Media Kit: Season One (Apr-Jul) THE BLUE ROOM THEATRE

MEDIA RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SEASON & VENUE MEDIA CONTACT Tom Lawlor, Acting Marketing Manager [email protected] 08 9227 7005 // 0431 412 742

The Blue Room Theatre proudly announces a new season of seven shows; a snapshot of the best performing artists in WA presenting fresh ideas to diverse audiences.

For 25 years The Blue Room Theatre has been the home of independent theatre and performance in WA and has launched the careers of nationally and internationally renowned artists. This season, audiences are invited to come and experience what’s happening now.

APRIL

Uncle Jack - Featuring extracts from the real wartime journal of Lieutenant Colonel William (Bill) Lonnie C.V.O., C.B.E., M.C., this autobiographical account of the toll war takes on its veterans combines lyrical, poetic stories of war and tales of ANZAC bravery.

Elephents - The Last Great Hunt proudly presents its first full production, Elephents, a surreal soap opera with songs where people find the power to sing all the things they desperately want to say. Written by Jeffrey Jay Fowler and directed by Kathryn Osborne, the award winning creative team behind the Martin Sim award-winning work Minnie & Mona Play Dead.

MAY

Werewolf Priest! The Lamentable Tale of Father Hank Grimby – A foul beast lurks in the woods, attacking villagers and travellers at each full moon…. Combining special effects make-up with a wilfully wry story, sweeping songs and compelling characters, Werewolf Priest! is an extreme musical experience of cinematic proportions.

RabbitHead – Alone in a house, two girls celebrate each other’s birthdays. They have a visitor. He has the head of a rabbit and the body of a man. Sweet turns sour in Little y Theatre Co (Scent Tales, Second Hands) and whatshesaid’s RabbitHead, a dark comedy of strawberry jam, bloody hands and how hard it is to keep the past buried.

JUNE

3 Seeds - From the imagination of award-winning Australian–Sudanese playwright Afeif Ismail comes 3 Seeds, a trio of short plays. Embark on a compelling journey through the landscape of his imagination, an odyssey populated by humanity's absurdity that bridges Australian and African culture.

Giving Up The Ghosts – Based on real events this is a stark, emotionally charged account of what may be the last hours of two fatally entwined people, who meet in real life just two weeks after an online encounter.

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SEASON & VENUE MEDIA CONTACT Tom Lawlor, Acting Marketing Manager [email protected] 08 9227 7005 // 0431 412 742

JULY

Confessions Of A Pyromaniac - A young woman tries to escape her smouldering past in a town situated beyond the black stump. A startlingly original production about creating a new life to escape a dark past. Presented in association with Yirra Yaakin.

Get Involved Now.

We’re inviting audiences, old and new, to get involved and see this cross section of new, WA performance. Grab a drink at our bar, hang out afterwards and meet the artists. Discuss, debate and enjoy shows about you, created for you, by people just like you.

PUBLICITY CONTACTS

Uncle Jack [Apr 22 – May 10] Adrienne Downes / [email protected] / 0400 844 636

Elephents [Apr 29 – May 17] Jamie Breen / [email protected] / 0468 721 634

Werewolf Priest! [May 20 – June 7] Kimberley Fulton / [email protected] / 0478 044 861

RabbitHead [May 27 – June 14] Thom Smyth / [email protected] / 0416 002 560

3 Seeds [June 17 – July 5] Vivienne Glance / [email protected] / 0421 749 853

Giving Up The Ghosts [June 24 – July 12] Sandi Buckley / [email protected] / 0451 974 544

Confessions of a Pyromaniac [July 9 – July 19] Shakara Walley / [email protected] / 0458 162 946

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Uncle Jack A autobiographical celebration of our ANZACs.

The Blue Room Theatre & Ross Lonnie present Uncle Jack an autobiographical

account of the toll war takes on its veterans, combining lyrical, poetic stories of war

and tales of ANZAC bravery.

Told through the eyes of 17 year-old Doug who is sent by his stoic father to work

the land with Jack, a war veteran, during a harsh, hot summer.

