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21 March 2021
Sydney Theatre Company Artistic Director Kip Williams has unveiled ‘Act Two’, eleven shows to complete STC’s 2021 season that he says will be a “celebration of the new Wharf theatres and a collection of stories that bring us together to laugh and connect following a year of isolation". In total, STC will present 16 productions in 2021, with six of these performed at the company’s newly renovated harbourside home, The Wharf.
Act Two includes shows rescheduled from the cancelled 2020 season (Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman’s The 7 Stage of Grieving directed by STC Resident Director Shari Sebbens and Glace Chase's Triple X directed by STC Associate Director Paige Rattray), revered classics like Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, the world premiere of a brand new Australian musical - The Dismissal - and the return of Williams’ critically acclaimed adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Williams said it was incredibly humbling that just one year after the COVID-19 pandemic caused the shut down of the industry, STC could announce a full season of shows that will be able to sell to 100 per cent capacity after the company was granted an exemption to the current public health order.
“We're thrilled to be able to say we're one of the few theatres in the country, let alone the world, who have bounced back and returned to 100 per cent capacity within the year,” Williams says.
"We are so grateful to all those who have supported us, from significant donors to audience members who donated their tickets – it’s made it possible for us to return to a full scale season and create employment for artists. Support from the NSW Government was crucial in surviving the six month shutdown and getting us back on the stage in September”.
STC's commitment to contemporary Australian plays and the development of Australian theatre-makers is a central focus of the Act Two program. White Pearl by Anchuli Felicia King - STC's 2020 Patrick White Fellow- will play in the Wharf after a season with The National Theatre of Parramatta in 2019, Glace Chase's Triple X will finally see the stage after being cancelled during previews in 2020, and STC will co-produce the world premiere of The Dismissal, a hilarious new Australian musical that brings 1975’s constitutional crisis to vivid life.
A number of classics feature in Act Two, starting with an exciting update of Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman’s The 7 Stages of Grieving which will see the directing debut of STC's newest Resident Director Shari Sebbens. With a cast led by Zahra Newman and Bert LaBonté, Lorraine Hansberry’s American masterwork A Raisin in the Sun will have its Australian mainstage debut, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman will star legendary actor Wayne Blair and Shakespeare’s ferocious study of power and corruption, Julius Caesar, will be presented in the round – an exciting new format for The Wharf.
Kip Williams' acclaimed adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray starring Eryn Jean Norvill playing 26 characters, which premiered to sold-out audiences and two season extensions in 2020, will be returning for an encore season in July.
Exciting tastes of new international writing have also been included in the program, including Bess Wohl’s Grand Horizons starring John Bell and Linda Cropper and The Lifespan of a Fact by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell which will see Australian screen legend Sigrid Thornton make her STC debut. And for STC's youngest theatre-goers there will be a musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox from Shake & Stir Theatre Co.
Many of the shows from STC's Act One season are still showing or soon to open. There are currently three productions on stage: Playing Beatie Bow at the Wharf Theatre is on until 1 May, Appropriate has just opened at the Roslyn Packer Theatre and a return season of The Wharf Revue: Good Night and Good Luck opens at the Seymour Centre this week. Two productions are currently in rehearsal at the brand new spaces at The Wharf: Laura Wade's piercing comedy Home, I'm Darling which opens at the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre on 6 April and the Australian premiere of multiple Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home which will play the Roslyn Packer Theatre from 27 April to 29 May.
Detailed information is available in the Act Two Media Kit.
