DTC to Stage Australian Premiere of DETROIT in July

Set amidst a crumbling suburban dream, Lisa D'Amour's award-winning Detroit is an ecstatic and dangerous comedy that brilliantly captures our precarious economic times. Darlinghurst Theatre Company presents the Australian premiere of Detroit on 21 July at Eternity Playhouse.

Stage and screen director Ross McGregor (Neighbours, Speaking in Tongues) has assembled a stellar cast including Logie Award-winning actress Lisa Chappell (McLeod's Daughters The Cult), Ronald Falk (Winners and Losers, The Doctor Blake Mysteries), Claire Lovering (San Andreas, The Graduate), James O'Connell (Gallipoli, The Secret River) and Ed Wightman (The Lion King, Superman Returns).

Ben and Mary live in a decaying suburb hard hit by economic downturn. Ben's lost his job and Mary's discovered alcohol. They fire up the barbeque to welcome the arrival of new neighbours; a couple broke and fresh out of rehab. As the night wears on confessions are shared, inhibitions are shed and bacchanalia ensues.

Ross McGregor is thrilled to bring Detroit to Australian audiences for the first time. "It's not often I come across a play that is so well written, with great dialogue, that's still relevant today," he said. "Detroit is about dreams, self-respect, employment and community, and how quickly these can be destroyed. But sometimes they need to be for new growth to appear."

Detroit was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and, after moving to New York in 2012, won an Obie Award for Best New American Play. Darlinghurst Theatre Company's Australian premiere production runs until 16 August at Eternity Playhouse.