ANTIGONE Program

Adapted by Merlynn Tong after Sophocles Directed by Travis Dowling

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Synopsis The epic argument rages on A great city has been torn apart by a civil war between two brothers. In the aftermath, both lie dead – one hailed as a hero and lying in state, the other condemned as a traitor and dumped in a carrion pile. From the ashes of their conflict rises a dystopian state under a new leader – a career politician who rose to power by dint of her ruthlessness.

Grieving and heartbroken, their sister Antigone challenges the leader for the right to bury and mourn her dead brother with dignity, sparking a furious act of rebellion that will shake the city to its foundations.

In this lyrical adaptation of Sophocles’ timeless tragedy, award-winning Brisbane playwright Merlynn Tong adds an urgent modern twist, reuniting Christen O’Leary and Jessica Tovey after their triumphant pairing in Twelfth Night.

‘Universal truths are universal, and the tragedy of ancient times is just as relevant in the politically and morally-challenging present as ever’ – Theatre Press

queensland theatre premiere Greek Tragedy

Dignity

Human Rights

Christen O'Leary, Kevin Spink

Antigone

Adapted by Merlynn Tong after Sophocles Directed by Travis Dowling VENUE

CREATIVES

26 Oct — 16 Nov Bille Brown Theatre, Queensland Theatre

MERLYNN TONG Writer

ATTENDANCE INFORMATION Antigone will run for approximately 70 minutes, no interval.

BEN HUGHES Lighting Designer

TRAVIS DOWLING Director VILMA MATTILA Designer

WARNINGS This production contains references to suicide, images of horror, simulated violence, theatrical smoke and haze, and a complete black out. The use of photographic or recording equipment is not permitted inside the theatre.

If this production raises any issues for you, please contact: Lifeline 131 144 Beyond Blue 1300 224 636 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY Queensland Theatre would like to acknowledge the Jagera and Turrbal people who are the Traditional Custodians of this land. We pay our respects to their Elders both past and present, and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

RECYCLE THIS PROGRAM Support Greening Queensland Theatre and recycle this program after the performance in the recycling bins provided in the foyer.

Queensland Theatre 78 Montague Road, South Brisbane, Queensland, 4101 Tel: 07 3010 7600 Fax: 07 3010 7699 Ticketing: 1800 355 528 mail@queenslandtheatre.com.au Follow us on:

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TONY BRUMPTON Composer/Sound Designer MEGAN SHOREY Vocal Consultant NATHALIE RYNER Costume Consultant YANNI DUBLER Stage Manager LUCY KELLAND Assistant Stage Manager CAST PENNY EVERINGHAM Tiresias SHUBSHRI KANDIAH Ismene CHRISTEN O’LEARY Creon KEVIN SPINK Haemon JESSICA TOVEY Antigone CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS JUSTIN PALAZZO-ORR Fight Director MELANIE BOLOVAN Assistant Fight Director CALLIE ROEBUCK ASM Secondment JOLYN AGNES CHUA ASM Secondment SITI NURSYAHIDAH BTE NORMAN Production Management Secondment MADDIE NIXON Directorial Observation SARAH OGDEN Directorial Observation ISABELLA HALL Sound Design Observation Cover Photo: Tim Jones

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Presentation Sponsor

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.

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#leadingfromqld

Penny Everingham, Lucy Kelland

Jessica Tovey

Christen O'Leary

Welcome

Sam Strong Artistic Director

Amanda Jolly Executive Director

It’s perhaps a scathing indictment of the times we live in, that our

society is still trying to work through the kind of social and political turmoil depicted in a play written two-and-a-half millennia ago.

Or, perhaps it’s reassuring that nobody has all the answers. Either way, it’s undeniable that Antigone is a timeless classic. That’s an overused phrase, but this version of Sophocles’ Theban tragedy cuts through all the cliches, creating something genuinely urgent.

Matilda Award-winning playwright and performer Merlynn Tong has written an adaptation for the ages and for right now. She has captured the poetry, velocity and intensity of the original - written in a time of rampant nationalism and military strife - but she has also transformed it into a story for today, an interrogation of gender, morality and leadership.

In today’s world, elections are fought with dirty tactics, and won by tiny majorities. As humankind becomes ever more polarised, we grow further apart, retreating into our separate camps – the righteous and the ruthless, the rational and the rabid. In the play, Antigone is at the epicentre of one of these volatile knife-edge arguments.

In defying the law to protect the dignity of her deceased brother, she becomes one of the first recorded activists in literature and legend.

When diplomacy fails, her last resort is civil disobedience - and that’s a story we see on the news almost daily in these turbulent times.

As we watched the world respond to Greta Thunberg’s impassioned, globally-televised speeches recently, it’s hard not to see the parallels with this classic story of a young

woman defiantly standing up for what she knows is right in the face of political inaction.

This is Associate Director Travis Dowling’s mainstage directorial debut and he has assembled a fiercely talented team, including frequent collaborator Tony Brumpton, who has composed haunting original music, incorporating strings from Brisbane’s own Camerata.

