choir, Woodford Folk Festival, Collusion Music. As Assistant Stage Manager: Queensland Ballet: Coppelia. Training: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical Production), QUT.

Natalie Callaghan Assistant Stage Manager

Queensland Theatre: As Stage Manager: Wisdom (The Scene Project). Other credits: As Stage Manager: Polytoxic: Demolition; Queensland Ballet: Aspire; Hive Collective: The Bull the Moon and the Coronet of Stars, Conviction; Ad Astra: Jingle Bells Sucks Baubles.

As Deputy Stage Manager: QUT: The Season at Sarsaparilla, Dance ’17. As Assistant Stage Manager: Queensland Ballet: Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Academy Gala; QUT: Essentially Dance, New Moves. As Production Manager: Brisbane Immersive Ensemble: The Midsummer Carnival, Cluedo! The Interactive Game; QUT: 13, Radiate, Drama Practice 3, Let The Right One In. As Set Designer: QUT: Recipe, Brothers Book Club, The Dark Room. As Secondment: Queensland Ballet: Dangerous Liaisons; Brisbane Festival 2019; Jack Morton Worldwide: GC2018 Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony. Training: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical Production), QUT; Bachelor of Creative Arts (Drama and Writing), UQ.

Mitchell Bourke, Chris Baz

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Pip Loth Assistant Stage Manager (Rehearsals)

Queensland Theatre: As Stage Manager: City of Gold, My Name is Jimi, Constellations, Riley Valentine and the Occupation of Fort Svalbard, Gloria. As Deputy Stage Manager: Death of a Salesman. As Assistant Stage Manager: Hedda, Ladies in Black (2015), Country Song. As Set Builder: Macbeth. Other credits: As Tour & Company Manager: Hi-5: Hi-5 Fairytale (Asia Tour). As Production & Stage Manager: Myths Made Here: Cinderella.

As Stage Manager: World Science Festival: Dear Albert; La Boite: Bigger and Blacker, The Neighbourhood, From Darkness, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Motherboard Productions: Shimchong, Daughter Overboard!; EMS Entertainment: Barbie Live!

The Musical (East Pacific Tour 2013-14); Life Like Touring: Elmo’s World Tour, Dora the Explorer’s Pirate Adventure. As Assistant Stage Manager: Gordon Frost: Driving Miss Daisy; Dreamworks & Global Creatures: How to Train your Dragon – Arena Spectacular (North American Tour). Film: As Rigging Electrics: Nim’s Island, Terra Nova.

Positions: Production Coordinator (past), Queensland Theatre; Stage Management and Technical Theatre Lecturer and Production Supervisor (2016), USQ. Training: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical Production with honours), QUT; Certificate II – Furniture Making & Finishing; Diploma of Live Production (Theatre & Events).

Sophie Cox

Chris Baz Greg/Ensemble

Queensland Theatre: Debut.

Other credits: La Boite: Last Drinks, Water Wars; Metro Arts: The Truth About Kookaburras; Kooemba Jdarra: The Mack; Newtown Theatre: The Lesson; Sydney Theatre Company/ Melbourne Theatre Company: The Shaughraun; Belvoir: Candide, A Life In the Theatre, Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love; Crossroads Theatre: Just Frank; Harold Park Hotel: Sexual Perversity in Chicago; Canberra Theatre Company: The Custodians, Hate, A Midsummer Nights Dream; Eureka Theatre Company: Magpie's Nest, A Lie of the Mind; Edinburgh Festival: Blue Remembered Hills. Film: Burns Point, Darklovestory, 10 Days to Die, Jesus and the Rabbit of Damnation, Back from the Dead, Rabbit.

Television: Darby and Joan, The Bureau of Magical Things, Schapelle, Sea Patrol, The Strip, Through My Eyes, Escape of the Artful Dodger, Bloodsports, Search for Treasure Island, Water Rats, Murder Call, Blue Heelers, Heartbreak High, Home and Away.

Mitchell Bourke Steve

Queensland Theatre: Debut.

Other credits: QUT: Eurydice, Breaking the Code; Ad Astra: Jingle Bells Suck Baubles; Australian Shakespeare Company: Merchant of Venice, Romeo & Juliet. Short film: Solicit, A Heart for Vendetta, Terranum, Tallebudgera Road, Delete Ignore.

