Announcement
Poppy Seed Theatre Festival
8 November – 11 December 2016
poppyseed.net.au
Nurturing and championing tomorrow’s tall poppies
Riding the successful wave of last year’s festivities, the second Poppy Seed Theatre Festival continues to provide a unique proposition to theatre makers by embracing the development of some of the best Melbourne-based independent artists to present the premiere of four ambitious new works over five weeks from 8 November – 11 December 2016.
The selected new works and companies featured in this year’s Poppy Seed Theatre Festival include:
Blessed – Attic Erratic
LadyCake – Three Birds Theatre
What’s Yours Is Mine – Hotel Now
F. – Riot Stage
Poppy Seed Theatre Festival co-director, Scott Major, explains “We are enormously proud to back the vision of the 2016 festival ensemble featuring a wonderfully diverse and exciting group, including Attic Erratic, Three Birds Theatre, Hotel Now and Riot Stage. They are all tenacious, dedicated to their work, have enormous respect for each other and a solid commitment to the festival model.”
More than just a presentation of theatre performances, the Poppy Seed Theatre Festival invests financially and artistically to nurture selected independent artists by providing support through mentoring, professional development, workshops and seminars in marketing and publicity, promotion, budgeting and touring.
In the current climate of uncertainty in the creative sector with limited funding opportunities, the Poppy Seed Theatre Festival stands as a beacon of hope for the future development of Melbourne’s independent theatre scene and fills the gap left by other similar projects that have recently left the Melbourne landscape.
“Poppy Seed Theatre Festival is ultimately about collaboration, building capacity and supporting Melbourne’s artistic future. We want to help create sustainability for artists in the industry and to contribute to the longevity of the creative sector,” Major said.
Poppy Seed Theatre Festival
8 November – 11 December 2016
9 Nov Festival gala (The Coopers Malthouse)
8 – 20 Nov Blessed – Attic Erratic (The Coopers Malthouse, The Tower)
15 – 27 Nov LadyCake – Three Birds Theatre (Trades Hall, New Ballroom)
22 Nov – 4 Dec What’s Yours Is Mine – Hotel Now (The Butterfly Club)
30 Nov – 11 Dec F. – Riot Stage (Trades Hall, New Ballroom)
Festival gala
$25 Festival gala
$50 Festival gala + Blessed
Festival subscriptions
$115 (Full) 4 x shows
$130 (Full) 4 x shows + festival gala
$85 (Conc) 4 x shows
$100 (Conc) 4 x shows + festival gala
Individual shows
$35 Full
$25 Conc
$22 Preview
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Blessed – Attic Erratic
World premiere
8 – 20 November 2016
In a shitty flat sit two shitty people, shitty lives hanging out all over the place
And something is moving in the cosmos. Fate or God or some such shit.
The world needs saving, someone to switch the power back on and light up the whole fucking mess.
A brutal, epic and incredibly human love story, Blessed follows two familiar strangers so entangled, dark and claustrophobic that nothing in this world could lift them out of their current situation.
The second work in a trilogy of political plays that investigate religion and dogma, Blessed openly and candidly presents something that few people want to talk about: the anger, helplessness, fear and lack of control felt by those who were never really given a choice.
Told through a fractured timeline Blessed is a story that spans fifteen years and looks at the stagnant horror of inter-generational Australian poverty in the context of religious mythology.
A story of dreaming beyond your front door, Blessed is a struggle to rise above a birthright of poor education, community housing and low paid jobs that bring in just enough to stay alive, but not enough to live on.
As hope and pessimism collide, and dreams remain out of reach, Blessed asks the question: where does love end in the face of much larger responsibilities?
Shortlisted for the Max Afford Playwrights’ Award (Playwriting Australia) and recipient of the Jill Blewett Playwright’s Award (Adelaide Festival), Blessed is the fourth collaboration between writer Fleur Kilpatrick and director and producer Danny Delahunty (previous works together include: The City They Burned, Skinhouse and Insomnia Cat Came to Stay).
Writer Fleur Kilpatrick Director and producer Danny Delahunty Set and properties design Luc Favre Lighting design Rob Sowinski Sound design and composition Tom Pitts Performers Olivia Monticciolo and Matt Hickey
Season 8 – 20 November 2016
Preview Tue 8 Nov
Opening Wed 9 Nov
Times Tue – Sat 8pm and Sun 4pm
Duration approx. 60 mins
Venue The Coopers Malthouse, The Tower
Address 113 Sturt Street, Southbank
Tickets Full $35 / Conc. $25 / Preview $22
Bookings poppyseed.net.au
Poppy Seed Theatre Festival poppyseed.net.au
Attic Erratic atticerratic.com
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LadyCake – Three Birds Theatre
World premiere
15 – 27 November 2016
Marie Antoinette – teen icon, loving mother, draconian villain, murdered queen
How easy is it to tear a woman from her throne?
LadyCake is a modern re-fashioning of the myths surrounding the infamous last queen of France – Marie Antoinette – who lived like a rock star against the backdrop of a blood-thirsty revolution.
But ultimately, LadyCake is just a simple story about a girl.
An electrifying and darkly witty piece that sees a flamboyant collision between 18th century France and the modern day, LadyCake contends with the way speculation, gossip, assumption and physical criticism can cruelly undermine a woman.
Using Marie Antoinette as the leading lady, Three Birds Theatre dives into a colourful and captivating world of luxury, revolt and too much cake.
LadyCake shows that there is more to someone than just a simple myth about a woman without a heart … or a head.
Showcasing the multi-talents of a female-driven ensemble and bursting onto the scene as 2015 Victorian College of the Arts graduates, Three Birds Theatre makes visually striking work that finds the macabre in the comical and brims with an absurd poignancy.
