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Aftershocks
Aftershocks by Brown, Paul
First produced in 1993. Aftershocks began as conversations between staff, members and friends of the Newcastle Workers Club. It is gutsy, bloody and humorous and tells what these people did on the day of the Newcastle earthquake when people died in a pile of twisted rubble.
Call Number: CPS 7B2
ISBN: 9780868193694
Publication Date: 1993
Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland : Lewis Carroll's classic story by Glennon, William & Carroll, Lewis
This new adaptation of "Alice" is so close to the original in intention and feeling that you might suspect that Carroll himself had written it. A group of performers seek out Alice in order to provide "her turn" in Wonderland. As her adventure unfolds, they play the many characters she encounters and grows to love. Fast-paced and funny, this show is a joy to see and hear.
Call Number: CPS 7B1
ISBN: 9790871290631
Publication Date: 1985
Bright. Young. Things
Bright. Young. Things by Georgia Christou
On a reality television show, six remarkable - and remarkably young - geniuses are competing for the coveted Golden Brain trophy and the title "Britain's Brainiest Child." As the contestants battle it out round after round, the pressure mounts, the spotlight gets harsher, and each is faced with questions they were never expecting. Who will win and who will lose - and what exactly does winning mean anyway? Georgia Christou's Bright. Young. Things. is part of Platform, an initiative from Tonic Theatre in partnership with Nick Hern Books. Aimed at achieving greater gender equality in theatre, Platform comprises big-cast plays with predominantly, or all, female casts, written specifically for performance by young actors.
Call Number: CPS 7B7
ISBN: 9781848428621
Publication Date: 2021
The Cagebirds
The Cagebirds by David Campton
In this extraordinary play, a "room" and a "cage" and "people" and "captive birds" all become confused until a dramatic climax in which we suddenly see reality. Six women live in a locked room, each absorbed in her own petty interest and in placating the "Mistress" who takes care of them. Then a "Wild One" is thrust in among them. She talks of breaking out of the room to find freedom. She troubles the others who remain secure in their cage, and they all join against her in the shattering conclusion to this unforgettable play that offers eight actresses an unusual opportunity.
Call Number: CPS 7B5
ISBN: 9780573033667
Publication Date: 1976
Dags
Dags by Deborah Oswald
Gillian is sixteen, suffers from the occasional 'ack-attack', and is worried about not having a boyfriend. She loves chocolate and is infatuated with the best-looking boy in school. A funny and compassionate look at adolescence.
Call Number: CPS 7B5
ISBN: 9780868191805
Publication Date: 1987
Daisy Pulls it Off
Daisy Pulls It Off by Denise Deegan
Daisy pulls it off engagingly captures the uncomplicated innocence of Angela Brazil's schoolgirl novels. It is about the attempts of superachiever Daisy Meredith to submerge her poor elementary school background and find acceptance in the snobby confines of Grangewood School for Young Ladies. Our plucky heroine undergoes a number of tribulations (including possible expulsion) before, by being honourable and straight in all things, all comes right in the end with Daisy saving the lives of sneaky Monica and toady Sybil - her arch-enemies - discovering the treasure of Grangewood, scoring the winning goal at the hockey and finding her long-lost father!
Call Number: CPS 7A2
ISBN: 9780573111174
Publication Date: 1985
A Disappearing Number
A Disappearing Number by Simon McBurney
A Disappearing Number takes as its starting point the story of one of the most mysterious and romantic mathematical collaborations of all time. Simultaneously a narrative and an enquiry, the production crosses three continents and several histories, to weave a provocative theatrical pattern about our relentless compulsion to understand. A man mourns the loss of his lover, a mathematician mourns her own fate. A businessman travels from Los Angeles to Chennai pursuing the future; a physicist in CERN looks for it too. The mathematician G.H. Hardy seeks to comprehend the ideas of the genius Srinivasa Ramanujan in the chilly English surroundings of Cambridge during the First World War. Ramanujan looks to create some of the most complex mathematical patterns of all time. Threaded through this pattern of stories and ideas are questions. About mathematics and beauty; imagination and the nature of infinity; about what is continuous and what is permanent; how we are attached to the past and how we affect the future; how we create and how we love.
Call Number: CPS 7B5
ISBN: 9781840028300
Publication Date: 2008
The Doll Trilogy
The doll trilogy by Ray Lawlor
First staged in 1955, no play has been more important to the history of Australian theatre than Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. Twenty years later, Lawler returned to his lovable Carlton household and created two more plays: Kid Stakes and Other Times. A joyful portrait of the summer of the first doll, in which a chance encounter brings Olive and Emma, Roo and Barney, into the shabby Carlton terrace to begin a seventeen year journey of seasonal love and argument. Kid Stakes introduces the fun-loving Nancy, who has left the scene by the seventeenth summer, adding a new poignancy to the story.
Call Number: CPS 7A3
ISBN: 9780868191195
Publication Date: 1978
Fairy Tale Courtroom
Fairy Tale Courtroom by Dana Proulx
his extremely adaptable comedy shows the other side of several familiar fairy tales when two of their biggest villains, the Big Bad Wolf and the Wicked Witch, are brought to trial.
Both the Wolf and the Witch have been frolicking from fairy tale to fairy tale wreaking havoc as they try to prevent the general public from living happily ever after. Hear the personal accounts of what happened, told in testimonies and flashback sequences, from characters such as Snow White, Dorothy, Sleeping Beauty, the Three Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood and many others, including the Witch and the Wolf themselves, as each trial unfolds.
