Geordie Brookman Introduces a Creative Ensemble at State Theatre Company

By: Jun. 16, 2017
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2017 marks a new direction for State Theatre Company, with the formation of a Creative Ensemble - a group of actors and creatives taking residence to work on a number of productions and creative developments in 2017 and 2018. At the time of formation, in 2017 State Theatre Company is the only major theatre company in Australia to engage a resident ensemble of actors.

For the first time in close to two decades, State Theatre Company will have a creative ensemble. Artistic Director Geordie Brookman said "The formation of the Ensemble will reintroduce a method of theatre making not seen at the Company since Simon Phillip's artistic directorship."

In 2017, the Company's Ensemble will feature in two of the greatest dramatic works of the Western canon, A Doll's House and Macbeth while also developing a purpose commissioned piece of new Australian writing to be premiered as part of the 2018 season.

Ibsen's greatest play has bewitched and divided audiences for more than 100 years bringing energy, schism and heartbreak to the issue of gender inequality. State Theatre Company's first ever production of this gripping piece will be brought to life in a new adaptation by Elena Carapetis (Gorgon) and will be the inaugural project of the State Theatre Company Ensemble.

The newly appointed group includes six of South Australia's most exciting actors, Anna Steen (The 39 Steps), Nathan O'Keefe (Tartuffe), Rachel Burke (Tartuffe) and Dale March (War Horse) AC Arts graduate Rashidi Edward and NIDA graduate Miranda Daughtry. 2017 will also see the appointment of sound designer and composer Andrew Howard as the Resident Sound Designer, who will join Resident Designer Geoff Cobham, Resident Artist Elena Carapetis and Artistic Director Geordie Brookman as part of the Company's artistic team.

Developing an ensemble allows the team to work on a deeper collaborative lever, to develop a theatrical short-hand and house style, and explore new and innovative theatre-making methods.

Geordie Brookman said "Ensemble theatre making has been something that I've wanted to engage in for some time and it is a testament to the entire team at State Theatre Company that the Company is now in a strong enough position to consider it. It will bring long term benefit to the Company, the artists and, critically, the audiences of South Australia over the years to come. Most importantly the Ensemble reinforces State Theatre Company's place as an organisation that sees artistic adventure, creative ambition and South Australian talent as central to everything we do."

A Doll's House

PRESENTED BY STATE THEATRE COMPANY

BY Henrik Ibsen | A NEW ADAPTATION BY ELENA CARAPETIS

Nora Helmer, her husband's 'little songbird', has got a lot of plates spinning. Kids, the house, a secret debt, a terminally ill best friend and the slow, creeping awareness that she's been conned into taking up residence in a gilded cage.

As the hours to Christmas Day tick down, her life is further complicated by the arrival of a high school acquaintance, Kristine Linde, who brings further chaos through the door with her. Underneath it all is Nora's snowballing realisation that the only way forward may be to crash or crash through.

Ibsen's greatest play has bewitched and divided audiences for more than 100 years bringing energy, schism and heartbreak to the issue of gender inequality. State Theatre Company's first ever production of this gripping piece will be brought to life in a new adaptation by Elena Carapetis (Gorgon) and will be the inaugural project of the State Theatre Company Ensemble.

A sparkling dramatic masterpiece that continues to speak powerfully to us more than a century after it first hit the stage, A Doll's House ponders that, perhaps sometimes, love just isn't enough.

Director Geordie Brookman

Set & Lighting Designer Geoff Cobham

Costume Designer Ailsa Paterson

Composer Alan John

With The State Theatre Company Ensemble

Rachel Burke, Miranda Daughtry, Rashidi Edward, Dale March, Nathan O'Keefe and Anna Steen.

Macbeth

PRESENTED BY STATE THEATRE COMPANY

BY William Shakespeare

Macbeth. The perfect embodiment of ego and ambition? Or a grief stricken soldier trying to fill a hole in his heart that has no end? Lady Macbeth. The mistress of manipulation and power behind the throne? Or a shattered not-quite mother, fractured from the world around her? This extraordinary tale charts the brutal rise and fall of one of the theatre's most complex couples as we follow them on their increasingly merciless path towards the crown.

Shakespeare's grand tragedy will be jump-started by the State Theatre Company Ensemble, with Nathan O'Keefe (Things I Know To Be True, Betrayal) and Anna Steen (The Importance of Being Earnest, The 39 Steps) as the conjoined, madly beating hearts around which a vengeance-soaked world spins

It will be breathless.

It will be bloody.

It will be bold.

Director Geordie Brookman

Designer Victoria Lamb

Lighting Designer Geoff Cobham

Composer Dj Tr!P

Sound Designer Andrew Howard

With The State Theatre Company Ensemble

Rachel Burke, Miranda Daughtry, Rashidi Edward, Dale March, Nathan O'Keefe & Anna Steen.

Guest Actors Elena Carapetis, Peter Carroll & Chris Pitman



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