Three Birds Theatre most recent work, Three Birds One Cock, received critical-acclaim at Melbourne Fringe: FRISK (2015), Adelaide Fringe (2016) and Metanoia Theatre at the Mechanics Institute (2016).
Creators and performers Candace Miles, Madelaine Nunn and Anna Rodway Costume design Lucy Wilkins Set design Anastasia Poppenberg Sound and music design Liam Bellman-Sharpe Lighting design Jason Crick Production and stage manager Amelia O’Brien
Season 15 – 27 November 2016
Preview Tue 15 Nov
Opening Wed 16 Nov
Times Tue – Sat 8pm and Sun 4pm
Duration approx. 70 mins
Venue Trades Hall, New Ballroom
Address 54 Victoria Street, Carlton
Tickets Full $35 / Conc. $25 / Preview $22
Bookings poppyseed.net.au
Poppy Seed Theatre Festival poppyseed.net.au
Facebook: Three Birds Theatre @threebirdstheatre
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What’s Yours Is Mine – Hotel Now
World premiere
22 November – 4 December 2016
It’s impossible to own anything – whether it is land, people or dilapidated dogs
How much am I worth?
What would you do for all my possessions?
Am I the sum of all my worldly goods?
What’s mine can be yours – as long as it’s not my Thermomix (the original of course).
Ripping at the seams of the Union Jack with perfectly manicured nails, What’s Yours Is Mine explores ownership and “Australian” values with a high camp and indulgent aesthetic.
Taking inspiration from Chekhov’s The Proposal, Hotel Now’s What’s Yours Is Mine excavates excess through centuries of pop culture: Antiques Roadshow, Pauline Hanson, The Bachelor and Ken Done.
The Australian dream in 2016 seems a little bit closer to a closet full of Gorman clogs than a hardworking man in a pair of thongs.
What’s Yours Is Mine director, Yvonne Virsik, explains that ownership is inescapably woven into the Australian psyche, “We’re raised with the idea that we are all entitled to, and should all be striving for, our own property, our own land, our own marriage, children, white goods and diverse range of footwear. These perceived pillars of success form an integral part of our national identity.”
“We’re encouraged to claim things, brand them as inextricably our own and emblazon them on as many digital platforms as we can manage,” says Virsik.
Established in 2013, Hotel Now is an emerging company with a reputation for immersive, challenging and gloriously entertaining works with a mission to leave an impact through an absurd lens.
Performers and devisors Hayden Burke, Simone French and Tom Halls Director Yvonne Virsik Producer Anastasia Ryan Production designer Owen Phillips Stage Manager Rikki-Lee Butinar
Season 22 November – 4 December 2016
Preview Tue 22 Nov
Opening Wed 23 Nov
Times Tue – Sun 8.30pm and Sat 3 Dec, 5pm & 8.30pm (No show: Mon 28 Nov and Tue 29 Nov)
Duration approx. 75 mins
Venue The Butterfly Club
Address 5 Carson Place, Melbourne
Tickets Full $35 / Conc. $25 / Preview $22
Bookings poppyseed.net.au
Poppy Seed Theatre Festival poppyseed.net.au
Facebook: Hotel Now @welcometohotelnow
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F. – Riot Stage
World premiere
30 November – 11 December 2016
Teenage sex in a post-internet world
Today, when a 16 year old wants to know something about sex – they just Google it.
They Google things like: average dick size, clopping, scissoring, what’s squirt and does sex hurt?
F. navigates how teenagers learn about sex and sexuality in 2016 through a dense and stimulating digital landscape— tinder, sexting, web-cams, instant gratification and online personas.
Through a combination of anonymous online surveys, candid conversations and gutsy improvisations, Riot Stage worked with a group of 12 teenagers (15 – 19 year olds) to navigate the topics that have informed the creation of F. including porn, masturbation, consent, pubic hair, gender, kinks and the pressures of a media-saturated world.
A fictionalised presentation grounded on very real issues, F. mirrors the internet – it’s an overload of information designed for short attention spans – where five minutes is way too long and content is repeated, adapted and transformed again and again.
F. director, Katrina Cornwell, explains “F. is a new work based on truth and steeped in fantasy about how the internet is taking over our brains and highlights that teens are the ones dealing with the consequences.”
“We are spring boarding from Frank Wedekind’s classic Spring Awakening which examined the ramifications of sexual oppression in 1892 and re-examining the same issues in a contemporary setting,” Cornwell said.
Since 2010, Riot Stage has collaborated with independent professional artists and teenagers to create innovative, dangerous, current work inspired by the experiences of young people.
Director Katrina Cornwell Writer Morgan Rose Assistant director Amelia Newman Producer Anna Kennedy Set and costume design Yvette Turnbull Lighting design Matthew Adey Sound design and composer Raya Slavin Stage manager Kate Brennan Peer advisor on gender sexuality and diversity Cecelia Devlin Performers Ross Daniels, Alanna Marshall, Sarah Conroy, Sunny Chiron, Taylor Seagal, Bonnie Brown, Todd Kingston, Izzy White, Jack Zapsalis, Thi Minh Chau (Blair) Phan, Ben van Rijn, Charlie Brown and Elise Louey
Season 30 November – 11 December 2016
Preview Wed 30 Nov
Opening Thu 1 Dec
Times Wed – Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm and 8pm, and Sun 4pm
Duration approx. 75 mins
Venue Trades Hall, New Ballroom
Address 54 Victoria Street, Carlton
Tickets Full $35 / Conc. $25 / Preview $22
Bookings poppyseed.net.au
Poppy Seed Theatre Festival poppyseed.net.au
Riot Stage riotstage.com