The audience is the jury, so each trial has two endings depending on the verdict. The trials can be performed separately with few small cuts for running time of approximately 30 minutes each, or together with no cuts for a running time of about one hour and 15 minutes.
Call Number: Subjects:
ISBN: 9780874401400
Publication Date: 2001
Fangirls
Fangirls by Blake, Yve
Meet Edna: she's 14, she's a misfit, she's kind of a genius and … she's in love. With Harry. There's just one problem: Harry doesn't actually know that she exists. Because Harry is in the world's biggest boy band, True Connection. But to Edna, that's just a small obstacle. When True Connection announces a tour stop in Edna's city, she realises that this is her one chance to meet Harry and convince him of their destiny. But how will Edna get Harry's attention? How will she convince him that she's the one? And just how far is she prepared to go in the name of love?
Call Number: CPS 7B7
ISBN: 9781760623425
Publication Date: 2021
The Formal
The Formal by Murray, Sue
The stress, the mess, the dreams, schemes, shocks, frocks, dats, mates, mother, magical creatures and echoes of the bard: this crazy play is about the thrills and spills of one of life's rites of passage – the Formal. It's been staged hundreds of times since it first hit the spotlight and resonates deeply with audiences of all ages.
Call Number: CPS 7A4
ISBN: 9780732991661
Publication Date: 2004
Fossils
Fossils! by Aston, Manuel
Homo parentithicus. Found in most urban parts of Australia. Prone to roam in pairs. Over-protective towards their offspring. Parents! Fossils turns the spotlight on the complex relationship between teenagers and their parents.
Call Number: CPS 7A4
ISBN: 9780868193991
Publication Date: 1995
Garry's House
Gary's house by Oswald, Debra
Gary has failed in everything he has attempted. But when he inherits a block of land, he gets an urge to build a nest with Sue-Anne, his angry and pregnant girlfriend.
Gary's House is a story about Aussie battlers—battling with each other, the elements and the world in their quest to turn a dream into reality. What begins as satire becomes a moving drama told with humour, compassion and loving detail by a highly original and insightful playwright.
Call Number: CPS 7B2
ISBN: 9780868196077
Publication Date: 2000
The Glove Thief
The Glove Thief by Beth Flintoff
'They did not understand, you see, that what is stitched with a needle is not always innocent... Needles are dangerous.' The year is 1569, and in a cold, stone room in a Staffordshire castle, a group of women sew elaborate tapestries. Rich or poor, at home or held against their will, four women's lives intersect on the point of a needle. Embroidery is their escape, their sanity, and their expression: of love, loss, artistry and power. For these women's stitches have the power to change not just their own lives, but the course of English history. Inspired by the tapestries created when Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, The Glove Thief by Beth Flintoff is part of Platform, an initiative from Tonic Theatre in partnership with Nick Hern Books. Aimed at addressing gender imbalance in theatre, Platform comprises big-cast plays with predominantly or all-female casts, written specifically for performance by young actors.
Call Number: CPS 7A7
ISBN: 9781848426535
Publication Date: 2018
Hating Alison Ashley
Hating Alison Ashley : the play by Robin Klein & Richard Tulloch
Erica Yurken knew she was destined for a glittering career on the stage. Never in any doubt about her own genius, she felt superior to everyone at notorious Barringa East...
That is, until Alison Ashley unexpectedly turned up.
Alison was not only beautiful, rich and clever, but she was as well-behaved as a nativity angel.
Yet Erica wasn't going to give in that easily and the annual school camp would be the ideal place to show up Alison Ashley!
Call Number: CPS 7A5
ISBN: 9780140327496
Publication Date: 1988
Heavy Weather
Heavy Weather by Lizzie Nunnery
Mona is a young woman on the edge. All she sees is the Earth falling apart, but no one really seems to care. Amidst the chaos of competing and contradictory voices, she sets off on a kaleidoscopic journey to find solutions for the planet - and the truth about her family - in the hope that everything might start to make sense again. Lizzie Nunnery's Heavy Weather is a powerful, timely play featuring songs, about one girl's journey through a world teetering on the brink. The play is part of Platform, an initiative from Tonic Theatre in partnership with Nick Hern Books. Aimed at achieving greater gender equality in theatre, Platform comprises big-cast plays with predominantly, or all, female casts, written specifically for performance by young actors.
Call Number: CPS 7B7
ISBN: 9781848428683
Publication Date: 2021
Homecoming
The Homecoming by Harold Pinter
Teddy, a philosophy professor in an American university, brings his wife Ruth to visit his father, uncle and two brothers at his old London home, after years of estrangement. In the intense conflict that follows, it is Ruth who becomes the focus of their struggle for supremacy.
Call Number: CPS 7B5
ISBN: 9780571160808
Publication Date: 1991
Honey Spot
Honey Spot by Davis, Jack
Tim is the new boy at school. Peggy is walking home one day when she meets Tim with a tomahawk in his hand.
Can the Forest Ranger's suspicions be proved?
What are Tim and his family really like?
The friendship between an Aboriginal boy and a white girl raises issues of race in a touching story of two families who seem to have nothing in common … until danger strikes and forces them to face their prejudices.