Training: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting), QUT.

Sophie Cox Claire/Ensemble

Queensland Theatre: Debut.

Film: Mortal Engines, White Elephant.

Television: Home and Away, Darby and Joan. Training: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting), QUT.

Jeanette Cronin Deb/Ensemble

Queensland Theatre: Debut.

Other credits: Theatre of Image: Brett and Wendy – A Love Story Bound by Art; Merrigong Theatre: Letters to Lindy; Griffin Theatre: The House on the Lake, The Boys, Bug, Holding the Man; Ensemble Theatre: Dark Voyager, The Cavalcaders; Old Fitz Theatre: Shadowbox, Three Sisters, I Hate You My Mother; Sydney Theatre Company: The Virgin Mim, A Doll’s House, The White Devil; Bell Shakespeare: The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; New York International Fringe Festival: Reasonable Doubt; Brisbane International Fringe Festival: Anna Robi and the House of Dogs; Darlinghurst Theatre: I Love You Now; Old 505 Theatre: Queen Bette (co-creator), Tell Me Again. As Writer: Darlinghurst Theatre: I Love You Now; Old Fitz Theatre: I Hate You My Mother; Old 505 Theatre: Tell Me Again. Film: The Bystander Trials, Shock Room, The Boys, Terranova. Television: Doctor Doctor, Secret City, Janet King, Crownies, Rake. Web series: Gut Feeling, Wrong Kind of Black, Patricia Moore. Awards: Athens International Art Film Festival – Best Original Screenplay Shattered, LockEdown Locked In; Sydney Film School Festival – Best Actor All’s Faire; Mike Walsh Fellowship recipient.

Miyuki Lotz Lucy/Jess/Ensemble

Queensland Theatre: Debut.

Other credits: Queensland Ballet: Rites of Spring; HOTA: The Turn of Winston Haggle, Crazy Plastic Love; White Rabbit Theatre Ensemble: Love Means Nothing In Tennis 2.0; Black Swan State Theatre Company: White Divers of Broome. Film: Thirteen Lives, Peter Rabbit 2, Love & Monsters, Black Water: Abyss, Out Of The Shadows, Pacific Rim: Uprising. Television: God's Favourite Idiot, The Tourist, Reef Break, Secret City, Safe Harbour.

Training: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting), QUT; RAD Syllabus.

Positions: Corps de Ballet, Queensland Ballet. Awards: Babette Stephens Memorial Award; Solo Seal Award.

Aara Afraz Ellie

Queensland Theatre: Debut.

Other credits: Sunshine Coast Variety Shows: Survivor, Goodwinland.

Training: Goodwin Talent Agency Professional Development Program.

Cleo Davis Ellie

Queensland Theatre: Debut.

Other credits: Magic To Do Creative: Christmas in Storyland; Starz Production Team: Gold Lotto City Lights; UP Agency: Lord Mayors Christmas Carols; Conroy Dance Centre: Born to Perform Eisteddfod, Sunshine Coast Dance Eisteddfod, Evolution Dance Eisteddfod, That’s Dancing. Training: Conroy Dance Centre; JM Music and Speech & Drama.

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Charles & Catherine Miller Karl & Louise Morris Monica Muggeridge Debra & Patrick Mullins John Reid AO & Lynn Rainbow-Reid AM David Williamson AO & Kristin Williamson

Bruce & Helen Cowley Lisa Domagala Dr Sara Gollschewski Helen Gough John Graham & Craig Syphers Alexandra Grove & Peter Dawson Catherine & Nanda Gulhane Sophia Hall Herbert Smith Freehills Prof Lawrence Hirst & Mrs Jill Osborne Kevin & Joanne Holyoak Marc James Tempe Keune Karen & Peter Lane Fred & Margaret Leditschke Lee Lewis & Brett Boardman

John & Janice Logan Marina Marangos In memory of Jann McCabe Bill McCarthy Glenn McIlroy John & Julienne McKenna Mark Menhinnitt Andrea Moor Naomi Murphy R & B Murray Kartini Oei Shay O'Hara-Smith Kim Parascos Jill Paterson Joanna Peters Katharine Philp G. Pincus Blayne & Helen Pitts George & Jan Psaltis Catherine Quinn