This powerful, intense and unforgettable play is yet another world premiere here in Queensland, and it’s an amusing thought that one of the world’s oldest plays will grace one of the world’s newest stages, right here at the Bille Brown Theatre.

We’d like to thank our production sponsors for this work, Energex/Ergon Energy as part of the Energy Queensland Network, and indeed everyone who has made our 2019 season such a successful one.

With Antigone, the season takes its final bow, and we look forward to welcoming you back in 2020 for our 50th anniversary season. Well, Amanda will be welcoming you back, alongside our new Artistic Director, Lee Lewis. Sam, of course, will be off for new and fresh challenges, having left an indelible mark on Brisbane (he didn’t write that bit!).

Sam and Amanda

Writer’s Note These characters have been living in my bones.

They have haunted my dreams, swum in my blood

and burrowed in my flesh. Sometimes when I hold still and look squarely at the task of adapting this

revered masterpiece, I unzip my skin and fall apart.

Merlynn Tong Writer

What more can I add? Will it be good enough?

Can I stand on the shoulders of Sophocles?

Will he let me? Seamus Haeney already wrote a version for goodness sake. Shouldn’t we halt all further adaptations once the master poet has had his say?

I feel a pit of angst when witnessing these stories but most days swallow my dread. I live in the middle. I flounder on a tight-rope, fuelled by anxiety, with discordant voices on either side.

I whimper.

But there is catharsis in witnessing the full extent of a human’s will being played out. When I write Antigone, I am liberated. Here in the darkness, with the laptop shining on my face, I burst through the roof, my words become my weapon and I implode within each character. I hope to share this catharsis with you.

But I persist.

This story has to be released from my being somehow.

I see moments in my memory when I’ve experienced these characters’ certainty, felt their rage, and held their sorrow. I remember a thousand conversations when my conviction would reach the tip of my tongue. I remember my teenage self at my mother’s funeral after she had committed suicide, and the rage I felt when the man I perceived as the cause of it walked into the room. I remember witnessing a growing hollow of sorrow when I saw the wood of my father’s coffin delight in the fire. But in each instance, I halted. Those emotions never translated into vivid action or expression.

But these characters are different—and I am in awe of their fierce convictions.

Antigone and her timeless arguments have persisted across millennia. The dualities in the play of individual vs the state, young vs old, family vs government, us vs the universe and so on, still play out in our news stories today.

World Premiere

Classic

Opera

Society draws her barriers for us, and for good reason.

This implosion would have been entirely impossible on my own.

I want to thank my director, Travis Dowling, who has been my fierce advocate from the start.

Trav, I so admire your artistry, I adore you and am proud to call you a dear friend. Sam Strong, thank you for believing in me. My creative team (and all the extraordinary dramaturgs and artists who contributed along the way), thank you for dreaming with me. My stage management and production team, thank you for realising all our wildest conjurings. My actors, thank you for unleashing this story into the world. Everyone at QT, thank you for the cuppas and endless support.

And to my partner Zac Boulton, you are my anchor. Thank you for loving me.

Travis Dowling, Shubshri Kandiah, Jessica Tovey

Jessica Tovey

Christen O'Leary, Kevin Spink

Shubshri Kandiah, Jessica Tovey

Travis Dowling, Christen O'Leary

Ben Hughes, Travis Dowling, Penny Everingham, Lucy Kelland

Director’s Note Sophocles’ original play Antigone was first

performed over 2,400 years ago and at its heart is

an argument between civil rights and human-made law, the consequence of dogmatic ideology and the complex relationships of family and death.

Travis Dowling Director

Merlynn’s reimagining of this mythical classic is both true to the world and themes of the original work, and is a reminder that this debate is still raging in 2019.

This work does what theatre does best; it presents complex arguments on stage to you the audience and asks you to find the truth. Not just the truth of the characters on stage, but the truth in the argument as it stands outside this theatre now. Because for us as modern audiences, this play is not just about the rights of one person in ancient Greece to bury her brother, or a leader who doggedly refuses to keep a mythical Thebes from descending into chaos. It’s about a young woman, a teenager, standing up for what she believes in and not being afraid to take action. It is about a leader that firmly believes in the law and that the state cannot make exceptions, otherwise our society will collapse.

These arguments and debates are alive in our world right now. They live between young activists like Greta Thunberg and a generation of politicians who refuse to hear her voice.

They live between Emma Gonzalez who speaks out for gun control and a government that refuses to acknowledge the problem.

They live in every major policy decision that is made by our global governments that affects the human rights of others.

Debut

Velocity

Ideology

We must remember these characters are symbols and warnings. When first performed by the ancient Greeks this play was used to reinforce to the audience that religious burial rights must not be ignored. It served to show that leaders and decision makers must take advice from those around them and it served as a warning that the world we live in is not binary, it is complex.

