Set in Sydney in 1789, Our Country’s Good gives a humane, moving and very funny account of the first theatrical production to be staged in Australia’s new colony. But faced with food shortages, the threat of rebellion and a leading lady who faces hanging, director 2nd lieutenant Ralph Clark and his convict cast are in […]
11 Feb 1998
Miranda is a social worker, with no shortage of problems herself. Her best friend, Emma, is a failed artist in the throes of a mid-life crisis; her partner, Roger, is a frustrated academic, desperately trying to finish his book on Hegel. Personal problems are exacerbated by work and, especially, Miranda’s relationship with Paula, an unemployed […]
11 Feb 1997
Blue Heart consists of two related short plays, both teasingly entertaining and brilliantly executed, one about a father and daughter, the other about a mother and son. In Heart’s Desire, a father, mother and aunt are waiting for a woman to arrive home after years in Australia. In Blue Kettle a middle-aged man and his […]
11 Feb 1997
Despite the play’s mischievous title, Mark Ravenhill’s first play was hailed as a serious and remarkable debut. A place where Shopping is sexy and where Fucking is a job, Shopping and Fucking takes a beady and witty look at a corrosive, disposable world. The production was a phenomenal success and went on to play in […]
11 Feb 1996
Three Sisters is widely regarded as Chekhov’s masterpiece. With wit and compassion he follows the dreams and ambitions of his three heroines as they and their circle of friends flirt, debate, and attempt to find meaning for their lives. “Work. We must work” declares the youngest. Chekhov catches his characters at a particular moment of […]
11 Feb 1995
Sebastian Barry’s extraordinary play deals with a crucial moment in Ireland’s history as Thomas Dunne, an ex-superintendent of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, looks back on his life and attempts to keep his ghosts at bay. When The Steward of Christendom opened at the Royal Court’s Theatre Upstairs, the impact was enormous. The power of the […]
11 Feb 1995
Two productions presented in repertoire in 1994 : the premiere of Stephen Jeffreys’ The Libertine, about the 2nd Earl of Rochester, notorious rake and libertine poet in the Court of Charles II; and a revival of George Etherege’s restoration comedy The Man of Mode whose protagonist, the rake Dorimant, may have been inspired by the same […]
15 Jul 1994
The Queen and I by Sue Townsend was presented in repertoire with Road by Jim Cartwright. Out of Joint’s inaugural production paired a revival of Jim Cartwright’s mid-80s classic, with Sue Townsend’s adaptation of her own hilarious novel in which the Royal Family are sent to live on a Leicester council estate. REVIEWS ‘A right […]
11 Feb 1994
