A Quiet Night
in Rangoon
by Katie Pollock
18 August - 10 September 2011 New Theatre
With Shauntelle Benjamin, John Buencamino, Felino Dolloso,
Aileen Huynh, Sonya Kerr, Kathryn Schuback, Barton Williams
Director: Paul Gilchrist
Producer: Daniela Giorgi
Set Design: Chloe Lawrence-Hartcher
Lighting Design: Liam O’Keefe
I just opened my heart and they poured in their pain and grief.
And I just knew this was going to make a great story.
Rangoon, Burma, 2007
The Saffron Revolution is about to jolt the military dictatorship out of decades of complacency, and Piper, an Australian journalist, senses a career making scoop.
Confronted by opposing beliefs and threats of detainment and death, she is ultimately forced to choose between the victims and the spoils of this covert war.
Australian playwright Katie Pollock explores with poetic imagination the moral chaos of political engagement.
"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
"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
"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
"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
“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
"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"
Same Same
"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
Bare Boards Brave Heart
A Multi-playwright Project
21 - 25 June 2011 The Drill Hall
Sharks Can Smell Fear
by Alison Rooke
directed by Zoe Carides
performed by Bridgette Sneddon
The Line We Draw
written and performed by Skye Loneragan
Unsex Me
devised by Nick Atkins and Michal Imielski
performed by Nick Atkins
From a Great Height
by Mark Konik
directed by Kai Raisbeck
performed by Luke Carson
It’s Ok to Ask
by Carol Dance
directed by Beverley Callow
performed by Renee Lim
So It’s That Kind Of Quest
by David Finnigan
directed by Erica J Brennan
performed by Corinne Marie
Written, directed and performed by various artists
Artistic Director: Paul Gilchrist
Producer: Daniela Giorgi
Stage Manager: Elly Goodman
"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
Toy Box
by Paul Gilchrist
6 - 17 April 2011 TAP Gallery
With Jennie Dibley, Sylvia Keays, Dave Kirkham,
Sarah Loxley, Chris Turner
Director: Paul Gilchrist
Assistant Director: Erica Brennan
Producer: Daniela Giorgi
Set Design: Brad Loxley
Stage Manager: Annabelle Marieza
“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.
"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...
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" Alt Media
Photo Credits: A Quiet Night in Rangoon, Zorica Purlija; Bare Boards Brave Hearts, Pollyanna Nowicki; Toy Box, Daniela Giorgi