An unlikely friendship develops between the 38 year-old battler of the bush and

bottle, and the curious, hormonally charged teen. Combining lyrical, poetic stories

of war and tales of Doug’s fathers’ bravery, Uncle Jack is a coming of age tale told

in perfect timing with the centenary of the ANZACs.

Featuring extracts from Lieutenant Colonel William (Bill) Lonnie C.V.O.,C.B.E.,M.C. real wartime journal, this snapshot of Australian wartime

history is an account of how storytelling and distance can change our perception of

the men we think we know.

Scriptwriter Ross Lonnie who is known for social comedies like 'Fancy Fare' has

written a dramatic play based on his father's diary. "My father's diary features throughout the play, constructing Uncle Jack's memory of brothels, donkey races and two-up schools with the stark and brutal reality of war."

Directed by PhD student Soseh Yekanians and accompanied by a budding cast

including WAAPA graduate Ben Hall, who is set to star in Les Miserables later this

year.

Proudly supported by RSLWA, this theatre performance is a prime opportunity to

reminisce with our Australian wartime veterans.

Don't miss this opportunity to celebrate our ANZAC heroes!

UNCLE JACK 22 April - 10 May

7.00pm, Tues - Sat THE BLUE ROOM THEATRE

Perth Cultural Centre, Northbridge Bookings/info: Blueroom.org.au

// 08 9227 7005

Media Contact Adrienne Downes

[email protected] // 0400 844 636

High Res Images & Comps Available

MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jamie Breen 0468721634 [email protected] The Blue Room Theatre and The Last Great Hunt present

Elephents April 29 – May 17 | The Blue Room Theatre

Perth, Western Australia, 19 March 2014 – The Last Great Hunt proudly presents its first full production, Elephents, a surreal soap opera with songs where people find the power to sing all the things they desperately want to say. Written by Jeffrey Jay Fowler and directed by Kathryn Osborne, the award winning creative team behind the Martin Sim award-winning work Minnie & Mona Play Dead.

Some people talk too loud, or sing off key. Some people are bad cooks or never look clean. Some people are lousy in bed. Sometimes someone thinks they’re getting away with an affair, but everyone knows. Everyone. And of course, some people are jerks without ever knowing it. Is there something about everyone that is always seen but never mentioned? Something about you?

In Tuskville there is an elephant sleeping in every bedroom, hiding in every basement and perching on every street post. Roger is an aspiring but talentless songwriter. Horton spends millions renovating while his partner knocks on doors for charity. Flora is trying to reincarnate her grandmother. With her own womb.

“I’m fascinated by the taboo that stops people from pointing out other people’s obvious flaws and how people delude themselves into thinking that they don’t have these flaws” says writer Jeffrey Jay Fowler. Director Kathryn Osborne says “Jeffrey and I are excited to be collaborating on this new project after the success of Minnie and Mona Play Dead last year. It’s fascinating to look at why people can’t or won’t speak the truth to each other.”

ELPHENTS

Season: April 29 – May 17

All shows: 8.30pm

The Blue Room Theatre

Booking/info: http://www.blueroom.org.au / 08 9227 7005

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Jamie Breen

0468721634

jamie@thelastgreathunt

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ABOUT THE COMPANY

The Last Great Hunt is a new independent theatre company formed by seven of Western Australia’s best young theatre-makers. We are dedicated to creating original theatre in a variety of forms and styles. Our core collective of artists is: Adriane Daff, Arielle Gray, Chris Isaacs, Gita Bezard, Jeffrey Jay Fowler, Kathryn Osborne, and Tim Watts.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

JEFFREY JAY FOWLER – WRITER / PERFORMER

As Mythophobic Productions, Jeffrey Jay Fowler has written and directed: The Rusalka Thread, Zen’s Red Mouth, Hope is the saddest, History of Drinking, and Second Hands. Jeffrey was recently appointed as the Associate Director for Black Swan State Theatre Company.