Call Number: CPS 9A6
ISBN: 9780868191638
Publication Date: 1987
The Lieutenant of Inishmore
The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh
A farcical look at political violence as it's played out during the Troubles in Northern Ireland against the drab backdrop of a bare, rustic Irish cottage and unending boredom in an inhospitable environment in which a mutilated cat sets off a murderous cycle of revenge. Wee Thomas was a friendly cat. He would always say hello to you were you to see him sitting on a wall. (Pause.) He won't be saying hello no more, God bless him. Not with that lump of a brain gone. Who knocked Wee Thomas over on the lonely road on the island of Inishmore, and was it an accident? "Mad Padraig" will want to know when he gets back from a stint of torture and chip shop bombing in Northern Ireland: he loves that cat more than life itself.
Call Number: CPS 7B4
ISBN: 9780413765000
Publication Date: 2008
The Lieutenant of Inishmore - 2
The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh; Patrick Lonergan (Editor); Chris Megson (Series edited by); Jenny Stevens (Series edited by)
A farcical look at political violence as it's played out during the Troubles in Northern Ireland against the drab backdrop of a bare, rustic Irish cottage and unending boredom in an inhospitable environment in which a mutilated cat sets off a murderous cycle of revenge.
''Wee Thomas was a friendly cat. He would always say hello to you were you to see him sitting on a wall. (Pause.) He won't be saying hello no more, God bless him. Not with that lump of a brain gone.'
Who knocked Wee Thomas over on the lonely road on the island of Inishmore, and was it an accident? 'Mad Padraig' will want to know when he gets back from a stint of torture and chip shop bombing in Northern Ireland- he loves that cat more than life itself.
Call Number: CPS 7B4
ISBN: 9781408111079
Publication Date: 2009
Living with Lady Macbeth
Living with Lady Macbeth by Rob John
Living with Lady Macbeth uses the device of a play within a play to examine some of the issues of power and ambition invested in the character of Lady Macbeth. Lily is determined to audition for this part, as she is tired of always being behind the scenes, of being ordinary and reliable. Disregarding derision from those around her, Lily stuns everyone with a chilling performance of Act I Scene V, but finally chooses to do costumes - not out of defeat, but because she has satisfied her ambition.
Call Number: CPS 7A4
ISBN: 9780521425070
Publication Date: 1992
Mother Courage and her Children
Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertolt. Brecht; Ralph Manheim (Editor); John Willett (Editor, Translator)
In this chronicle of the European Thirty Years War and taking place between the years 1624 and 1636, Mother Courage follows the armies back and forth across Europe, selling provisions and liquor from her canteen wagon to whomever she can. One by one she loses her children to the war but will not part with her livelihood - the wagon. The Berlin production of 1949, with Helene Weigel as Mother Courage, marked the foundation of the Berliner Ensemble. Considered by many to be one of the greatest anti-war plays ever written and Brecht's masterpiece, the play is a powerful example of Epic Theatre and Brecht's use of alienation effect to focus attention not on individual characters but on the issues of the play. This edition published in Methuen Drama's Modern Classics series offers a full introduction as well as Brecht's own notes and textual variants, setting it apart from all other editions available in the English language. The play is presented in John Willett's trusted translation.
Call Number: CPS 7B6
ISBN: 9780413412904
Publication Date: 2009
Neighbourhood Watch
Neighbourhood watch by Katz, Lally
And God said: 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour'.
He obviously hadn't reckoned on Ana.
A battle hardened, Hungarian-Australian World War survivor, Ana's bark is as ferocious as her German shepherd's. Catherine is her neighbour: twenty-something, curious and hopeful that a better world is on its way … but in the meantime watching episodes of The West Wing with her housemate. From each other Ana and Catherine gain a new understanding of friendship, and forge an alliance that carries them to war-torn Hungary and back again.
Call Number: CPS 7B2
ISBN: 9781925005141
Publication Date: 2011
No Worries
No Worries by Holman, David
Three vibrant and varied plays for children.
No Worries shows a family forced to the city by drought. This story of displaced children coming to terms with a new life has moved audiences.
The Small Poppies is a touching story about a traumatic experience many of us relate to: the first day of school.
Beauty and the Beast is the classic fairytale placed in an Australian context—an outsider is brought back into the fold.
Call Number: CPS 7B4
ISBN: 9780868191812
Publication Date: 1988
October
October by Wilding, Ian
Tim and Angela are on the edge of something irrevocable. A stranger's accusation of infidelity has turned their perfect urban dream into a nightmare. Now, every corner of their inner-city apartment hides a menacing secret, every step outside is a step into the unknown. The threat to their existence is killing them. Enter Dick, private eye-smarmy and menacing by turns, a Man Who Makes Things Happen. Though he charges by the hour and his approach is definitely unconventional, Dick may be exactly what the situation requires. But just how far are Tim and Angela willing to go to ensure their personal safety?
Call Number: CPS 7A4
ISBN: 9780868198026
Publication Date: 2007
The One Day of the Year
The One Day of the Year by Alan Seymour
Undoubtedly one of Australia's favourite plays, the One Day of the Year explores the universal theme of father-son conflict against the background of the beery haze and the heady, nostalgic sentimentality of Anzac Day. It is a play to make us question a standard institution - Anzac Day, the sacred cow among Australian annual celebrations - but it is the likeability and genuineness of the characters that give the play its memorable qualities: Alf, the nobody who becomes a somebody on this day of days; Mum, the anchor of the family; Hughie, their son, with all the uncertainties and rebelliousness of youth; and Wacka, the Anzac, with his simple, healing wisdom. Undoubtedly one of Australia's favourite plays, the One Day of the Year explores the universal theme of father-son conflict against the background of the beery haze and the heady, nostalgic sentimentality of Anzac Day. It is a play to make us question a standard institution - Anzac Day, the sacred cow among Australian annual celebrations - but it is the likeability and genuineness of the characters that give the play its memorable qualities: Alf, the nobody who becomes a somebody on this day of days; Mum, the anchor of the family; Hughie, their son, with all the uncertainties and rebelliousness of youth; and Wacka, the Anzac, with his simple, healing wisdom.
