AustLit

'Welcome aboard the luxury cruise liner S.S. Metaphor! Sure, this glittering ode to freedom, adventure, and endless possibility is stuck at sea, but as top tier passengers you’ll be none the wiser about troubles back home... or even below deck! Just slip on a kaftan or linen slack, sip your mai tai and kick up your heels as the world-class cabaret duo Cruise Control croon your cares away. Remember—it’s all about you!'

Source: Malthouse Theatre.

'Something is unfolding here in Elsinore. For weeks the strikes have been intensifying—but there’s a new mood tonight as Carnival approaches. There’s a vivid sense of an era ending—a new age opening up. The timber workers feel it… and the royals too. Inside the palace there are whispers… the King’s death, the grinning Queen, the agitated Prince… And the ancient forest is wild again, groaning—restless... It seems to me that everything is part of a broader picture—that no matter where you look, it will tell the whole wicked story.

'In a landmark production of unmissable storytelling, Malthouse Theatre launches an immersive theatre work on a scale never seen before in Australia. An entire world has been constructed for you to explore: follow the royals through the palace, roam the length of a town on the cusp of the digital age, or sift through the drawers of a single desk. Whatever you choose, a story will play out around you of a regime on the edge of collapse. You are a silent witness in the halls of power on a pivotal night in history. Move, venture deeper, listen closely, because the night will soon be lost—and all its secrets with it.

'Because The Night is an immersive theatre show. The show is experienced by moving through the world of Elsinore as the story plays out around you.

'The actors cannot 'see' you, and will never touch or talk to you. You are a silent witness to the story.

'Enter the sprawling world of Elsinore from one of three entrance rooms: the Bedroom, the Gymnasium, or the Royal Office. The story commences with different characters' perspectives before you are invited to explore the expanse that awaits you.

'Follow the characters as their stories intersect, or go off the beaten track to discover the secrets of the town. Every choice you make is the right choice, for whatever path you take will uncover the mysteries of Because The Night.

'If you are experiencing Because The Night as a group, it is recommended you start at different entrances. Whether you choose to explore together, or split up to discover the world alone, your journey is yours to take as you wish.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A First Nations woman decides to take her family on Country to do lockdown. Together they find peace in stripping things back to their most essential; chopping wood, fetching water, with no internet and no real connection to the outside world. On returning to the city, she discovers the news of George Floyd’s death and the explosion of the Black Lives Matter movement, here and overseas.'

Source: Malthouse Theatre.

'A Malaysian-Chinese International student counsels a friend on whether studying in Australia is a good idea. They recount a recent racist verbal assault they experienced, one that has shattered their illusions about Australia and brings the underlying racism in our society and government into focus. They’ve come from innocence, and now they’re waking up to the world.'

Source: Malthouse Theatre.

'An opera singer living and working Freiberg, Germany, contracts coronavirus. Her health-scare forces her to take a rest from the frenetic pace of her career and consider what’s actually important, about life, about making art and about being together.'

Source: Malthouse Theatre.

'A high school teacher deals with a range of competing pressures including the death of his boss, a person who he would normally look to for guidance through times of crisis. He contemplates ideas of leadership and what the loss of this mentor will mean for him personally and for his students.'

Source: Malthouse Theatre.

'An older woman who lives alone looks out on the world changing around her, where isolation has become the norm. She’s been doing the Marie Kondo thing, when a friend knocks on her door, takes her out into the wide world and down to the beach. A surprise hug brings out a flood of emotions, and the grief over her deceased partner back into view.'

Source: Malthouse Theatre.

'An overgrown kid who’s lost their casual job is suddenly finds themselves spending up to eight hours a day playing Animal Crossing. In it they find a sense of purpose and the company they lack. They’re so comfortable in this virtual space but the real world is calling.'

Source: Malthouse Theatre.

'A provocative and entertaining performance that challenges our interpretation of colonial race relations. This creative questioning, prompted by the work of colonial artist ST Gill, invites us to reimagine life for Koori Victorians in the 19th century, and offers up radical visions of hidden histories and possible futures.' (Source: State Library Victoria website)

'Sport and identity politics mix in this energetic adaptation for the stage by Bruce Myles of Martin Flanagan's book. The Call tells the story of Tom Wills, who grew up among the Djabwurrung people in Western Victoria during the 1840s. Sent to an exclusive school in England, he returns to Australia with a rallying cry that revolutionised sport in his homeland: 'Let's have a game of our own'! Thus a door to indigenous football is opened, with its own rules, humour and history. Snubbed by the big end of town, this driven and passionate man died at age 44. What was it that killed Tom Wills? The Call offers answers revealing a hidden history of Australian football.'(Publication summary)

Julia oversees a benevolent foundation established by her husband. Among its beneficiaries she funded art through Leon, a senior detective of art forgery, science through Joe, a medical researcher and literature through Charlie, the young writer. Julia is acutely aware of human frailty and is generous in her need to right wrongs – and now she has the power to change the world. She listens, she observes, but she wants to do something more.

'In Flaming Tree Grove, life appears to be picture perfect. Security and privacy are coveted and seclusion is its own reward. Until the day when little Ruby sets off to visit her grandmother at the end of the cul-de-sac and is never seen again. The neighbourhood fractures into grief and suspicion in the search for answers to a terrible deprivation and potential crime. Then a parcel arrives on her parents' doorstep...but where is Ruby and who knows what happened to her?'

Source: Australian Plays (https://australianplays.org/script/CP-399). (Sighted: 25/6/2018)