KATHRYN OSBORNE – DIRECTOR

In 2007 Kathryn co-founded The Duck House theatre ensemble. She directed and produced almost every Duck House show including The Oresteia, Oscar, The Swallow-tailed Coat, The Bearskinner, Acts of Undressing, A Disappearing Act, They Ran ‘til They Stopped, One Night Echo and Minnie & Mona Play Dead.

ADRIANE DAFF – DEVISOR / PERFORMER

Adriane has performed in many main-stage productions including Black Swan State Theatre Company’s: Death of a Salesman, The Importance of Being Earnest, Arcadia, The White Diver’s of Broome, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Boundary Street and The Crucible. As part of Side Pony Productions, she has co-created and performed in Motor City Blues, Scarecrow, The Manic Pony, The Pride and The Wives of Hemingway.

GITA BEZARD – DEVISOR / PERFORMER

Gita was a co-founder of The Duck House where she was a writer and performer. Her writing credits include: Oscar, They Ran ‘til they Stopped and One Night Echo. As a performer, her credits include: A Disappearing Act, Acts of Undressing, The Bearskinner, The Oresteia and Minnie & Mona Play Dead.

PETE TOWNSEND – PERFORMER

In one of his more recent works, Pete played a charming serial killer in Hellie Turner’s black comedy, Mad Fred, which premiered at The Blue Room Theatre. Before that, he’s indulged in roles from a socially inept mad scientist in The Zombie Bride, to a war traumatized general in Illyria. A jazz inspired pianist of 16 years, Pete composes scores for his own shows, appearing as the narrator and live accompanist for The Musical Memoirs of Rumplestiltskin, which premiered at The Blue Room Theatre for Fringe World 2014.

MEDIA RELEASE // Embargo: April 2, 2014.

PERTH PLAYWRIGHT DELIVERS BLOODY GOOD THEATRE WHEN THE MOON IS FULL WEREWOLF PRIEST, THE LAMENTABLE BALLAD OF FATHER HANK GRIMBY 22 MAY – 7 JUN, THE BLUE ROOM THEATRE An original stage musical that spins the yarn of Huntersville, a small hamlet rotting from the inside out where a foul beast lurks in the woods, attacking villagers and travellers at each full moon. Its only shining light is Father Hank Grimby, a pious young man torn between his vows to God and his love for Brooke Gainsborough, the Mayor’s daughter. But Brooke is to be married to George Waggner, a somewhat-renowned explorer of the world… and as the town priest, it falls on Hank to perform the ceremony. Unfortunately for our ecclesiastical hero, he has fallen victim to the evil that stalks Huntersville, and will become a havoc-wreaking creature of the night at the next full moon. Such is the tale set to unfold on The Blue Room stage this May. Written by Perth playwright Levon J Polinelli, Werewolf Priest! The Lamentable Ballad of Father Hank Grimby is an original musical exploration of faith put to the ultimate test. “It’s a macabre and thoroughly entertaining piece” says Pollinelli of his first foray into writing and directing for the stage. “If Sweeny Todd and The Wolfman had a love child, this is what you’d get.” With an original musical score composed by Western Australian musician Ash Greig and a stylistic design by recent WAAPA graduate, Reece Scott, Werewolf Priest is set to challenge the limitations of the traditional musical. Werewolf Priest! The Lamentable Ballad of Father Hank Grimby opens Thursday 22 May and runs until Saturday 7 June. On Saturday May 28 a special ‘Meet The Artists’ session will be held after the show. Tickets are available via The Blue Room theatre website as of April 3, 2014: blueroom.org.au

Kimberley Fulton Publicist - Show Pony Event & Media Management (+61) 0478 044 861 // [email protected]

Media Release

PERTH WRITER AFEIF ISMAIL BRINGS THE VOICE OF NORTH AFRICA TO THE BLUE ROOM THEATRE

From the imagination of award-winning Australian–Sudanese playwright, Afeif Ismail, comes 3 Seeds, a trio of short plays to be presented at the Blue Room Theatre 17 June – 5 July 2014.

Blending spoken word, image-based theatre and rambunctious African street performance, 3 Seeds takes audiences on an odyssey that crosses theatrical forms and bridges Australian and African culture.