In the original staging of this work by the Greeks the violence and horror of this world was not staged, but in this production we have chosen to expose and embrace it. It demonstrates that the refusal to bury a body of a loved one has an impact on the people that loved that person, that if the law stops basic human rights like grieving, love and freedom, people will take extreme action. In doing so, it reminds us that the decisions of governments and leaders sometimes have horrific personal consequences.

When we really investigate this ancient debate, the real horror is that it’s not resolved 2,400 years later. Human rights violations are happening every day, dogmatic ideology is still causing war and killing our planet. Now, the next generation of humans are beginning to stand up and protest in our streets. The question is, will we hear their voices and allow them to change our world for the better?

Travis

Travis Dowling, Shubshri Kandiah, Kevin Spink

Merlynn Tong

Travis Dowling

Vilma Mattila

WRITER

DIRECTOR

DESIGNER

Queensland Theatre: As Writer: Good Grief (The Scene Project). As Assistant Director: Hydra. As Actor: The Shot (The Scene Project). Other Credits: As Writer: Playlab/Brisbane Powerhouse: Blue Bones; Brisbane Powerhouse: Ma Ma Ma Mad. As Actor: Sydney Theatre Company/National Theatre of Parramatta: White Pearl; Elbow Room: What I’m Here For; Punchdrunk and Imaginary Theatre: Lost Lending Library; La Boite Theatre Company: Mathematics of Longing, Straight White Men; Shock Therapy Productions: Viral; Judith Wright Centre/Briefs Factory/Black Honey Company: Hot Brown Honey; Bleached Arts: Hotelling; Brisbane Festival: Bitch: Origin of the Female Species, The Theory of Everything; Taoyuan International Children’s Festival: The Wizards from Oz. As Director: Erth Visual & Physical Inc: Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo (China Tour). Television: Reef Break, Harrow, Top of the Lake: China Girl. Positions: Director, Contemporary Asian Australian Performance (CAAP) Directors Initiative. Awards: Matilda Award - Best Female Actor in a Leading Role Blue Bones; The Lord Mayor’s Award - Best New Australian Work Blue Bones.

Queensland Theatre: As Director: The Shot, Six Hundred Ways to Filter a Sunset, Riley Valentine and the Occupation of Fort Svalbard, Love and Information, Constellations (Queensland Theatre Senior Youth Ensemble 2017), This Hollow Crown. As Assistant Director: Twelfth Night, Much Ado about Nothing, Macbeth, Thom Pain (based on nothing). Other Credits: As Director: Grin and Tonic Theatre Troupe: Supernatural, Romeo and Juliet Must Die, Versus, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Warning Small Parts, I am Romeo and Juliet, Heart fail, Absurd, Epic; HotHouse Theatre: Between The Clouds, The Pyjama Girl, The Duck Variations, Macbeth; Metro Arts: Lazarus Won’t Get Out of Bed, Furious Angels; Backbone: A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Vena Cava: Oh The Humanity; Ignations: The Last Five Years. Positions: Associate Director, Queensland Theatre; Associate Director, HotHouse Theatre; Associate Director, Grin and Tonic Theatre Troupe.

Queensland Theatre: As Designer: Hydra, 600 Ways to Filter a Sunset, Constellations (Queensland Theatre Senior Youth Ensemble 2017).

As Assistant Designer: Twelfth Night, Scenes from a Marriage. As Design Assistant: An Octoroon. Other Credits: As Designer: Helsinki City Theatre: Mrs. Colonel, Woodlands Christmas, The Scapegoat; Bleach Festival 2018: Tide (with The Farm); La Boite Theatre Company: The Dead Devils of Cockle Creek, A Streetcar Named Desire; The Farm: Frank Enstein; Helsinki Theatre Academy’s Kookos Theatre: Platonov, They Shoot Horse’s Don’t They, Violent Society. As Costume Designer: The 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony: Birralee Voices, Many Lands, One Place; Bleach Festival 2018: Ninth Wave (with The Farm). As Assistant Designer: Helsinki City Theatre: Armi; Alexander Theatre: Antigone. Positions: Resident Designer, Queensland Theatre. Training: Master of Arts in Scenography (ongoing), Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture; Bachelor of Arts in Scenography, Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture (studies at QUT Creative Industries and Griffith University).

Ben Hughes LIGHTING DESIGNER

Queensland Theatre: 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: As Lighting Designer: The Danger Ensemble: Let Men Tremble, Caligula, The Wizard of Oz, Sons of Sin, Loco Maricon Amor, The Hamlet Apocalypse; La Boite Theatre Company: From Darkness, The Mathematics of Longing, A Streetcar Named Desire, Straight White Men (with State Theatre Company of South Australia), Snow White (with Opera Queensland & Brisbane Festival), Medea, Samson (with Belvoir), A Doll’s House, Cosi; Adelaide Festival: Two Feet; Opera Queensland: Don Giovanni; Sydney Theatre Company: Black is the New White; Expressions Dance Company: 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. As Associate Lighting Designer: Elision Ensemble: The Navigator; Meryl Tankard: The Oracle. Positions: Affiliate Artist (2014, 2011), Queensland Theatre; Resident Lighting Designer (2013), Queensland Theatre; Associate Artistic Director, The Danger Ensemble; Professional Member, Association of Lighting Designers; Accredited Member, Australian Production Design Guild. Awards: Groundling Award – Outstanding Contribution to Lighting Design.

