'North of Eight' Company and 2017 Season Launch

New artist-led creative ensemble, North of Eight, launched on Wednesday November 30 at the Courthouse Hotel in North Melbourne, announcing their inaugural 2017 Season: 'Questions'.

More than 80 people from the Melbourne arts community came along to celebrate the Company Launch and welcome in the new season of plays.

Opening the 2017 Season is Mark O'Rowe's clever piece of rhyme and rhythm, Terminus, directed by North of Eight's Co-Artistic Director, Shane Savage. This will be performed at The Company's home and major sponsor, The Courthouse Hotel North Melbourne.

Next up will be the Australian Premiere of Gardner McKay's Toyer, "a classic mystery that always keeps you guessing on the edge of your seat" (Variety), directed by Founding Member Sarah Hallam in May.

August 2017 will see the Victorian premiere of Navy Pier by John Corwin. This contemporary tale of literary and romantic betrayal will be directed by Founding Member Lisa Treloar at The Courthouse Hotel.

Culminating North of Eight's 2017 Season is the World Premiere of a simple existence (and what are we fighting for). Co-Artistic Director Phoebe Anne Taylor will develop the original concept on a creative sabbatical in The Netherlands in early 2017, and return to workshop the piece with The Ensemble for a full season in November.

North of Eight Co-Artistic Directors, Phoebe Anne Taylor and Shane Savage, read more than 100 plays before finalising 2017's thought-provoking and captivating season.

"As a New Theatre Company starting out in unstable times, Shane and I felt the responsibility to curate a season that stood firm exploring themes of identity, our role in society and the very real struggles we are facing globally," Ms Taylor said. "'a simple existence' aims to allegorically delve into the role art provides in society and what happens when you effectively stifle the artist into extinction - when no one is holding the mirror up to society, can we even distinguish between the highs and lows, the beauty and the ugliness, the ethical or the immoral? I'm not sure we know the answer yet, but I'm certainly looking forward to asking the questions with this beautifully talented group of artists, and sharing our findings through 2017."