Call Number: CPS 7B4
ISBN: 9780207133305
Publication Date: 1982
A Property of the Clan
A property of the clan by Enright, Nick
When a young girl is murdered at the hands of one of her male contemporaries, what is the aftermath? How will her friends cope? How can such violence be understood? Written for Freewheels TIE Theatre Co, A Property of the Clan deals with these issues with honesty, sensitivity and intelligence.
Call Number: CPS 7B4
ISBN: 9780868193601
Publication Date: 1994
Red
Red by Somalia Seaton
'Maybe she just doesn't wanna be found, maybe that last day she felt freedom was when she ran, and she just didn't stop, maybe that was it.' When her best friend Jay goes missing, Dee withdraws into a twilight world of fragmented memories and conversations, shattered by her grief. Where should she look for Jay? What did she miss? What did Jay say? And what couldn't she say? Somalia Seaton's Red is an unflinching and bold exploration of the internal lives of young women. It is part of Platform, an initiative from Tonic Theatre in partnership with Nick Hern Books, aimed at addressing gender imbalance in theatre. Platform comprises big-cast plays with predominantly or all-female casts, written specifically for performance by young actors.
Call Number: CPS 7A7
ISBN: 9781848426528
Publication Date: 2018
Ruby Moon
Ruby Moon by Cameron, Matt
Life appears to be picture perfect in Flaming Tree Grove. At least until little Ruby Moon sets off to visit her grandmother and is never seen again. When an ominous parcel arrives on her parents' doorstep, Sylvie and Ray Moon are prompted to call on their enigmatic and eccentric neighbours in an attempt to solve the mystery of their daughter's disappearance. But life behind the average suburban front door is not what it seems. Matt Cameron has worked true theatrical magic in the creation of Ruby Moon, a fractured fairytale from the dark heart of suburbia.
Call Number: CPS 7B6
ISBN: 9780868197746
Publication Date: 2005
Second Person Narrative
Second Person Narrative by Jemma Kennedy
You're born a girl. You grow up. You grow old. You die. But who is in control of your life story? Can you actually choose your destiny? And how do you forge your own identity along the way? Second Person Narrative is part of Platform, a new initiative aimed at addressing gender imbalance and inequality in theatre.
Call Number: CPS 7A7
ISBN: 9781848425019
Publication Date: 2016
The 7 Stages of Grieving
The 7 stages of grieving by Enoch, Wesley ; Mailman, Deborah
'This is a proud milestone in Australian theatre history; a contemporary Indigenous performance text from the highly acclaimed Kooemba Jdarra. Appropriating western forms whilst using traditional storytelling, it gives emotional insight into Murri life. This one-woman show follows the journey of an Aboriginal 'Everywoman' as she tells poignant and humorous stories of grief and reconciliation. A powerful, demanding and culturally profound text, The 7 Stages of Grieving is a celebration of Indigenous survival, an invitation to grieve publicly, a time to exorcize pain. It has a universal theme told through the personal experiences of one incredible character.'
Call Number: CPS 7B6
ISBN: 9780908156535
Publication Date: 1996
Stolen
Stolen by Jane Harrison
Stolen tells of five young Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their parents, brought up in a repressive children's home and trained for domestic service and other menial jobs. Segregated from society from their earliest years, not all of them successfully manage their lives when released into the outside world. The pain, poignancy and sheer desperation of their lives is seen through the children's own eyes as they struggle to make sense of a world where they have been told to forget their families, their homes and their language. This tender and moving story, awash with childlike humour, brings the tragic history of the Stolen Generations to the Australian stage. Features an introduction by Wesley Enoch on his experience of directing the first production of Stolen.
Call Number: CPS 7A4
ISBN: 9780868197975
Publication Date: 2007
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt. Brecht; Ralph Manheim (Editor, Translator, Volume Editor); John Willett (Editor, Translator, Volume Editor); Chris Megson (Series edited by); Jenny Stevens (Series edited by)
This Student Edition of Brecht's satire on the capitalist society of the Weimar Republic features an extensive introduction and commentary that includes a plot summary, discussion of the context, themes, characters, style and language as well as questions for further study and notes on words and phrases in the text. It is the perfect edition for students of theatre and literature. Based on John Gay's eighteenth century Beggar's Opera, The Threepenny Opera, first staged in 1928 at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin, is a vicious satire on the bourgeois capitalist society of the Weimar Republic, but set in a mock-Victorian Soho. It focuses on the feud between Macheaf - an amoral criminal - and his father in law, a racketeer who controls and exploits London's beggars and is intent on having Macheaf hanged. Despite the resistance by Macheaf's friend the Chief of Police, Macheaf is eventually condemned to hang, until in a comic reversal the queen pardons him and grants him a title and land. With Kurt Weill's unforgettable music - one of the earliest and most successful attempts to introduce jazz to the theatre - it became a popular hit throughout the western world. The text is presented in the trusted translation by Ralph Manheim and John Willett.