Audiences are offered a captivating mix of established and emerging performing artists, including Violette Ayad (winner of the Woodside Emerging Artist Award 2014), Maitland Schnaars (Best Indigenous Male Artist 2003), and Kevin Mararo Wangai (Stages WA Groundfloor program), with Melbourne-based director Jeremy Rice (Apocalypse Perth, The African Magician), returning to WA for the production.

“Completely serendipitously, we have one the most culturally diverse ensembles of local artists to perform in the Blue Room – Anglo-Indian, Croatian, Egyptian-Lebanese, Kenyan, Noongar, Singaporean, and Sudanese,” says director, Jeremy Rice.

Originally written in Arabic, the three plays have been ‘transcreated’ into English by Afeif and his collaborator Vivienne Glance, a unique process that retains the energy and poetry of the original text.

In Godot’s Labyrinth is a spoken-word performance, filled with angry politics and wry humour, reminiscent of Green Day’s American Idiot. In Why Rats Live Under Our Roof, an African folk tale is given a burlesque vaudeville treatment. The final play, One Seed, is image theatre with a shocking finale.

3 Seeds by Afeif Ismail; transcreated from Arabic by Vivienne Glance & Afeif Ismail; directed by Jeremy Rice, sound by Joe Lui, design by Cherie Hewson, music by Rabie Abdelmajed; performed by Violete Ayad, Paul Grabovac, Janice Lim, Maitland Schnaars, Verity Softly, Kevin Mararo Wangai, Brianna Williams

Publicity contact:

Vivienne Glance – 0421 749 853 / [email protected]

3 SEEDS - Media Release

COMPANY PERSONNEL

Afeif Ismail – Playwright and Co-transcreator

Afeif is an internationally published poet and playwright. His career highlights include his work being presented at the One Theatre World Conference, Cleveland USA, at the International Theatre Festival SCHÄXPIR, Linz, Austria, and at the NYU International Forum on Theatre for Young Audiences, New York USA.

Plays produced in Perth include Son of the Nile (dir. David Moody) and The African Magician (dir. Jeremy Rice). The Shrouds or the Dead was selected for the WA

Theatre Development Initiative and The Son of the Sun was selected for Playwriting Australia’s National Script Workshop. In 2007 Afeif was nominated for the Kit Denton Award for Courage in Writing and, in 2008, awarded the inaugural Playwriting Australia Bursary.

[Image: Vivienne Glance, Jeremy Rice and Afeif Ismail at Playwriting Australia National Script Workshop in Canberra, 2007] Vivienne Glance – Co transcreator Vivienne worked with Afeif to transcreate his plays and poems from Arabic into English. She enjoys the “slipperiness of language” and the challenges in finding a word or phrase with the equivalent meaning. Vivienne is a playwright and poet in her own right and has had plays produced around the world.

Jeremy Rice – Director

Jeremy Rice is a wandering theatre and TV director, currently based in Melbourne. His previous work at the Blue Room includes Apocalypse Perth by Kate Rice and Short Four Play by Damon Lockwood. Jeremy has directed theatre companies and productions in Darwin, Munich, Perth and Sydney and directed TV for Seven, Nine, Ten and SBS.

Rabie Abdelmajed – Composer

Rabie is a composer, singer and songwriter. He studied at Sudan University of Science and Technology, School of Music and Drama and is a founding member of Sudanese Musical and Vocal Group, ‘Sawra’. Rabie works as a director at Sudanese National T.V.

Joe Lui – Sound Designer

Joe is a founding member and the creative leader of Renegade Productions. Within its aegis he creates, writes, directs, designs and composes theatre and performance works. Renegade Productions has earned success and recognition in the independent theatre sector of Perth as a company that creates thought provoking, socially conscious work that pushes the boundaries of both form and content. Joe is also a regular and contributing part of the professional and independent theatre industry in Perth as a sound designer/composer, director and lighting designer.