Angela Ramsay Tim & Kym Reid John Richardson & Kirsty Taylor William Rivers Crispin Scott Dr Josephine Sundin Courtney Talbot Nick & Barbara Tate Damien Thomson & Glenise C. Berry Cornelia Van Zyl & Ian Reid Richard Whittington OAM Peter G Williams Margaret Williams Dr Catherine Yelland Ian Yeo & Sylvia Alexander Tony & Linda Young

Benefactors Roslyn Atkinson AO & Richard Fotheringham AM Christopher & Margot Blue Sue Brown & Lisa Worner Michael & Anne-Maree Byrne Collaborators 2 Anonymous Tracey Barker Andrew & Trudi Bofinger Phillip Carruthers & Sharni Cockburn Communication, Speech & Performance Teachers Inc. Rachel Crowley

PCF

Patrons 4 Anonymous Anne & Peter Allen J M Alroe Noela Bartlett Jennifer Batts Virginia Bishop Robert Bond Sarah Bradley Julian Buckley Rodd & Wendy Chignell Bob Cleland Zoë Connolly Fabienne Cooke Sheryl Cornack Kerry & Greg Cowderoy

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PCF

PCF

PCF

PCF

LANDMARK PRODUCTIONS FUND SUPPORTING CAST 4 Anonymous Geoffrey Beames Leela Bishop bowtie man The Hon Justice Sarah Derrington Dr Genevieve Dingle Michael Farrington Sharyn Ghidella Louise M Gourlay AM Daryl & Trish Hanly Jodie Hoff Michael & Karlie Keating Barbara Lloyd Ranjeny & John Loneragan Paul MacMahon

Georgia Miles Philip & Fran Morrison Jim Murphy PSM Darryl Nisbet Denise O'Boyle Diane & Robert Parcell Lynette Parsons Don & Isobel Perry-Keene Leona Romaniuk Jodie Siganto John Smithwick Jacqui Walters John White & Judith Hoey Kevin Vedelago & Karen Renton

TRUST AND FOUNDATION PARTNERS Australian Communities Foundation - Davie Family Fund Australian Communities Foundation - Keith & Jeannette Ince Fund Copyright Agency Cultural Fund Tim Fairfax Family Foundation William Angliss (Queensland) Charitable Fund BEQUESTORS Realised Bequests Peggy Given

Notified Bequests 1 Anonymous

Acknowledging Visionaries who individually support special Queensland Theatre funds: Landmark Productions Fund PCF

Play Commissioning Fund

Annual donations over $500 are acknowledged in play programs for 12 months from the date of donation.

Current as at October 2021

Thank you to the Visionaries who generously support our Landmark Productions Fund, cementing Queensland Theatre as a national leader in the development and staging of productions of significant scale.

Tim Fairfax AC & Gina Fairfax Liz Pidgeon & Graeme Wikman Ian & Cass George Elizabeth Jameson AM & Abbe Anderson Bruce & Sue Shepherd The Mather Foundation Trevor St. Baker AO & Judith St. Baker 2 Anonymous

Together we are making our ambitions a reality For more information about our giving programs, please contact Zoë Connolly, Director of Development, on 07 3010 7602 or zconnolly@queenslandtheatre.com.au

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QUEENSLAND THEATRE PARTNERS Principal Partner

Production Partners

Trust and Foundation Partners

Company Partners

Season Partners

Government Partners

Information correct as at October 2021

Program Partner

PATRON His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, Governor of Queensland

MARKETING AND TICKETING DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Laura Oliver

PROGRAMMING

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD Elizabeth Jameson AM (Chair) Rachel Crowley (Deputy Chair) Tracey Barker Mundanara Bayles Simon Gallaher Dean Gibson Susan Learmonth Dr Andrea Moor David Williamson AO

PUBLICITY AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Amanda Lawson

CASTING MANAGER Samantha French

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Lee Lewis EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Amanda Jolly EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Pete Sutherland