Call Number: CPS 7B6
ISBN: 9780413774521
Publication Date: 2012
Top Girls
Top Girls by Caryl Churchill
'Marlene hosts a dinner part in a London restaurant to celebrate her promotion to managing director of ''Top Girls'' employment agency. Her guests are five women from the past- Isabella Bird (1831- 1904), the adventurous traveller; Lady Nijo (b1258), the mediaeval Japanese courtesan who became a Buddhist nun and travelled on foot through Japan; Dull Gret, who as Dulle Griet in a Bruegel painting, led a crowd of women on a charge through hell; Pope Joan, the transvestite early female pope and last but not least Patient Griselda, and obedient wife out of Chaucer. As the evening continues we are involved with the stories of all five women and the more pressing dilemmas of Marlene herself. A classic of contemporary theatre, Churchill''s play is seen as a benchmark for ushering a new generation of playwrights after it was premiered by the Royal Court in 1982.
This volume contains a chronology of the playwright's life and work; an introduction giving the background to the play; a discussion of the various interpretations, notes on individual words and phrases and photographs from stage productions.'
Call Number: CPS 7A3
ISBN: 9780413644701
Publication Date: 2003
Two Weeks with the Queen
Two weeks with the queen : the play by Gleitzman, Morris & Morris, Mary
You want me to help you break into Buckingham Palace?!
Someone has to give me a leg up.
Mum doesn't let me go into town by myslef.
You won't be by yourself, you'll be with me.
Colin has a mission. He wants to speak to the Queen about his brother Luke who has cancer. Cousin Alistair would like to help but stress brings on his dandruff. Colin takes the lock off the back door and heads out alone...
Call Number: CPS 7B3
ISBN: 9780868194011
Publication Date: 1997
The Visitors
The visitors by Harrison, Jane
On a sweltering day, 26 January, 1788, on a bluff high above Sydney Cove, seven Aboriginal men stand looking out to sea. Moored off-shore is a huge nowee (boat) … then there are two, then more. Who are these visitors? Where are they from? What do they want? Should they be turned away -- by force -- or welcomed to country? In The Visitors, Muruwari playwright Jane Harrison (Stolen, Rainbow's End) reimagines the arrival of the First Fleet from a First Nations' perspective. These senior men, carrying the weight of cultural responsibility in their very human hearts, must decide what action they'll take toward these unwanted arrivals. A decision, under pressure, that will have repercussions—unforeseeably and forever. Told with wit, charm, and a fierce intelligence, Harrison's story upends the dominant point of view of this pivotal event.
Call Number: CPS 7B7
ISBN: 9781760626761
Publication Date: 2021
Alice in Wonderland : Lewis Carroll's classic story by
This new adaptation of "Alice" is so close to the original in intention and feeling that you might suspect that Carroll himself had written it. A group of performers seek out Alice in order to provide "her turn" in Wonderland. As her adventure unfolds, they play the many characters she encounters and grows to love. Fast-paced and funny, this show is a joy to see and hear.
Bright. Young. Things by
On a reality television show, six remarkable - and remarkably young - geniuses are competing for the coveted Golden Brain trophy and the title "Britain's Brainiest Child." As the contestants battle it out round after round, the pressure mounts, the spotlight gets harsher, and each is faced with questions they were never expecting. Who will win and who will lose - and what exactly does winning mean anyway? Georgia Christou's Bright. Young. Things. is part of Platform, an initiative from Tonic Theatre in partnership with Nick Hern Books. Aimed at achieving greater gender equality in theatre, Platform comprises big-cast plays with predominantly, or all, female casts, written specifically for performance by young actors.
The Cagebirds by
In this extraordinary play, a "room" and a "cage" and "people" and "captive birds" all become confused until a dramatic climax in which we suddenly see reality. Six women live in a locked room, each absorbed in her own petty interest and in placating the "Mistress" who takes care of them. Then a "Wild One" is thrust in among them. She talks of breaking out of the room to find freedom. She troubles the others who remain secure in their cage, and they all join against her in the shattering conclusion to this unforgettable play that offers eight actresses an unusual opportunity.
Dags by
Gillian is sixteen, suffers from the occasional 'ack-attack', and is worried about not having a boyfriend. She loves chocolate and is infatuated with the best-looking boy in school. A funny and compassionate look at adolescence.
Daisy Pulls It Off by
Daisy pulls it off engagingly captures the uncomplicated innocence of Angela Brazil's schoolgirl novels. It is about the attempts of superachiever Daisy Meredith to submerge her poor elementary school background and find acceptance in the snobby confines of Grangewood School for Young Ladies. Our plucky heroine undergoes a number of tribulations (including possible expulsion) before, by being honourable and straight in all things, all comes right in the end with Daisy saving the lives of sneaky Monica and toady Sybil - her arch-enemies - discovering the treasure of Grangewood, scoring the winning goal at the hockey and finding her long-lost father!
A Disappearing Number by
A Disappearing Number takes as its starting point the story of one of the most mysterious and romantic mathematical collaborations of all time. Simultaneously a narrative and an enquiry, the production crosses three continents and several histories, to weave a provocative theatrical pattern about our relentless compulsion to understand. A man mourns the loss of his lover, a mathematician mourns her own fate. A businessman travels from Los Angeles to Chennai pursuing the future; a physicist in CERN looks for it too. The mathematician G.H. Hardy seeks to comprehend the ideas of the genius Srinivasa Ramanujan in the chilly English surroundings of Cambridge during the First World War. Ramanujan looks to create some of the most complex mathematical patterns of all time. Threaded through this pattern of stories and ideas are questions. About mathematics and beauty; imagination and the nature of infinity; about what is continuous and what is permanent; how we are attached to the past and how we affect the future; how we create and how we love.