Cherie Hewson – costume designer

Cherie is both a designer and maker of costumes, specialising in the use of new fabric technologies – such as direct digital printing – and using non-clothing materials such as plastics, glass and toys in her

3 SEEDS - Media Release

creations. She has over ten years experience as costumemaker and wardrobe coordinator for Barking Gecko, Spare Parts, Yirra Yaakin, deckchair theatre and Burswood theatres. Recent construction and designs: I Honestly Love You (New York and Edinburgh Fringe 2013) Desperately Young at Heart (winner, WA Cabaret Award 2014), Diva (winner, WA Editors Award 2014)

Violette Ayad – performer

Winner of the 2014 Fringe World Emerging Artist Award with her one-woman show My Father's World, Violette is a young, emerging performer with a natural presence and an open, intelligent approach to her work. Her sense of adventure and eagerness to grow as an artist has lead her to seek out exciting opportunities where ever she goes. Whilst completing her BA in Performance Studies at Curtin University, Violette was heavily involved in the Hayman Theatre Company, performing in a wide-variety of productions, gaining experience in all aspects of theatre making and broadening her skills.

In 2012, Violette attended a three-month Conservatory program at The Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York, satisfying both her desire for intensive acting training and her love for travel.

Paul Grabovac – performer

Paul has been performing in the local and national scene for over ten years. As a founding member of Renegade Productions, he has performed on such shows as “The Tribe”, “Book of Death”, and “Stratagem of the Interlocking Rings”. He is now spreading his metaphoric, albeit beautiful wings by working on ‘3 Seeds’. “Grabovac is an unusual actor, so straightforward and apparently artless he can initially be disconcerting, but so honest and courageous you learn to admire him”- David Zampatti The West online.

Janice Lim – performer

Janice Lim is a trained actor, journalist and coffee drinker. Other noteworthy traits include her unswerving loyalty to knitting and her tendency to explode in high-pitched noises for no reason whatsoever. She has been acting for over 10 years now, having trained both in Singapore and in Perth. She hopes one day to combine her passion of equal rights for all with her love for the stage.

Maitland Schnaars – performer

Maitland Schnaars is a graduate from the Certificate III Theatre and Certificate IV Acting for Camera from WAAPA (Western Australian Academy Performing Arts) 2003 & 2004 respectively. In 2003 he won the Western Mining Corp award for Best Indigenous Male Artist. From 2004-2006 he studied Contemporary Performance at Edith Cowan University. In 2005 he co-founded the international theatre company Corazon de Vaca. In 2007 Corazon de Vaca were the first theatre company in Perth to stage a play by the English playwright Sarah Kane (Phaedra’s Love). In 2008 Corazon de Vaca were

commissioned to create a new work to be premiered at the World EXPO in Zaragoza, Spain.

3 SEEDS - Media Release

Verity Softly – performer

Verity graduated from Curtin University in 2011 with a BA in Performance. Whilst studying, Verity had the opportunity to work with some of the best directors and artists in Australia, and worked on over 20 productions both as an actor and director. Since graduating, Verity has been fortunate enough to work on some of the best new theatre in Perth, including Little y Theatre Company's 'Glengarry Glen Ross' at The Blue Room. Her work with The Cutting Room Floor has led to full houses and critical success both in Perth and Melbourne with 'Poly', in which she acted and co-wrote, and a sell-out

season at Perth Fringe World in 2014 with 'All The Single Lad(ie)s'. Verity couldn't be happier to return to The Blue Room in '3 Seeds'.

Kevin Mararo Wangai – performer

Kevin says “I am an African, a playwright, and a media graduate with a passionate interest in multiple forms of story telling. I believe in the strength and importance of story telling as an intimate and constructive approach to subjects. I am mostly attracted to stories which address societal issues, and the many challenges that humanity encounters in the current state of world affairs.”