Tony Brumpton

Megan Shorey

COMPOSER/ SOUND DESIGNER

VOCAL CONSULTANT

Queensland Theatre: As Sound Designer and/or Composer: City of Gold, The Wider Earth (with Dead Puppet Society), Tartuffe (with Black Swan State Theatre Company), Quartet, The Odd Couple, Grounded, Gasp! (with Black Swan State Theatre Company), The Mountaintop, Australia Day, Black Diggers (with Sydney Festival), Design For Living, Other Desert Cities (with Black Swan State Theatre Company) Managing Carmen (with Black Swan State Theatre Company), Tides, Pygmalion, No Man’s Land (with Sydney Theatre Company), Sacre Bleu!, Macbeth (with Brisbane Festival), Fat Pig, The Little Dog Laughed, The Crucible, God of Carnage (with Black Swan State Theatre Company), I Am My Own Wife, Private Fears in Public Places, Absurd Person Singular, The Removalists, Waiting for Godot, Hurry Up and Wait (with debase productions), Eating Ice Cream With Your Eyes Closed, Beckett x3, Maxine Mellor’s Mystery Project (with State Library of Queensland), Constellations (QT Youth Ensemble).

As Co- Sound Designer; Rice (with Griffin Theatre Company), The August Moon, Anatomy Titus Fall of Rome: A Shakespeare Commentary (with Bell Shakespeare Company), Stones in his Pockets. Other Credits: As Composer and/or Sound Designer: Dead Puppet Society: Mega Fauna, Laser Beak Man (with La Boite Theatre Company), The Harbinger, The Timely Death of Victor Blott; White Rabbit Theatre Company: The Grand; Centenary of Canberra Festival: Kungkarangkalpa (Seven Sisters Songlines), Brisbane Festival: Freeze Frame, King Here After; I-Pin Lin’s productions: Bamboo, Harmony, 4orces, 1984-2005; QUT Dance: Current, Accented Bodies, Altered States. As Director/Curator: Tone Black Productions: EETREE, The Abandoment of Memory; Vena Cava Productions: RABBAR; QUT: Let the Right One In, Birds Ate My Face, Fragments of a Hologram Rose, What Was Left (Draft 4), The Alice Project, Inferno. Positions: Affiliate Artist (2014), Associate Artist/ Head of Audio (2011), Emerging Artist (2010), Queensland Theatre; Resident Artist, Dead Puppet Society (2016); Founder, Tone Black Productions; Lecturer, QUT.

Queensland Theatre: As Vocal Consultant: Black Diggers. As Actor: Much Ado About Nothing. As Writer/Composer: Queensland Premier’s Drama Award 2014-2015 Finalist: One in Seven. As Musical Director: Saison De L’Amour (Youth Artists Ensemble). Other Credits: As Vocal Consultant: Second Chance Musicals: Bring Them Home; La Boite Independent: Hedonism’s Second Album. As Actor: Opera Queensland: Sweeney Todd; Noorderzon Festival/ European Tour: Us; National Playwright’s Festival: Handle With Care; Brisbane/Melbourne/Ballarat Cabaret Festival: Undies; Joymas Creative: THE25PROJECT, Just Like Breathing; JWCoCA: One in Seven. Awards: QNFA - Best Original Screen Music Blueberry Lane; Best Musical - 3 Kilos (Short Sweet & Song Sydney). Training: Bachelor of Music (Voice), Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University.

Nathalie Ryner COSTUME CONSULTANT Queensland Theatre: As Costume Designer: City of Gold. Other Credits: As Costume Designer: La Boite Theatre Company: From Darkness, Medea; Dance North: Surge; The Danger Ensemble: Caligula, Briefs: The Second Coming; Circa: Furioso. As Costume Supervisor: La Boite Theatre Company: A Doll’s House, Wizard of Oz, Holding the Man, Cosi; Bangarra: Blak; Polytoxic: The Rat Trap; QPAC: The Flying Orchestra, Cabaret.

As Costumier: Bazmark Productions: La Boheme; Opera Australia: Orpheus of the Underworld, The Pearl Fishers, Lucia di Lammermoor, Mikado. Film: As Costumier: Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure, The Frontier. Television: Hi-5. Positions: Costume Supervisor, Queensland Theatre. Awards: Matilda Award Nomination - Co-Design Caligula.

Training: Fashion Design Diploma, Ecole Jeoffrin Byrs International Paris; Diploma in Theatre Costume, Sydney Institute Tafe.