SENIOR MARKETING COORDINATOR Maneka Singh MARKETING COORDINATOR (DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT) Cinnamon Smith MARKETING ASSISTANT (DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT) Thomas Manton–Williams GRAPHIC DESIGNER Sarah Gannon DATABASE SUPERVISOR Jeffrey Guiborat TICKETING SUPERVISOR

HUMAN RESOURCES AND GOVERNANCE MANAGER Donna Maher

Madison Bell

ARTISTIC

SEASON TICKETING Myk Brown, Natasha Donaghy, Erin Hazell, Ngaire Lock, Alicia Poulter, Dan Sinclair

ASSOCIATE ARTIST Isaac Drandic ASSOCIATE ARTIST Daniel Evans

TICKETING OFFICER Rosie Hazell

PRODUCTION

DESIGN DIRECTOR Renée Mulder

DIRECTOR, TECHNICAL AND PRODUCTION Toni Glynn

LITERARY ADVISOR Dr Julian Meyrick

TECHNICAL MANAGER Daniel Maddison

DEVELOPMENT

TECHNICAL COORDINATOR Lachlan Cross

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT Zoë Connolly CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS MANAGER Merryn Csincsi PHILANTHROPY COORDINATOR Georgia Lynas DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR Jade Rodrigo EVENTS ASSISTANT Matthew Filkins FINANCE AND OPERATIONS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Christopher Blow ASSISTANT ACCOUNTANT Georgia Knight FINANCE OFFICER Sarra Lamb FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS MANAGER Shaun Kelly VENUE AND BAR MANAGER Kimberley Mogg Information correct at time of printing

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HEAD OF WORKSHOP Peter Sands COMPANY CARPENTER / HEAD MECHANIST John Pierce COSTUME SUPERVISOR Nathalie Ryner WARDROBE COORDINATOR Barbara Kerr CARPENTRY APPRENTICE Kane Ernst

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING Rod Ainsworth

PRODUCER, NEW WORK Shari Irwin ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATOR Zena O’Shannessy EDUCATION, YOUTH AND REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR, EDUCATION, YOUTH AND REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT Laurel Collins ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Steve Pirie EDUCATION COORDINATOR Emma Funnell PROJECT OFFICER Alana Dunn INDIGENOUS REFERENCE GROUP Nathan Jarro (Chair), Dr Valerie Cooms, Isaac Drandic FOUNDING DIRECTOR AIan Edwards, AM, MBE (1925–2003) QUEENSLAND THEATRE PRODUCTION STAFF CARPENTERS Chris Maddison, Mark Gover SCENIC ART Leo Herreygers REVOLVE OPERATOR Michael Smith PRODUCTION ELECTRICIAN Scott Barton AV TECHNICIAN/SOUND OPERATOR Chris Goeldner SOUND CONSULTANT Matt Erskine PRINCIPLE CUTTER/COSTUME MAKER Kiara Bulley COSTUME MAKERS Joash Teo, Cody Newnham ART FINISHER Olga Dumova WARDROBE MAINTENANCE Jack Parry WIG MAINTENANCE Michael Green ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER SECONDMENT (QUT) Kayla Cahill

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS COVER AND REHEARSAL PHOTOGRAPHY David Kelly RECORDED MUSIC CONTENT (COVERS) Andy Ellem The following people have contributed to the creative development of this work: Actors: Tony Brockman, Emily Burton, Will Carseldine, Giema Contini, Morgan Francis, Kimberley Hodgson, Aurora Liddle-Christie, Barbara Lowing, Todd MacDonald, Roxanne McDonald, Francis McMahon, Mansoor Noor, Helen O’Leary, Bryan Probets, Toni Scanlan, Charlotte Stent, Tom Yaxley. Creatives: Stephen Carleton, Daniel Evans, Isaac Drandic, Katrina Irawati Graham, Katherine Lyall Watson, Maxine Mellor, Ngoc Phan, Danielle Shankey.

Keep the good conversations going on the trip home!

Hosted by our Artistic Director Lee Lewis, Queensland Theatre’s Quality Time podcast turns the house lights up and invites you to get to know the people who helped bring Return to the Dirt to the stage.

Available on iTunes, Spotify and anywhere good podcasts can be found.

Jeanette Cronin, Mitchell Bourke

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