MASTERCLASS 2 World Premiere and More Lead Newly Announced Old Fitz Theatre Season
By: Sally Henry Fuller Nov. 02, 2015
"Our 2016 January-June season is nothing short of epic - deliberately so. The six main stage plays paint an important story," says Artistic Director Andrew Henry. "At our core we are an acting company and a theatre for fearless practitioners. We have absolutely nothing to lose and will continue to ask 'Why not?' rather than 'Why?'"
Having only managed the venue for a year, Red Line Productions have welcomed over 14,000 patrons to the legendary Old Fitz Theatre and established themselves as formidable players in Sydney's theatre scene. Responding to the success Henry says, "I am extraordinarily proud of what has been achieved. We fearlessly set out to create a hub for exceptional theatre and we have been rewarded with queues of eager patrons lining up down the street and, most importantly, people coming back time and again to see our productions."
To kick off the 2016 season, Charlie Garber and Gareth Davies return to present Masterclass 2, a sequel to the hit indie comedy that opened the 2015 season and promises to lead the way to achieving your dreams. Red Line Productions is pleased to be partnering with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras again to present the Australian Premiere of the big-hearted and fiercely funny The Whale. Travis Cotton's darkly comic new work 80 Minutes No Interval examines failure and how it tests the character of a person, while up-and-coming independent theatre company Mad March Hare presents a tragic portrait of a marriage sliding ineluctably into crisis in the Sydney Premiere of Belleville. Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses brings Ovid's tales to stunning visual life with an original soundtrack composed by ARIA Award-winning songwriter Julia Stone, and Inner Voices by acclaimed playwright Louis Nowra, a Woolloomooloo local and familiar patron of the Old Fitz Hotel, rounds up the first six months of the main stage season.
The late show program will continue, offering a platform for producers and actors to present new work, or to stage established short plays or full-length productions with a particular suitability to a later time-slot. Late shows will be announced throughout the year.
2016 OLD FITZ SEASON: PART ONE
MASTERCLASS 2
WORLD PREMIERE
Presented by Red Line Productions at the Old Fitz
Written and performed by Gareth Davies and Charlie Garber
12 - 30 January
Charlie Garber takes your hand. He leads you through gloom and mist, murmuring soft encouragement. You see Gareth Davies walking slowly in front of you with a torch, illuminating a path you never knew existed. He halts. He turns around suddenly, pinning you with his icy gaze. "I'm scared," you whisper to Charlie. "I know," he whispers back. "But trust me, he's the best there's ever been".
Learn how to breakdance! How to act! How to get ahead in whatever career you're wasting your miserable life dreaming about!*
*Non-interactive. No participation encouraged or allowed.
Show Times: Tue - Sat at 7:30pm, Sun 5pm
Ticket price: All Tickets $25
THE WHALE
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
Presented by Red Line Productions at the Old Fitz and Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Written by Samuel D Hunter | Directed by Shane Anthony | With Keith Agius, Chloe Bayliss and Meredith Penman
2 February - 4 March
On the outskirts of Mormon Country, Idaho, a six hundred pound gay recluse hides away in his apartment and slowly eats himself to death. Desperate to reconnect with his long-estranged daughter, he reaches out to her only to find a viciously sharp-tongued and wildly unhappy teen. Big-hearted and fiercely funny, The Whale tells the story of a man's last chance at redemption and of finding beauty in the most unexpected places.
Show Times: Tue - Sat at 7:30pm, Sun 5pm
Ticket prices: $40 Adult, $35 Concession, $30 Previews & Cheap Tuesday
80 MINUTES NO INTERVAL
WORLD PREMIERE
Presented by Thread Entertainment in association with Red Line Productions at the Old Fitz Written and Directed by Travis Cotton | With Jacob Allan, Fayssal Bazzi, Sheridan Harbridge, Ryan Johnson and Julia Rorke
8 March - 9 April
Louis is a failed novelist and that might not be the case if he would stop messing with tense or obscuring the narrative of his stories. Instead, he's a theatre reviewer and he might still be if someone hadn't invented a small black box that sits in a theatre and runs on an algorithm that has it write perfect reviews. He would definitely have a girlfriend if she weren't sick of theatre directors ruining a simple story. He might have a house if he hadn't outstayed his welcome at his parents' investment apartment, and he definitely would not have gone to prison if he hadn't turned unlucky into an art form. It's failure that tests the character of a person... but how low can Louis go?
Show Times: Tue - Sat at 7:30pm, Sun 5pm
Ticket prices: $38 Adult, $33 Concession, $28 Previews & Cheap Tuesday
BELLEVILLE
SYDNEY PREMIERE
Presented by Mad March Hare Theatre Company in association with Red Line Productions at the Old Fitz
Written by Amy Herzog | Directed by Claudia Barrie | With Emily Eskell
12 April - 7 May
Young Americans Zack and Abby have the perfect ex-pat life in Paris - a funky bohemian apartment in up-and-coming Belleville, a stable marriage, and Zack's noble mission to fight paediatric AIDS. But when Abby finds Zack at home one afternoon when he's supposed to be at work, the questions and answers that follow shake the foundation of their seemingly beautiful life.
Show Times: Tue - Sat at 7:30pm, Sun 5pm
Ticket prices: $38 Adult, $33 Concession, $28 Previews and Cheap Tuesday
METAMORPHOSES
Presented by Red Line productions at the Old Fitz
Written by Mary Zimmerman | Directed by Andrew Henry | Composed by Julia Stone
11 May - 11 June
Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses brings Ovid's tales to stunning visual life. Set in and around a large pool of water onstage, Metamorphoses juxtaposes the ancient and the contemporary in both language and image to reflect the variety and persistence of narrative in the face of inevitable change.
Show Times: Tue - Sat at 7:30pm, Sun 5pm
Ticket prices: $38 Adult, $33 Concession, $28 Previews and Cheap Tuesday
INNER VOICES
Presented by Don't Look Away in association with Red Line Productions at the Old Fitz Written by Louis Nowra | Directed by Phillip Rouse
15 June - 9 July
Knowing Only his name, a boy has been locked away since childhood. He is groomed to become leader of Russia. But will chaos erupt when he gains power?
Show Times: Tue - Sat at 7:30pm, Sun 5pm
Ticket prices: $38 Adult, $33 Concession, $28 Previews & Cheap Tuesday
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