The doll trilogy by
First staged in 1955, no play has been more important to the history of Australian theatre than Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. Twenty years later, Lawler returned to his lovable Carlton household and created two more plays: Kid Stakes and Other Times. A joyful portrait of the summer of the first doll, in which a chance encounter brings Olive and Emma, Roo and Barney, into the shabby Carlton terrace to begin a seventeen year journey of seasonal love and argument. Kid Stakes introduces the fun-loving Nancy, who has left the scene by the seventeenth summer, adding a new poignancy to the story.
Fairy Tale Courtroom by
his extremely adaptable comedy shows the other side of several familiar fairy tales when two of their biggest villains, the Big Bad Wolf and the Wicked Witch, are brought to trial.
Both the Wolf and the Witch have been frolicking from fairy tale to fairy tale wreaking havoc as they try to prevent the general public from living happily ever after. Hear the personal accounts of what happened, told in testimonies and flashback sequences, from characters such as Snow White, Dorothy, Sleeping Beauty, the Three Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood and many others, including the Witch and the Wolf themselves, as each trial unfolds.
The audience is the jury, so each trial has two endings depending on the verdict. The trials can be performed separately with few small cuts for running time of approximately 30 minutes each, or together with no cuts for a running time of about one hour and 15 minutes.
Fangirls by
Meet Edna: she's 14, she's a misfit, she's kind of a genius and … she's in love. With Harry. There's just one problem: Harry doesn't actually know that she exists. Because Harry is in the world's biggest boy band, True Connection. But to Edna, that's just a small obstacle. When True Connection announces a tour stop in Edna's city, she realises that this is her one chance to meet Harry and convince him of their destiny. But how will Edna get Harry's attention? How will she convince him that she's the one? And just how far is she prepared to go in the name of love?
The Formal by
The stress, the mess, the dreams, schemes, shocks, frocks, dats, mates, mother, magical creatures and echoes of the bard: this crazy play is about the thrills and spills of one of life's rites of passage – the Formal. It's been staged hundreds of times since it first hit the spotlight and resonates deeply with audiences of all ages.
Fossils! by
Homo parentithicus. Found in most urban parts of Australia. Prone to roam in pairs. Over-protective towards their offspring. Parents! Fossils turns the spotlight on the complex relationship between teenagers and their parents.
Gary's house by
Gary has failed in everything he has attempted. But when he inherits a block of land, he gets an urge to build a nest with Sue-Anne, his angry and pregnant girlfriend.
Gary's House is a story about Aussie battlers—battling with each other, the elements and the world in their quest to turn a dream into reality. What begins as satire becomes a moving drama told with humour, compassion and loving detail by a highly original and insightful playwright.
The Glove Thief by
'They did not understand, you see, that what is stitched with a needle is not always innocent... Needles are dangerous.' The year is 1569, and in a cold, stone room in a Staffordshire castle, a group of women sew elaborate tapestries. Rich or poor, at home or held against their will, four women's lives intersect on the point of a needle. Embroidery is their escape, their sanity, and their expression: of love, loss, artistry and power. For these women's stitches have the power to change not just their own lives, but the course of English history. Inspired by the tapestries created when Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, The Glove Thief by Beth Flintoff is part of Platform, an initiative from Tonic Theatre in partnership with Nick Hern Books. Aimed at addressing gender imbalance in theatre, Platform comprises big-cast plays with predominantly or all-female casts, written specifically for performance by young actors.
Hating Alison Ashley : the play by
Erica Yurken knew she was destined for a glittering career on the stage. Never in any doubt about her own genius, she felt superior to everyone at notorious Barringa East...
That is, until Alison Ashley unexpectedly turned up.
Alison was not only beautiful, rich and clever, but she was as well-behaved as a nativity angel.
Yet Erica wasn't going to give in that easily and the annual school camp would be the ideal place to show up Alison Ashley!
Heavy Weather by
Mona is a young woman on the edge. All she sees is the Earth falling apart, but no one really seems to care. Amidst the chaos of competing and contradictory voices, she sets off on a kaleidoscopic journey to find solutions for the planet - and the truth about her family - in the hope that everything might start to make sense again. Lizzie Nunnery's Heavy Weather is a powerful, timely play featuring songs, about one girl's journey through a world teetering on the brink. The play is part of Platform, an initiative from Tonic Theatre in partnership with Nick Hern Books. Aimed at achieving greater gender equality in theatre, Platform comprises big-cast plays with predominantly, or all, female casts, written specifically for performance by young actors.
The Homecoming by
Teddy, a philosophy professor in an American university, brings his wife Ruth to visit his father, uncle and two brothers at his old London home, after years of estrangement. In the intense conflict that follows, it is Ruth who becomes the focus of their struggle for supremacy.
Honey Spot by
Tim is the new boy at school. Peggy is walking home one day when she meets Tim with a tomahawk in his hand.
Can the Forest Ranger's suspicions be proved?
What are Tim and his family really like?
The friendship between an Aboriginal boy and a white girl raises issues of race in a touching story of two families who seem to have nothing in common … until danger strikes and forces them to face their prejudices.