Yanni Dubler

Lucy Kelland

Penny Everingham

STAGE MANAGER

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER

TIRESIAS

Queensland Theatre: As Stage Manager: The Button Event. As Assistant Stage Manager: L’Appartement, Hydra, Nearer The Gods, Jasper Jones, St Mary’s in Exile, Brisbane. As Rehearsal Assistant Stage Manager: Black Diggers (2015 National Tour), Boston Marriage, Gloria. Other: Undercover Artist Festival (for Access Arts); Traction 2017: The Penultimate. Other Credits: As Stage Manager: Too Close to the Sun: The Bluebird Mechanicals, Queensland Ballet: The Little Green Road to Fairyland (2019 QLD Tour), The Nutcracker (2018), Prelude ’17, Kay & McLean Productions: North by Northwest (2018-19 Tour), George P. Johnson: Invictus Games Sydney 2018 Opening & Closing Ceremonies, La Boite Theatre Company: The Mathematics of Longing, Jack Morton Worldwide: GC2018 Commonwealth Games Opening & Closing Ceremonies, Brisbane Writers Festival, Australian Girls Choir, QPAC, Brisbane Powerhouse, Woodford Folk Festival, Collusion Music.

As Production Stage Manager - shake & stir theatre co: George’s Marvellous Medicine, Dracula. As Company Stage Manager - shake & stir theatre co: Dracula (2017 National Tour), George’s Marvellous Medicine (2016-17 Auckland & Sydney Tour), Tequila Mockingbird (2016 QLD Tour), Wuthering Heights (2016 National Tour), Revolting Rhymes & Dirty Beasts (2015 National Tour). As Assistant Stage Manager: Queensland Ballet: Coppelia. Positions: Production Assistant, Queensland Theatre (2014), Expressions Dance Company (2014).

Training: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical Production), QUT.

Penny Everingham, Travis Dowling

Queensland Theatre: Debut. Other Credits: As Assistant Stage Manager: QPAC: Armistice, The Arrival, The Spirit of Christmas; Jack Morton Worldwide: GC2018 Commonwealth Games Opening & Closing Ceremonies. As Stage Manager: QPAC: Various; Candy Shop Show: The Jazz Age, Sugar Sugar!, Up, Up & Away, Showstoppers; Pengelly Productions: The Lounge Suite; Brisbane City Council: Yum Chat, Amigurumi Toyland, Rhizome; Assembly Festival: Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Positions: Production Coordinator, Jack Morton Worldwide; Program Coordinator, Brisbane Festival.

Queensland Theatre: Once in Royal David’s City (with Black Swan Theatre), Pygmalion, The Crucible, Seedingbed, The Importance of Being Earnest, John Gabriel Borkman, The Venetian Twins, Phedra, Richard III (with Bell Shakespeare Company), Richard II, After the Ball, The Blood and Thunder Adventure of Hurricane Peak, XPO the Human Factor, Julius Caesar, Oedipus Rex, The Sit Com Festival. Other Credits: La Boite Theatre Company: The White Earth, Walking

by Apple Tree Park, Shock of The New; Queensland Performing Arts Centre: Riding the Winds of Change, The Hollow Crown; Creative Regions: It All Begins with Love; Force Majeure: The Age I’m In; Mog Roth: Richard III; Queensland Marionette Theatre: Gold; Marionette Theatre of Australia: Tintookies. Film: Nim’s Island, Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles, The Wilde Girls, A Ring of Endless Light, The Real Macaw. Short Film: Jack, Accolade. Television: The End, The Bureau of Magical Things, Hoges, Heartbeat, The Greater Plague, Jeopardy II, Consider Your Verdict.

Shubshri Kandiah ISMENE Queensland Theatre: Debut. Other Credits: The Walt Disney Company (Australia): Aladdin; Opera Queensland: The Pearlfishers; Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University: West Side Story, I Love You, You’re Perfect Now Change, The Life, Sweet Charity; QPAC: Spirit of Christmas; Queensland Pops Orchestra: Broadway and Beyond; Queensland Conservatorium: City Hall Concert.

Training: Bachelor of Musical Theatre, Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University; Certificate II in Musical Theatre, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

Kevin Spink, Christen O'Leary

Christen O’Leary

Kevin Spink

Jessica Tovey

CREON

HAEMON

ANTIGONE

Queensland Theatre: Twelfth Night, Scenes from a Marriage, Much Ado About Nothing, Ladies in Black, The Seagull, Gloria, End of the Rainbow, Bombshells, The Marriage of Figaro, The Game of Love and Chance, The Crucible, Seven Little Australians, The Cherry Orchard, A Month in the Country, Gilgamesh, The Woman Before, The Sunshine Club, Threepenny Opera, The Beaux Stratagem, Fuente Ovejuna. Other Credits: As Actor: La Boite Theatre Company: Blackrock, Medea, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Melbourne Theatre Company: Assassins, The Rover, Cosi, Wednesday to Come, Gift of Gorgon, Ruby Moon, Don Juan in Soho, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The World’s Wife, Urinetown, Hinterland, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Man the Balloon, Company, The Comedy of Errors, A Little Night Music; The Production Company: The Boy From Oz, High Society, Hello Dolly; Malthouse Theatre: Ruby Moon, Tear From a Glass Eye, The Goldberg Variations, Porn Cake, Goodbye Vaudeville Charlie Mudd; Sydney Theatre Company: Threepenny Opera. As Associate Director: QPAC/ Myths Made Here: Cinderella. Film: Australia Day, Pinch Me. Television: Hoges, Wentworth, Rush, Neighbours, Blue Heelers, MDA, Worst Best Friends, Crashburn, Seachange, State Coroner, Raw FM. Awards: Helpmann Award – Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; Gold Matilda Award – End of the Rainbow; Green Room Award – Best Female Actor in a Featured Role Company, A Little Night Music. Training: Diploma of Arts (Creative), USQ.