Brianna Williams – performer

Brianna has been performing from a young age, getting her start in musical theatre and completing the Certificate II course at WAAPA in 2006. Since then, Brianna has turned to improvisational comedy, and performs regularly at The Big HooHaa, as well as in a variety of improvised formats such as Shakesprovisation, Any Broadway-You-Want, Free Love Impro and in the sci-fi improvised serial Captain Spaceship. She performed in the award-winning cabaret An Evening Wasted, and in 2012, represented Western Australia in the Theatresports National Championships. She was also lucky enough to be invited to perform in

Jeff Hiller's Bacchanalia in the New York Musical Improv Festival. Brianna can most recently be seen as Joan in the web-series The Coin Show for Lotterywest.

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Two girls. One house. One partycrasher won’t take no for an answer.

This is rabbithead. From director Ian Sinclair (The Little Mermaid, Birdboy, Adam & Eve) and producer Georgia King (Scent Tales, Second Hands, Glengarry Glen Ross), this new work presented by Little y Theatre in collaboration with emerging company whatshesaid premieres at The Blue Room Theatre from 27 May 2014. Two girls are alone in a house the same as the one next door and the one next to that. They create a sugarcoated world of high teas, high hopes and high morals. Behind closed doors and drawn shades, their make-believe world begins to unravel. The line between imagination and reality blurs. It’s all fun and games, until Rabbithead arrives to even the score. Fringe World Emerging Artist Award winner Violette Ayad (My Father’s World) is joined by Holly Garvey (Second Hands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Home) in this deliciously dark tale that’s more Snow Town than Snow White. The Blue Room Theatre, Little y Theatre Co + whatshesaid present

27 May – 14 June The Blue Room Theatre Tickets/info blueroom.org.au Media Contact | Thom Smyth [email protected] 0416 002 560

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GIVING UP THE GHOSTS – THE BLUE ROOM THEATRE, JUNE 24 – JULY 12 2014

‘In two hours we’ll be dead. What do you want to talk about?’

As part of the new Season at The Blue Room Theatre, Giving Up The Ghosts, the premier show by Owl Productions, is a provocative new theatre work from an exciting emerging talent which imagines the final hours of two fatally entwined lives. Written by Sarah Young and directed by Joe Lui, the show features Georgia King and Paul Grabovac.

The play centres on Steve and Ruth who find each other on an internet forum. A week later, after meeting each other face-to-face for the first time, they drive together to a secluded place; a place where they won’t be found, where they are safe to prepare for what is to come.

A prescient and delicate examination of two lost souls who challenge and defy each other in an attempt to define what may be their final minutes. This meditative, sharp vignette is filled with thought, intelligence and a version of reality some would rather not see.

Owl Productions are exposing the norms and mores behind subjects that are often taboo in public. The company is dedicated to creating new work and developing new stories whilst also developing the skills of new artists. Created for the common goal of presenting fresh new voices to the stage, Owl productions hopes to provide a new voice to the Theatre in Western Australia and further afield.

Giving Up The Ghosts The Blue Room Theatre, 53 James St, Northbridge June 24 – July 12. All shows 8.30pm. Shows at 6pm and 8.30pm on July 12. Booking info: www.blueroom.org.au / 08 9227 7005 For Media Enquiries: Sandi Buckley // [email protected] // 0451 974 544

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CONFESSIONS OF A PYROMANIAC – THE BLUE ROOM THEATRE – JULY 9 – 19 2014

A startlingly original production about creating a new life to escape a dark past.

Presented in association with Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company, Confessions of a Pyromaniac is the final show as part of The Blue Room Theatre’s new April – July season. Written by Matthew Cooper and directed by Shakara Walley, the show centres on Karla, a recovering pyromaniac with a twitch.

Out in the beyond, Karla is ready for a new beginning. Moving in with her brother Yabu and his girlfriend Brooke might fuel the fresh start she’s been hoping for.

Yabu wants to reconnect with his sister and find out more about the mother he never knew. Brooke wants to ignite her relationship and be an understanding, supportive girlfriend but she continually finds herself lost in translation.

CONFESSIONS OF A PYROMANIAC

July 9 – July 19 The Blue Room Theatre, 53 James St, Northbridge July 9 – Jul 19. All shows 7pm. Booking info: www.blueroom.org.au / 08 9227 7005 FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Shakara Walley. [email protected] / 0458 162 946