The Lieutenant of Inishmore by
A farcical look at political violence as it's played out during the Troubles in Northern Ireland against the drab backdrop of a bare, rustic Irish cottage and unending boredom in an inhospitable environment in which a mutilated cat sets off a murderous cycle of revenge. Wee Thomas was a friendly cat. He would always say hello to you were you to see him sitting on a wall. (Pause.) He won't be saying hello no more, God bless him. Not with that lump of a brain gone. Who knocked Wee Thomas over on the lonely road on the island of Inishmore, and was it an accident? "Mad Padraig" will want to know when he gets back from a stint of torture and chip shop bombing in Northern Ireland: he loves that cat more than life itself.
The Lieutenant of Inishmore by
A farcical look at political violence as it's played out during the Troubles in Northern Ireland against the drab backdrop of a bare, rustic Irish cottage and unending boredom in an inhospitable environment in which a mutilated cat sets off a murderous cycle of revenge.
''Wee Thomas was a friendly cat. He would always say hello to you were you to see him sitting on a wall. (Pause.) He won't be saying hello no more, God bless him. Not with that lump of a brain gone.'
Who knocked Wee Thomas over on the lonely road on the island of Inishmore, and was it an accident? 'Mad Padraig' will want to know when he gets back from a stint of torture and chip shop bombing in Northern Ireland- he loves that cat more than life itself.
Living with Lady Macbeth by
Living with Lady Macbeth uses the device of a play within a play to examine some of the issues of power and ambition invested in the character of Lady Macbeth. Lily is determined to audition for this part, as she is tired of always being behind the scenes, of being ordinary and reliable. Disregarding derision from those around her, Lily stuns everyone with a chilling performance of Act I Scene V, but finally chooses to do costumes - not out of defeat, but because she has satisfied her ambition.
Mother Courage and Her Children by
In this chronicle of the European Thirty Years War and taking place between the years 1624 and 1636, Mother Courage follows the armies back and forth across Europe, selling provisions and liquor from her canteen wagon to whomever she can. One by one she loses her children to the war but will not part with her livelihood - the wagon. The Berlin production of 1949, with Helene Weigel as Mother Courage, marked the foundation of the Berliner Ensemble. Considered by many to be one of the greatest anti-war plays ever written and Brecht's masterpiece, the play is a powerful example of Epic Theatre and Brecht's use of alienation effect to focus attention not on individual characters but on the issues of the play. This edition published in Methuen Drama's Modern Classics series offers a full introduction as well as Brecht's own notes and textual variants, setting it apart from all other editions available in the English language. The play is presented in John Willett's trusted translation.
Neighbourhood watch by
And God said: 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour'.
He obviously hadn't reckoned on Ana.
A battle hardened, Hungarian-Australian World War survivor, Ana's bark is as ferocious as her German shepherd's. Catherine is her neighbour: twenty-something, curious and hopeful that a better world is on its way … but in the meantime watching episodes of The West Wing with her housemate. From each other Ana and Catherine gain a new understanding of friendship, and forge an alliance that carries them to war-torn Hungary and back again.
No Worries by
Three vibrant and varied plays for children.
No Worries shows a family forced to the city by drought. This story of displaced children coming to terms with a new life has moved audiences.
The Small Poppies is a touching story about a traumatic experience many of us relate to: the first day of school.
Beauty and the Beast is the classic fairytale placed in an Australian context—an outsider is brought back into the fold.
October by
Tim and Angela are on the edge of something irrevocable. A stranger's accusation of infidelity has turned their perfect urban dream into a nightmare. Now, every corner of their inner-city apartment hides a menacing secret, every step outside is a step into the unknown. The threat to their existence is killing them. Enter Dick, private eye-smarmy and menacing by turns, a Man Who Makes Things Happen. Though he charges by the hour and his approach is definitely unconventional, Dick may be exactly what the situation requires. But just how far are Tim and Angela willing to go to ensure their personal safety?
The One Day of the Year by
Undoubtedly one of Australia's favourite plays, the One Day of the Year explores the universal theme of father-son conflict against the background of the beery haze and the heady, nostalgic sentimentality of Anzac Day. It is a play to make us question a standard institution - Anzac Day, the sacred cow among Australian annual celebrations - but it is the likeability and genuineness of the characters that give the play its memorable qualities: Alf, the nobody who becomes a somebody on this day of days; Mum, the anchor of the family; Hughie, their son, with all the uncertainties and rebelliousness of youth; and Wacka, the Anzac, with his simple, healing wisdom. Undoubtedly one of Australia's favourite plays, the One Day of the Year explores the universal theme of father-son conflict against the background of the beery haze and the heady, nostalgic sentimentality of Anzac Day. It is a play to make us question a standard institution - Anzac Day, the sacred cow among Australian annual celebrations - but it is the likeability and genuineness of the characters that give the play its memorable qualities: Alf, the nobody who becomes a somebody on this day of days; Mum, the anchor of the family; Hughie, their son, with all the uncertainties and rebelliousness of youth; and Wacka, the Anzac, with his simple, healing wisdom.
A property of the clan by
When a young girl is murdered at the hands of one of her male contemporaries, what is the aftermath? How will her friends cope? How can such violence be understood? Written for Freewheels TIE Theatre Co, A Property of the Clan deals with these issues with honesty, sensitivity and intelligence.