Queensland Theatre: Hydra, Twelfth Night, St Mary’s In Exile, Kelly (National Tour), Gloria, Macbeth.

Other Credits: The Good Room: Rabbit; Queensland Symphony Orchestra/4MBS: A Midsummer Night’s Dream; 23rd Productions: The Ugly One, My Night with Harold; La Boite Theatre Company: Colder; debase Theatre: Ithaca Road; Harvest Rain Theatre Company: The Awfully Big Adventures of Peter Pan; Imaginary Theatre: Tashi; The Forward Movement: Magda’s Fascination with Wax Cats; Three Sister Productions: Bronte; The Restaged Histories Project: The Last Days of the New Theatricals; Springboard Theatre: The Laramie Project; Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre: Dracula, Romeo & Juliet. Film: Celeste, The Contents, Down Under Mystery Tour. Short Film: Poster Boy, A Bus Knight, Doing Time, The Alpha, Cigarettes, Devasdating, A Better Man, Die Violin, A New You, Photo Booth, Backpackers. As Director/Writer: Emma. Television: Mako Mermaids, Parer’s War, Heartbeat. Narration: The Wildest Places (Discovery), How Trains Changed The World, The Fall Of Rome (History Channel), Root Cause (Netflix), An Everlasting Sunday (Penguin), The Boy At The Keyhole (Audible). Awards: Top Shorts - Best Narrative & Best Cinematography Emma; Matilda Award - Best Mainstage Gloria; Helpmann Nomination- Best Touring Production Kelly.

Queensland Theatre: Twelfth Night, Constellations.

Other Credits: Bell Shakespeare Company: The Miser, The Merchant of Venice; Melbourne Theatre Company: Double Indemnity; Q Theatre: Truck Stop; New Theatre: Seven Little Australians. Television: Bad Mothers, True Story With Hamish & Andy, Wolf Creek, Movie Juice, Wonderland, Mr and Mrs Murder, Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo, Cops Lac, Panic at Rock Island, Wicked Love, Rescue Special Ops, Dance Academy, Home & Away, Underbelly, Wicked Science. Film: Tracks, Lemon Tree Passage, Adore, Beast No More.

Awards: Logie Awards Nominations – Best New Talent, Silver Logie Actress; IF Award Nomination – Out of the Box.

Jessica Tovey

Thank you to our donors.

QUEENSLAND THEATRE VISIONARIES Rainmakers Tim Fairfax AC & Gina Fairfax Ian & Cass George The Jelley Family Foundation Artistic Director's Circle Doug Hall Foundation EM Jameson & AL Anderson Susan Learmonth & Bernard Curran Pamela Marx The Mather Foundation Liz Pidgeon & Graeme Wikman Bruce & Sue Shepherd Leaders $10,000+ 2 Anonymous Australian Communities Foundation - Keith & Jeannette Ince Fund Barbara Duhig Dr Anita Green John & Gay Hull Martin & Andrea Kriewaldt Cathryn Mittelheuser AM Dr Marie Siganto AM Benefactors $5,000+ 3 Anonymous Roslyn Atkinson AO & Richard Fotheringham AM Barbara Bedwell Michael & Anne-Maree Byrne Rachel Crowley Karla Fraser Ian & Ruth Gough Dr Geoffrey Hirst AM & Dr Sally Wilde Kim & Michael Hodge David & Katrina King Dr Joan Lawrence AM Colin & Noela Kratzing Andrew & Kate Lister Nigel & Liz Prior Greg & Wendy O'Meara John Reid AO & Lynn Rainbow-Reid AM Trevor St. Baker AO & Judith St. Baker

Queensland Theatre wishes to extend a heartfelt thanks to all our donors.

Each gift, large or small, helps us make great theatre.

