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Our 2011 season of works will bring original material and fine acting
to a range of eclectic stages including two new full length Australian plays:
Toy Box by Paul Gilchrist and A Quiet Night in Rangoon by Katie Pollock
as well as a festival of solo performances Bare Boards Brave Heart.
subtlenuance will also co-present a dramatised reimagining
of our perceptions of Krill at the Antarctica Music Conference ANU
Toy Box
by Paul Gilchrist
produced at TAP Gallery, April 7 – 17 2011.
comedy plus tragedy equals family
    
 
“Fierce and darkly funny! The joy of Paul Gilchrist’s new play is that the examination is both witty and truthful, and the performances match the quality of the writing. Worthy and engaging independent theatre!” Stage Whispers
"drenched in an exceptional ability to observe human behaviour and thought....This play could be staged anywhere in the world and it will resonate with the audience." TicketStubbies
“FOUR stars out of FIVE!” Toy Box is a great opening salvo for the subtlenuance theatre 2011 season. …. Sarah Loxley is a continually engaging performer… Sylvia Keays was excellent. Her radiance on stage was refreshing and captivating.”
The Primate Perspective
"A sound ensemble performance draws this unnamed family well......Toy Box is a well drawn take on the most universal of themes....[it] forges a strong emotional connection" Time Out
“a penetrating interrogation…. jump in, close the lid and lose yourself in this moving tale.” (small)LUSTS
"informed by incisive observation, wry comment, wit and even wisdom...[a] world class script...poignant and credible performances" Crikey
“utterly relatable…….a darkly funny and engaging meditation on a subject that, sooner or later, many of us will have to confront. Sylvia Keays shines ” Alternative Media
“You hate family. What a thing to say! I hate our family.”
Liv, at twenty-four, has her whole life ahead of her. The last thing she wants is to start a family.
She’s too busy escaping the one she’s in.
Judith and Peter have three adult children. They’ve grown old waiting for them to grow up.
But when do you grow up?
When you become a parent?
Or when you lose one?
Both hilarious and heartbreaking, Toy Box is a bittersweet meditation on love, loss and the ties that bind.
Written and directed by Paul Gilchrist. With Jennie Dibley, Sylvia Keays, Dave Kirkham, Sarah Loxley, Chris Turner
Produced by Daniela Giorgi. Assistant Director Erica J Brennan. Stage Manager Annabelle Marieza. Design Brad Loxley.
BARE BOARDS BRAVE HEART
a festival of solo performances
produced at the Drill Hall 21 – 25 June 2011
An actor alone on a bare stage.
"Billed as 'six bold expeditions into the human heart, they more than suffice as such.
Sharks Can Smell Fear [is]a powerful metaphor….in the pairing of Sneddon and Carides, Rooke has found the most wonderful expression of her work.
The Line We Draw was written by Skye Loneragan and is performed by same. In a kind of acute free verse rendering that might’ve come from Shakespeare were he alive today and on uppers, Loneregan poses provocative questions, with the most vigorous, surefooted delivery imaginable……It’s powerful stuff, delivered with incisive wit and utterly compelling confidence.
It’s OK To Ask …Renee Lim excels and is spellbinding as a courageous paraplegic……Dance, Callow and Lim dance their way through this insightful, connective, deceptively short and sweet, but significant work.
So It’s That Kind Of Quest is fun and featherweight…It’s good-natured, entertaining and a ruthless parody…. Marie pulls it off with aplomb.Gilchrist and Giorgi rarely disappoint and, here, they’ve excelled themselves; in their own right, but also in showing, on the whole, profound programmatic
judgement.
I sure hope Bare Boards becomes a regular thing."
Crikey
“4 stars out of 5
It’s cold, it is bare and Artistic Director Paul Gilchrist was brave in staging this work ….. but it certainly paid off….. [Unsex Me] is a fantastic lyrical contemporary dance piece that evoked great emotion and commanded attention. ..Director Michael Imielski showed great creative vision….......Mark Konik’s script [From A Great Height] is light, funny and very true to life…Carson holds the audience in the palm of his hand and delivers a winning performance…......It’s OK to Ask is the stand out of the entire work… a stunningly emotive performance from Renee Lim.”
The Primate Perspective
“a slew of talented writers, directors and performers in a festival of solo performances…….The Line We Draw written and performed by Skye Loneragan was one that ticked all the boxes. Clever story and a great use of space…Nick Atkins’ acting is brilliant……a fabulous night of theatre.”
Ticket Stubbies
 
Production shots by Pollyanna Nowicki
subtlenuance joined with some of Sydney’s most exciting emerging and established artists to launch six solo flights of the imagination.
Whether hilarious or poetic, quirky or shocking, each was theatre stripped back to its essentials – extraordinary acting and writing. Each was simple in execution, precise in performance, and utterly engaging.
Sharks Can Smell Fear
By Alison Rooke directed by Zoe Carides performed by Bridgette Sneddon
So It’s That Kind Of Quest
By David Finnigan directed by Erica J Brennan performed by Corinne Marie
It’s Ok to Ask
By Carol Dance directed by Beverley Callow performed by Renee Lim
Unsex Me
Devised by Nick Atkins and Michal Imielski performed by Nick Atkins
The Line We Draw
Written and performed by Skye Loneragan
From a Great Height
By Mark Konik directed by Kai Raisbeck performed by Luke Carson
Artistic Director Paul Gilchrist
Producer Daniela Giorgi
Stage Manager Elly Goodman
ANTARCTICA MUSIC CONFERENCE
A Creative Arts Conference at The School of Music, ANU, Canberra, 27 - 29 June
Daniela Giorgi and Lisa Roberts (visual artist and animator) will present
Krill Looks and Feelers: Expanding perceptions, a dramatised reimagining of our perceptions of Krill.
  
