NEWK! (The John Newcombe Story)
Tennis is one of the big entertainments for Melbourne at this time of year and one name rings louder in our memories of the sport than any other, and John Newcombe is that name!
Its 2014 and Newk is throwing a 70th birthday party and many of his old tennis mates and new are arriving peppered with the odd phone call from well-wishers that can’t make the festivities.
Barry Award nominee Damian Callinan (The Merger, Wine Bluffs, Swing Man), burst through the curtain and welcomes us warmly as the first arrivals and cheerfully regales us with the ultimate Cinzano mix to refresh our senses.
I loved the way Damian really struck a chord, dragging the almost sellout audience willingly into the story and as the performance continued the audience became ever more ready to feel a part of this show in the presence of the great man..
Award-winning Melbourne playwright, Kieran Carroll has really nailed this one, his NEWK! tells the story of the trials and tribulations of Newk’s career and his relationship, and the ultimate glories of his many successes. Kieran weaves the story between the emotional struggles after his father’s death, the love of his life and self-awareness as an aging player, smattered with belly laugh engendering moments as we recognize those images of Newk embedded on our sporting consciousness.
A wonderful one man show with perfect timing during the Oz Open, so get along to the Butterfly Club or The Kingston Centre to this rollicking journey through John Newcombe’s life!
Check out the links below for tonight’s and other performance dates.
https://thebutterflyclub.com/show/newk-the-john-newcombe-story
https://www.kingstonarts.com.au/PERFORMANCE/All-Performance/Newk
