Emerging Playwright Debuts New Absurd Comedy This January

Emerging local playwright, Georgina Harriss, is set to premiere her first full-length play this January at Melbourne's quirky, intimate theatre, The Butterfly Club.

Love Bird is a mixture of absurd comedy and twisted kitchen-sink drama, shining a light on society's fraught relationship with female sexual development.

It's Franny's eighth birthday and she's getting her first pet - a cockatiel called Mr Ping Pong. She's always wanted someone to love, and more importantly, someone to love her back.

But when Mr. Ping Pong starts loving their daughter the wrong way, Joan and Richard are thrown into an absurdist parenting nightmare, and must try to remove the deviant bird while conserving what's left of Franny's innocence. After all, these are her formative years.

Love Bird explores the natural process of childhood sexual development and how it is controlled, twisted and warped - often by those who mean to protect it.

Georgina Harriss is a Melbourne-based writer specialising in screen and theatre, and a 2015 graduate of VCA's Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting). During her time at VCA, Georgina developed an interest in writing dark, absurdist comedies inspired by the relationship between 'potential' and 'failure'. In 2016, she was invited to write a play for Red Stitch's annual fundraising showcase Playlist. Later that year, Georgina became a Writer in Residence at Lonely Company, where she began work on the first draft of Love Bird. Her work has since been featured in Betafest: Theatre in Various States of Undress. Georgina says Love Bird is part autobiographical, but she'll let you guess which part.

Love Bird by Georgina Harriss plays from January 30 to February 4 at The Butterfly Club, Melbourne. Directed by Phoebe Anne Taylor, produced by Jessica To, and starring Jessica Martin, Beth Liston, Nigel Langley and Brendan McFarlane.

Bookings: https://thebutterflyclub.com/show/love-bird

Content Warning: adult content, sexual themes, strong language