Trolley Boys at !Metro Arts Sue Benner Theatre

Trolley Boys

Black Light brings Alex Cullen’s Trolley Boys to Metro Arts from 24 November until 4 December as part of the 2010 Allies program.

Trolley Boys has been developed by Queensland Theatre Company’s 2010 emerging director/dramaturg Melanie Wild. Now, in its Queensland Debut, Trolley Boys is set to carry the laughs through to the car park as trolley boys Todd and Dirk embark on an adventurous quest to prove their worth.

On the cusp of Dirk’s 21st birthday, Todd knows that Dirk will soon be replaced with some pimply faced trolley pusher who costs half as much to employ. All he wants is to keep working with his friend. After all, if Dirk’s gone who will he play bumper-trolleys with?
What both boys lack in brains they make up in balls.  When the hot-to-trot security guard Nivek shares a secret which could save their jobs; both boys venture blindly into the swamp behind the shopping centre. Will they make it out alive? Or will they be gobbled up by the creatures that lurk in the mangled trolleys before they can complete their quest?

Writer Alex Cullen is not a trolley boy. She is a girl who was inspired to write about them when she read that two trolley boys had been fired due to their fast approaching 21st birthdays. Aiming to create a theatrical experience that her friends (boys who liked video games not the performing arts) would enjoy, what has developed is a playful, surprising piece of theatre that captivates in its originality and suspends time with its silliness.
A graduate of the NIDA playwriting course, Alex Cullen began writing Trolley Boys while participating in Playwriting Australia’s graduate program during the National Script Workshop. As one of four young playwrights selected to participate in the event, Alex was introduced to emerging director/dramaturg Melanie Wild and together they explored the seven page beginnings, inspiring Alex to write a full-length script upon completion of the workshop.
Director Melanie Wild says “I have been working on the play so long as a dramaturge that I really wanted to see the play through to a production. I like the fact that the play is entertaining and isn’t trying to be educational or experimental but just really trying to give people a good night out in the theatre.” As a director and dramaturg, Melanie is currently an artist in residence with Playlab and has worked with La Boite, Queensland Theatre Company, Playwriting Australia, ATYP and Backbone Youth Arts.

Writer: Alex Cullen
Director: Melanie Wild
Sound Designer: Phil Slade
Lighting Designer: Jason Glenwright
Assistant Director: Haley Milner
Cast Includes: Amelia Dowd, Blake Laburniy, Toby Martin, Nick Newth, Chris Vernon, Kyle Walmsley

Bookings:  (07) 3002 7100, www.metroarts.com.au
Tickets: $20 (Adults), $16 (Concession), $12 (Cheap Tuesday and groups of 10 or  more)

Furious Angels

A one-man tour de force set within the confines of a decaying 1930s mental asylum, Furious Angels is a piercing new work from rising Queensland playwright David Burton  (April’s Fool) and director Travis Dowling  (Lazarus Won’t Get Out of Bed).

With the doors of his asylum facing closure, head physician Dr Aintel is in no position to face the disruptive challenge of another new charge, the charming yet confounding Will. Watching on, as Aintel grapples to maintain power over his asylum, patients and nurse Lenore, is Dizzy, a patient-come-prophet suffering from visions of history and the terrifying future which approaches.

Daniel Mulvihill (Toy Symphony, 25 Down) splits himself between the five inhabitants of Furious Angels’ fragile, and at times, darkly amusing world to create a theatre experience both electrifying and moving.

Written by David Burton
Directed by Travis Dowling
Starring Daniel Mulvihill
Lighting Design by Ben Hughes
Sound Design by Kylie Morris

!Metro Arts Sue Benner Theatre

AUSLAN Interpreted Performance: Thursday 11 November

Cheap Tuesdays: $12 at the door (no bookings)
Season: Wed 3 – Sat 20 November 2010

Preview: 7:30pm Tue 2 November 2010

Opening: 7:30pm Wed 3 November 2010

Artist Talk: Wed 10 November 2010

When: Wed – Sat: 7:30pm

Where: Sue Benner Theatre

Tickets: Adults $20/ Conc. $16/ Preview $12/ Group (10+) $12

Bookings: (07) 3002 7100

Empire Theatre Toowoomba

7.30 pm Thu-Fri 25-26 November 2010

Bookings: 1300 655 299

Got any BITS to share?

The BITS festival is an open access, non-curated weekend event held in Brisbane from November 26-28 for independent theatre makers to showcase their work.

BITS is calling proactive artists to present bits of their work, which could take the form of a completed performance, extract or scene from a past or future planned production, work in progress, workshop, demonstration, exploration of an idea in public, or simply a discussion of an idea.  BITS welcomes any type of act including, but not limited to, traditional theatre, song, dance, circus, burlesque, cabaret and improvisation works.

There is no selection process for BITS. Acts will be assigned a time slot at one of our amazing venues.  Participants will have information about their acts featured in BITS advertising and programme literature.

NEW TO BITS THIS YEAR – QUICK BITS 48 HOUR CHALLENGE!

Participants in QUICK BITS 48 HOUR CHALLENGE will be given a stimulus and asked to formulate a piece within 48 hours.  Acts will be presented prior to the BITS wrap party to be held at Tribal theatre.
We want you to show us your best bits at BITS festival 2010. For more information on BITS Festival please visit www.bitsfestival.com

It only hurts when you laugh (Review) ‘Synecdoche 3 Sisters’ at !Metro Arts

Nicole Bilson (Irina): Matthew Williamson Photography

Bringing a Chekhov play to the stage is not an enterprise for the faint-hearted. Deciding to adapt The Three Sisters (1900-01), one of the undisputed masterpieces of modern realist drama, takes bold vision and the wherewithal to manifest it. I’ve been mulling why this production titled Synecdoche 3 Sisters (‘synecdoche’ meaning ‘shared understanding’) by Side Effect Theatre as part of !Metro Arts 2010 Indie program, didn’t work for me as it might have. Continue reading “It only hurts when you laugh (Review) ‘Synecdoche 3 Sisters’ at !Metro Arts”