Red by
'Maybe she just doesn't wanna be found, maybe that last day she felt freedom was when she ran, and she just didn't stop, maybe that was it.' When her best friend Jay goes missing, Dee withdraws into a twilight world of fragmented memories and conversations, shattered by her grief. Where should she look for Jay? What did she miss? What did Jay say? And what couldn't she say? Somalia Seaton's Red is an unflinching and bold exploration of the internal lives of young women. It is part of Platform, an initiative from Tonic Theatre in partnership with Nick Hern Books, aimed at addressing gender imbalance in theatre. Platform comprises big-cast plays with predominantly or all-female casts, written specifically for performance by young actors.
Ruby Moon by
Life appears to be picture perfect in Flaming Tree Grove. At least until little Ruby Moon sets off to visit her grandmother and is never seen again. When an ominous parcel arrives on her parents' doorstep, Sylvie and Ray Moon are prompted to call on their enigmatic and eccentric neighbours in an attempt to solve the mystery of their daughter's disappearance. But life behind the average suburban front door is not what it seems. Matt Cameron has worked true theatrical magic in the creation of Ruby Moon, a fractured fairytale from the dark heart of suburbia.
Second Person Narrative by
You're born a girl. You grow up. You grow old. You die. But who is in control of your life story? Can you actually choose your destiny? And how do you forge your own identity along the way? Second Person Narrative is part of Platform, a new initiative aimed at addressing gender imbalance and inequality in theatre.
The 7 stages of grieving by
'This is a proud milestone in Australian theatre history; a contemporary Indigenous performance text from the highly acclaimed Kooemba Jdarra. Appropriating western forms whilst using traditional storytelling, it gives emotional insight into Murri life. This one-woman show follows the journey of an Aboriginal 'Everywoman' as she tells poignant and humorous stories of grief and reconciliation. A powerful, demanding and culturally profound text, The 7 Stages of Grieving is a celebration of Indigenous survival, an invitation to grieve publicly, a time to exorcize pain. It has a universal theme told through the personal experiences of one incredible character.'
Stolen by
Stolen tells of five young Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their parents, brought up in a repressive children's home and trained for domestic service and other menial jobs. Segregated from society from their earliest years, not all of them successfully manage their lives when released into the outside world. The pain, poignancy and sheer desperation of their lives is seen through the children's own eyes as they struggle to make sense of a world where they have been told to forget their families, their homes and their language. This tender and moving story, awash with childlike humour, brings the tragic history of the Stolen Generations to the Australian stage. Features an introduction by Wesley Enoch on his experience of directing the first production of Stolen.
The Threepenny Opera by
This Student Edition of Brecht's satire on the capitalist society of the Weimar Republic features an extensive introduction and commentary that includes a plot summary, discussion of the context, themes, characters, style and language as well as questions for further study and notes on words and phrases in the text. It is the perfect edition for students of theatre and literature. Based on John Gay's eighteenth century Beggar's Opera, The Threepenny Opera, first staged in 1928 at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin, is a vicious satire on the bourgeois capitalist society of the Weimar Republic, but set in a mock-Victorian Soho. It focuses on the feud between Macheaf - an amoral criminal - and his father in law, a racketeer who controls and exploits London's beggars and is intent on having Macheaf hanged. Despite the resistance by Macheaf's friend the Chief of Police, Macheaf is eventually condemned to hang, until in a comic reversal the queen pardons him and grants him a title and land. With Kurt Weill's unforgettable music - one of the earliest and most successful attempts to introduce jazz to the theatre - it became a popular hit throughout the western world. The text is presented in the trusted translation by Ralph Manheim and John Willett.
Top Girls by
'Marlene hosts a dinner part in a London restaurant to celebrate her promotion to managing director of ''Top Girls'' employment agency. Her guests are five women from the past- Isabella Bird (1831- 1904), the adventurous traveller; Lady Nijo (b1258), the mediaeval Japanese courtesan who became a Buddhist nun and travelled on foot through Japan; Dull Gret, who as Dulle Griet in a Bruegel painting, led a crowd of women on a charge through hell; Pope Joan, the transvestite early female pope and last but not least Patient Griselda, and obedient wife out of Chaucer. As the evening continues we are involved with the stories of all five women and the more pressing dilemmas of Marlene herself. A classic of contemporary theatre, Churchill''s play is seen as a benchmark for ushering a new generation of playwrights after it was premiered by the Royal Court in 1982.
This volume contains a chronology of the playwright's life and work; an introduction giving the background to the play; a discussion of the various interpretations, notes on individual words and phrases and photographs from stage productions.'
Two weeks with the queen : the play by
You want me to help you break into Buckingham Palace?!
Someone has to give me a leg up.
Mum doesn't let me go into town by myslef.
You won't be by yourself, you'll be with me.
Colin has a mission. He wants to speak to the Queen about his brother Luke who has cancer. Cousin Alistair would like to help but stress brings on his dandruff. Colin takes the lock off the back door and heads out alone...
The visitors by
On a sweltering day, 26 January, 1788, on a bluff high above Sydney Cove, seven Aboriginal men stand looking out to sea. Moored off-shore is a huge nowee (boat) … then there are two, then more. Who are these visitors? Where are they from? What do they want? Should they be turned away -- by force -- or welcomed to country? In The Visitors, Muruwari playwright Jane Harrison (Stolen, Rainbow's End) reimagines the arrival of the First Fleet from a First Nations' perspective. These senior men, carrying the weight of cultural responsibility in their very human hearts, must decide what action they'll take toward these unwanted arrivals. A decision, under pressure, that will have repercussions—unforeseeably and forever. Told with wit, charm, and a fierce intelligence, Harrison's story upends the dominant point of view of this pivotal event.