(Drawings by Lisa Roberts)
Lisa is an animator and Daniela is a writer, actor and theatre producer. They will use animation, dance, images and words to show that krill are not mere drifters in the ocean but are purposeful, beautiful, playful and even sexy.
Lisa will play herself. Daniela will play marine scientist Steve Nicol.
The aim is to inspire new forms of communication that connect both artists and scientists and engage audiences with the effects of climate change.
The presentation is based on a paper co-authered by Lisa and Steve Nicol and two previous presentations in the Antarctic conference series, one by Steve Nicol in Christchurch, 2008 and the other by artist Judit Hersko in Hobart, 2010. See http://music.anu.edu.au/antarctica and www.AntarcticAnimation.com for more information about the Antarctic Conference and Lisa Roberts
A Quiet Night in Rangoon
by Katie Pollock
18th August - 10 September 2011
in association with The Spare Room at the New Theatre
“A Quiet Night in Rangoon by Katie Pollock is a new Australian play of some note and heralds for me a playwright I want to see more from. The talent scouts of the Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir St. and the Griffin ought to see this play and jump with enthusiasm at this interesting emerging talent….. Written with a heightened sense of reality and fascinating poetical gestures and daring characterisations the form of the piece is totally transgressive and thrilling….. Her control of her material and the explorations in the dramatic form of her storytelling modes is immensely impressive. Surprising, amusing and stimulating.”
Kevin Jackson’s Theatre Diary [kjtheatrereviews.blogspot.com]
“sections sing with an almost musical suppleness. Paul Gilchrist's production makes fluid the story's dislocations of time and place…. It is worthy, sometimes compelling theatre, highlighting an even worthier cause.”
Sydney Morning Herald [www.smh.com.au]
“While Pollock's play is grounded in history and the everyday it is quickly lifted out of docu-drama by bold theatricality…[she] has observed and crafted her characters with considerable humour and insight…The telling of the stories is rich and fascinating… Recommended.”
Stage Noise [www.stagenoise.com]
"This is an intimate story that weaves beautifully between the reality of personal freedom, spiritual cost and individual responsibility."
Sun Herald
“With a minimalist approach to the set and direction, director Paul Gilchrist has put his fine cast front and centre….letting the comic moments pierce through with a gentle truth….. it not only draws you in but educates, provokes thought and discussion. Important, political theatre that’s not clear-cut or moralising – a rare thing.”
5th Wall [5thwall.wordpress.com]
“subtlenuance would seem to be going from strength to strength. …. Pollock raises confronting spectres with implicit skill…standout performances from Benjamin, Buencamino, Dolloso and Williams. Strong stuff.”
Crikey [blogs.crikey.com.au]
“As personal as it is political, an intensely gripping new Australian play...Pollock spins her parallel plots with deft confidence….underscoring each scene with a touching, human sensibility, and occasional humour. Director Paul Gilchrist’s production is sparse, but effective, trusting his wonderful ensemble of actors to drive the narrative. As the independent, debut season of a brand new work, A Quiet Night in Rangoon shows extraordinary promise…..don’t be surprised if it gets a main-stage season sometime soon. In the meantime, it’s a rare chance to see a new Australian work in such great shape its first time out.”
Same Same [www.samesame.com.au]
"The strengths of this production lie in its well-drawn and developed characters. Each of these characters has a rock-solid inner truth... and is brought to the stage by actors who have carefully done their homework and weighed up the nuances required”
Australian Stage Online [www.australianstageonline.com.au]
Photography by Zorica Purlija
A Quiet Night in Rangoon
by Katie Pollock
"I opened my heart and they poured in their pain and their grief.
And I just knew this was going to make a great story."
RANGOON, Burma, 2007. Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is under arrest and the democratic movement has suffered years of brutal oppression. But the Saffron Revolution is about to shake the military dictatorship to its very core.
Australian playwright Katie Pollock explores with poetic vision the moral chaos of political engagement in this latest production by critically-acclaimed company subtlenuance.
Piper, an Australian journalist in Burma on a personal quest, senses the scoop of a lifetime. But when confronted by conflicting beliefs and threatened with death, she must ultimately choose between the victims and the spoils of this covert war.
Australian playwright Katie Pollock explores with poetic vision the moral chaos of political engagement.
Written by Katie Pollock
Directed by Paul Gilchrist
Produced by Daniela Giorgi
Assistant Director Georgia Symons
Set Design Chloe Lawrence-Hartcher
Lighting Design Liam O'Keefe
with
Shauntelle Benjamin
John Buencamino
Felino Dolloso
Aileen Huynh
Sonya Kerr
Kathryn Schuback
Barton Williams
 Paul Gilchrist is supported by the New South Wales Government through Arts NSW
If you would like information about Burma Campaign Australia
please visit www.aucampaignforburma.org
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