The 7 Stages of Grieving (21 May - 29 Jun)
By Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman
Directed by Shari Sebbens
Wharf 1 Theatre
Grand Horizons (7 Jun - 3 Jul)
By Bess Wohl
Directed by Jess Arthur
Roslyn Packer Theatre
Triple X (1 Jul - 14 Aug)
By Glace Chase
Directed by Paige Rattray
Wharf 1 Theatre
White Pearl (15 Jul - 4 Sep)
By Anchuli Felicia King
Directed by Priscilla Jackman
Wharf 2 Theatre
The Picture of Dorian Gray (24 Jul - 22 Aug)
By Oscar Wilde
Adapted and Directed by Kip Williams
Roslyn Packer Theatre
A Raisin in the Sun (28 Aug - 9 Oct)
By Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by Shari Sebbens
Wharf 1 Theatre
The Lifespan of a Fact (13 Sep - 23 Oct)
By Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell
Directed by Anne-Louise Sarks
Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House
Death of a Salesman (26 Oct - 20 Nov)
By Arthur Miller
Directed by Paige Rattray
Roslyn Packer Theatre
The Dismissal (29 Oct - 18 Dec)
Book by Blake Erickson and Jay James-Moody
Music and Lyrics by Laura Murphy
Conceived and Directed by Jay James-Moody
Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House
Julius Caesar (1 Nov - 18 Dec)
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Kip Williams
Wharf 1 Theatre
Fantastic Mr Fox (24 Sep - 3 Oct)
By Roald Dahl
Adapted for the stage by Shake and Stir Theatre Co
Roslyn Packer Theatre
Ends
Media Enquiries:
Helene Fox, PR Manager (02) 9250 1705 hfox@sydneytheatre.com.au
Emily Ritchie, Publicist (02) 9250 1703 eritchie@sydneytheatre.com.au
Notes to Editors
Return to The Wharf
Sydney Theatre Company has officially reopened its premises at The Wharf, welcoming audiences back to its home on Sydney Harbour after closing in 2018 for renovations. For more detailed information about the renovations, please check out our Wharf Renewal Media Kit.
Act Two
View the recording of the Act 2 program launch here and for ticket information see sydneytheatre.com.au
Act One
- Kate Mulvany’s adaptation of Ruth Park’s classic Sydney novel, Playing Beatie Bow, directed by Artistic Director Kip Williams, opened to critical acclaim in late February. This beloved Australian story is set in The Rocks, which surrounds the company’s harbourside home. Wharf 1 Theatre, 22 Feb - 1 May. More info here
- Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Appropriate is a dark comedy that looks at the US South’s buried history through the wildly entertaining story of one dysfunctional family. Directed by Wesley Enoch and starring a formidable cast including Sam Worthington (Avatar, Somersault), Lucy Bell (Griffin Theatre Company’s Splinter, Foxtel’s Fighting Season) and Mandy McElhinney (Mosquitoes, Channel 9's Love Child). At the Roslyn Packer Theatre, 15 Mar - 10 Apr. More info here
- Winner of the 2019 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, Laura Wade's Home, I’m Darling is a piercingly funny story of one woman’s quest to be the ideal 1950s housewife...in the 21st Century. The show speaks to society's penchant for nostalgia and the (now more than ever) relatable desire to stay home and escape from a world that seems all too overwhelming. Helmed by Resident Director Jessica Arthur (Wonnangatta) with a stellar ensemble including Andrea Demetriades (Arms and the Man) and Anthony Taufa (How to Rule the World), this witty production will be showing at the Sydney Opera House's Drama Theatre from 6 April to 15 May. More info here
- After smash-hit seasons on Broadway and in London, the multiple Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home is coming to Sydney for its Australian premiere. Starring Australian musical theatre legend Marina Prior, Fun Home is a heartfelt story about coming out and coming of age based on Alison Bechdel’s pivotal graphic novel. At the Roslyn Packer Theatre from 27 Apr - 29 May. More info here
- Due to popular demand and reduced audience capacities, STC is transferring its final season of The Wharf Revue: Good Night and Good Luck to Sydney's Seymour Centre for an additional month of performances from from March 24 to April 24. Drew Forsythe, Phillip Scott and Mandy Bishop are joined by David Whitney (Saint Joan, Opera Australia’s The Merry Widow and West Side Story) who will be standing in for Jonathan Biggins in this return season. More info here
