NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH Opens 20 March at Southbank Theatre

Australia's theatre doyenne Robyn Nevin reunites with director Simon Stone for the Melbourne season of Belvoir's celebrated production Neighbourhood Watch which returns the play to its home city. Opening Thursday 20 March 2014 at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner, Neighbourhood Watch by Lally Katz is a heartfelt story of unlikely friendship.

Ana lives alone with her dog in Kew and it is hard to say who is snappier. At eighty years old, Ana has no time for niceties. The old world courtesies of her childhood in Hungary were swept away long ago in the remorseless tide of history. All of which makes her friendship with Catherine, an average, young woman who lives across the street, so improbable. Can their unlikely bond outlive the forces of the past, the inevitability of death, and a trip to the mall to see Mamma Mia?

Joining Robyn Nevin as Ana, Megan Holloway (MTC's The Swimming Club) stars as Catherine in this classic odd-couple yet heart-warming tale alongside talented actors Kris McQuade (Wentworth, Killing Time), Charlie Garber (Spirited, Wild Boys), Akos Armont (The Railway Man), Natasha Herbert (Warhorse) and Anthony Harkin (Jersey Boys).

Lally Katz wrote Neighbourhood Watch as a vehicle for Robyn Nevin. Following its premiere season at Belvoir in Sydney, the play went on to be nominated for four Sydney Theatre Awards, an AWGIE, a Helpmann and a NSW Premier's Literary Award. Her other plays include Stories I Want to Tell You in Person (Belvoir and Malthouse), A Golem Story (Malthouse), Return to Earth (MTC), Goodbye New York, Goodbye Heart, The Apocalypse Bear Trilogy, The Mysteries: Genesis, When the Hunter Returns, Goodbye Vaudeville Charlie Mudd and Starchaser (Arena Theatre). Katz won the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for A Golem Story, and Return to Earth was nominated for a 2013 NSW Premier's Literary Award. Katz is currently an Associate Artist (Writing) at Malthouse Theatre and in 2014 will be working with MTC as part of her Australian Writers' Foundation Fellowship.

Simon Stone made his MTC directing debut with The Cherry Orchard in 2013. As Belvoir's Resident Director for three years, he adapted and directed The Wild Duck which earned him 2011 Sydney

Theatre Awards for Best Direction and Best Mainstage Production, plus a Helpmann Award for Best Play. Wild Duck was later staged at the prestigious International Ibsen Festival in Oslo, the Vienna Festival and the Holland Festival. Stone's other directing credits include Baal (Malthouse and STC); Strange Interlude, Death of a Salesman, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Belvoir); and Face to Face (STC). In 2007 he founded independent theatre company The Hayloft Project, adapting and directing a number of works.

Cast Akos Armont (Martin & others), Charlie Garber (Ken & others), Anthony Harkin (Musician, Chemist & others), Natasha Herbert (Katrina Doctor, Valter & others), Megan Holloway (Catherine), Kris McQuade (Jovanka), Robyn Nevin (Ana)

Director Simon Stone; Set & Costume Designer Dale Ferguson; Lighting Designer Damien Cooper; Composer Stefan Gregory; Associate Sound Designer Terry McKibbin

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