Collaborators $2,500+ 2 Anonymous Libby Anstis & Neil Hampton Christopher & Margot Blue Sarah Bradley Sue Brown Dr John H Casey Barry & Faye Clark Mark & Joanne Darwin Anna & Bruce Davidson Helen Gough Justus & Tamara Homburg The Hudson Family Geoff & Michele James Amanda Jolly & Peter Knights Ross & Sophia Lamont Stephen & Terry Leach David & Erica Lee Tim Lucas Dr Lynne McKinlay The Merlo Family Charles & Catherine Miller The Nicklin Family John Richardson & Kirsty Taylor Sam Strong & Katherine Slattery Courtney Talbot Greg & ESally Vickery Margaret Williams Bruce & Jocelyn Wolfe Patrons $1,000+ 6 Anonymous J M Alroe William Ash & Margi Brown Ash Michael & Anne Back Tracey Barker Noela Bartlett Chris & Patricia Beecham Robert Bond Justice Thomas Bradley & Dr Matthew Yoong Lisa & William Bruce Dr Sheena Burnell M Cannon & J McCarthy Philip Carruthers & Sharni Cockburn ZoĂŤ Connolly Rodd & Wendy Chignell Ross & Tina Claxton Sheryl Cornack Angela Cornford-Scott Leone Costigan Kerry & Greg Cowderoy Bruce & Helen Cowley Malcolm & Margaret Davison Nick & Ali Dignan Andrew & Leonie Douglas Brad & Julie Farr Erin Feros Glennis Gill & John Swinson Alan Galwey William Glasson AO & Claire Glasson Dr Sara Gollschewski Louise M Gourlay OAM

Sue & Mike Gowan John Graham & Craig Syphers Tony Groom Alexandra Grove & Peter Dawson Catherine & Nanda Gulhane Sophia Hall Prof Lawrence Hirst Kevin & Joanne Holyoak Marc James Samantha & Darren Jansen Tempe Keune The Kirkwood Family Karen & Peter Lane Deni Leishman Barbara Lloyd John & Janice Logan Helen & Tim Longwill Marina Marangos In memory of Jann McCabe William McCarthy Sandra McCullagh John & Julienne McKenna Judith Mclean Mark Menhinnitt Andrea Moor Richard & Denise Morton Bruce & Irene Moy Debra & Patrick Mullins R & B Murray Kartini Oei Shay O'Hara-Smith Leanne O'Shea & Peter Gilroy Kim Parascos Jennifer Parker John & Mandy Peden D & I Perry-Keene Joanna Peters Katharine Philip Loretta Pierce Blayne & Helen Pitts Clare & David Pullar Diane Quinn Catherine Quinn Angela Ramsay Tim & Kym Reid Dale Ric-Hansen Margaret Ridley & Daryl Clifford Maryanne Russell Crispin Scott Maria Semit Antonia Simpson Steven Sorbello Ben & Janette Steinberg Dr Josephine Sundin Damien Thomson & Glenise C. Berry Ralph & Pierette Whiteside Suzanne & Bo Williams David Willamson AO & Kristin Williamson Dr Catherine Yelland Tony & Linda Young Marisa Zavattaro

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

SUPPORTING CAST $500+ 5 Anonymous Anne & Peter Allen Virginia Bishop Prof Aidan Byrne Peter Callaghan John & Lynnly Chalk Bob Cleland Dianne Eden OAM Judi Ewings Daryl & Trish Hanly Karen Heel Susan Mabin Fred & Margaret Leditschke Dr James Mackean Philip & Fran Morrison Denise O'Boyle Paddington Clinic In memory of David Page Diane & Robert Parcell Dee & Reny Rennie Wendy Peach Kevin Vedelago & Karen Renton Jacqui Walters Marian Wheeler Richard Whittington OAM Frederick N. Winter Ian Yeo & Sylvia Alexander LEGAL CHAPTER 1 Anonymous Michael & Anne Back Jennifer Batts Peter Bridgman & Susan Booth Michael & Anne-Maree Byrne Lee Clark Trent Forno H G Fryberg John & Lois Griffin Kim & Michael Hodge Barbara Houlihan Fleur Kingham John & Janice Logan Katrina Low & Ilan Klevansky Richard & Denise Morton Debra & Patrick Mullins Leanne O'Shea & Peter Gilroy John & Mandy Peden Peter G Williams Gadens Lawyers Herbert Smith Freehills King & Wood Mallesons TRUST AND FOUNDATION PARTNERS Australian Communities Foundation - Davie Family Fund Australian Communities Foundation Keith & Jeannette Ince Fund Tim Fairfax Family Foundation William Angliss (Queensland) Charitable Fund

THANK YOU for your GENEROSITY BELIEF PASSION CONVERSATION FRIENDSHIP TRUST & HEART The generous spirit of you, our donors, has supported half a century of theatre education, exploration and excellence.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for being by our side, this year and every other year.

We can’t wait to welcome you back to Queensland Theatre for our 50th Season in 2020.

For more information about our giving programs, please contact Director of Development Zoë Connolly on 07 3010 7602 or at zconnolly@queenslandtheatre.com.au

Member owned means:

More help for Queensland communities

Through the RACQ Foundation we can do more for our Queensland community and help out when times are tough.

Find out more at racq.com/foundation

Thanks to our sponsors & partners Government Partners

Principal Partner

Building Enhancement Partner

Trust and Foundation Partners

Presentation Sponsors

Print & Digital News Sponsor

Legal Partner

Season Supporters

International Airline Partner

Media Supporters

Season Sponsors

Education Supporter

Restaurant Partner

We’re for the best seats in the house.

