WARNING: EXPLICIT MATERIAL- A play in one act by Geoffrey Atherden comes to The Ensemble Theater.
Director: Mark Kilmurry Designer: Steven Butler Lighting Designer: Peter Neufeld
Cast: Michelle Doake, Jessica Sullivan, William Zappa
When Barry Smith (William Zappa) was a much younger man, he was more of a show-off than the enfant terrible of Australian art. A member of the Sydney Push and the Libertarian movement, his biggest claim to fame and his proudest moment was having an exhibition raided by the Vice Squad and shut down. Barry was on the front page of the Sunday Mirror for two weeks in a row when art and censorship were in the news. He regarded his lifestyle as uncompromising. Now years later, he is visited by two remarkable women. One is his daughter Alex (Michelle Doake) who he hasn't seen for more than twenty years. The other, Daisy (Jessica Sullivan) is a complete surprise.
Director Mark Kilmurry has assembled a stellar cast with William Zappa - arguably one of Australia's finest stage actors playing the lead role of artist Barry Smith. Zappa's stage credits include Government Inspector for Bell Shakespeare for which he received the Green Room Award for Best Actor, Les Miserables for which he won the Mo award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, The Goat or Who is Silvia for Belvoir and STCSA, Loot, Honour, Travesties, Soulmates and The White Devil for STC, and Let the Sunshine and his own play Winter's Discontent for Ensemble which also toured nationally. Zappa received the Penguin Award for Best Actor in a TV series for Women of the Sun, and has been nominated for a number of Helpmann Awards. His film credits include Redd Inc, A Heartbeat Away and Men's Group, and his television credits include Underbelly, Sea Patrol and All Saints.
Michelle Doake has previously appeared for Ensemble in Birthrights and Japes. She spent many years with Bell Shakespeare performing in Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure, A Midsummer Nights Dream and The Winters Tale. Other theatre credits include The Hatpin for Neil Gooding/White Box, Weather for Q Theatre and The Wharf Revue for STC. She appeared in Corridors of Power for ABC-TV. Jessica Sullivan celebrates her stage debut with this production.
Geoffrey Atherden is best known for his highly successful situation comedy series, Mother and Son for ABC TV, for which he received many Australian and international awards. He also wrote the comedy drama series, Grass Roots which received a total of 7 AFI awards.
Running time: 90 mins, no interval
NB: Frequent strong language. Also there is no nudity in Warning: Explicit Material.
SEASON DETAILS: WARNING: EXPLICIT MATERIAL
VENUE: Ensemble Theatre, 78 McDougall Street, Kirribilli, NSW, 2061
DATES: Previews from 27 Oct, opening night 4 November, season to 11 December, 2011
PERFORMANCE TIMES: Tues to Fri 8.15pm Sat 5pm and 8.30pm, Sun 5pm, Thurs 11am.
PRICES: $27-$67 (booking charges may apply)
BOOKINGS: 02 9929 0644 or
www.ensemble.com.au