CourierMail

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Phil Brown, Arts Editor

Take a bow for adding a bit of spice to the everyday.

Culture nurtures the spirit and the community.

At EY, we applaud Queensland Theatre, because we believe the arts are not an afterthought. They are the foundation for a richer life.

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PROUDLY SUPPORTING THE ARTS, ON AND OFF THE STAGE Media Super is proud to support Queensland Theatre’s Assistant Director’s Program.

Find out more 1800 640 886 mediasuper.com.au Issued September 2019 by Media Super Limited (ABN 30 059 502 948, AFSL 230254) as Trustee of Media Super (ABN 42 574 421 650). MSUP 55825

PATRON His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, Governor of Queensland MEMBERS OF THE BOARD Elizabeth Jameson (Chair) Rachel Crowley (Deputy Chair) Tracey Barker Simon Gallaher Angelina Hurley Susan Learmonth Dr Andrea Moor David Williamson AO ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Sam Strong EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Amanda Jolly RESIDENT DRAMATURG Isaac Drandic EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Donna Maher DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT Zoë Connolly SPECIAL PROJECTS Liz Prior PHILANTHROPY COORDINATOR Georgia Lynas DEVELOPMENT AND EVENTS COORDINATOR Felicity Clifford GRANTS AND COMMUNICATION COORDINATOR Hannah Barr FINANCE AND OPERATIONS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Valerie Tam ASSISTANT ACCOUNTANT Georgia Knight FINANCE OFFICER Sarra Lamb OPERATIONS AND FACILITIES MANAGER Julian Messer VENUE AND BAR COORDINATOR Kimberley Mogg

MARKETING AND TICKETING DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Laura Oliver MARKETING COORDINATOR Maneka Singh MARKETING ASSISTANT Cinnamon Smith MARKETING ASSISTANT (DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT) Thomas Manton–Williams GRAPHIC DESIGNER Aleesha Cuffe PUBLICIST Kath Rose and Associates DATABASE TRAINER / SUPERVISOR Rory Killen TICKETING SUPERVISOR Madison Bell TICKETING OFFICER Rosie Hazell BOX OFFICE Madeline Bassetti, Chantelle Giles, Ashley Webster SEASON TICKETING Alana Dunn, Matthew Filkins, PJ Ieremia PRODUCTION DIRECTOR, TECHNICAL AND PRODUCTION Toni Glynn TECHNICAL COORDINATOR Daniel Maddison TECHNICAL COORDINATOR Lachlan Cross DEPUTY PRODUCTION MANAGER Candice Schmidt HEAD OF WORKSHOP Peter Sands COMPANY CARPENTER / HEAD MECHANIST John Pierce COSTUME SUPERVISOR Nathalie Ryner WARDROBE COORDINATOR Barbara Kerr

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS QUT Creative Lab, Brisbane Concert Choir, QUT Aca-demics Choir, Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, Natasha Veselenovic, Briony Luttrell, Richard Grantham, Geoff Mcgahan, Ian Rendell, Jackson McGovern, Andrea Moor, Arianna Klarwein, Eugene Gilfedder, Jason Klarwein, Ngoc Phan, Veronica Neave, Jessica Tovey, Kevin Spink, Penny Everingham, Christen O’Leary.

REHEARSAL PHOTOGRAPHY Stephen Henry

PROGRAMMING DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING Sophia Hall ARTISTIC COORDINATOR Samantha French PRODUCER, NEW WORK Shari Irwin ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATOR Hana Tow ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATOR Danielle Shankey YOUTH, EDUCATION AND REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR, YOUTH, EDUCATION AND REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT Laurel Collins ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Travis Dowling EDUCATION COORDINATOR Emma Funnell PROJECT OFFICER Alana Dunn INDIGENOUS REFERENCE GROUP Nathan Jarro (Chair), Jimi Bani, Isaac Drandic, Angelina Hurley FOUNDING DIRECTOR AIan Edwards, AM, MBE (1925-2003) QUEENSLAND THEATRE PRODUCTION STAFF CARPENTER Jamie Bowman PROPS MAKER Alex Waaralinna SCENIC ARTIST Leo Herreygers CUTTER/COSTUME MAKER Michelle Wiki, Millie Adams COSTUME MAKER Hannah Beier COSTUME MAKER/MAINTENANCE Jack Parry HAIR STYLIST Rebecca Anthony SHOW RIGGER David Kay PRODUCTION ELECTRICIAN Ruth Luckins SOUND CONSULTANT/FOH ENGINEER Brady Watkins

Queensland Theatre is a member of the Australian Major Performing Arts Group.

Information correct at time of printing

We’re honouring our 50th season of stories by doing what we do best — putting on a show

50 years of theatre (in one night)

Join us for a unique evening, looking back at the plays, the personalities and the passions that have shaped the past 50 years.

celebration gala

celebration performances

Friday 8 May 7:30pm including postshow party with artists

Saturday 9 May 1pm and 7:30pm (performance only)

Tickets 1800 355 520

queenslandtheatre.com.au

Come and celebrate with us