Sydney Theatre Co Presents BEFORE/AFTER

Sydney Theatre Company presents Before/After by Roland Schimmelpfennig, translated from the German by Dr Marlene J Norst from 4 - 19 February 2011. Opening Night: Tuesday 8 February 2011 at 8.15pm

Wharf 2, Sydney Theatre Company, Pier 4, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay 2000

The first production of Sydney Theatre Company's 2011 Next Stage program is Roland Schimmelpfennig's Before/After, directed by emerging director Cristabel Sved, at Wharf 2 from 4 February 2011.

In 51 short scenes, discreet fragments of the lives of more than 30 characters are revealed. A woman is embarking on a sordid affair. Elsewhere in the same hotel a man is transported into a classical painting. At the same time two handymen are contemplating their place in the universe, while a couple argue about the careers of Hollywood screen sirens. As a woman over 70 finds herself so shocked by her appearance in the mirror that she is unable to move, a man has made contact with an organism from outer space.

Simultaneously weaving the mundane and the banal with the bizarre and the extraordinary in a seductive portrait of modern life, Before/After explores the construction and fragmenting of identity and community. Featuring both large scale projected imagery and live video - captured using palm sized cameras carried by the actors (including STC Residents Zindzi Okenyo, Richard Pyros, Sophie Ross and Tahki Saul) - the production offers intimate, multiple perspectives on the lives of many characters.

Cristabel Sved returns to Sydney Theatre Company having directed The Beauty Queen of Leenane for STC Ed early in 2010 and having been Assistant Director on the recent Main Stage production of Uncle Vanya. In 2011 she will also direct The Business for Belvoir.

Playwright Roland Schimmelpfennig is one of the most prolific of the new generation of German dramatists. His works are regularly presented throughout Europe and have been translated into 20 languages. Another of Roland Schimmelpfennig's plays, For A Better World, is produced by Griffin Theatre in January 2011.

Sydney Theatre Company's full 2011 Next Stage program will be launched on 25 January.

Director: Cristabel Sved. Designer Justin Nardella. Lighting and Audio Visual Designer: Verity Hampson. Composer / Sound Designer Max Lyandvert. Choreographer Johanna Puglisi.

With Annie Byron, Justin Stewart Cotta, Zindzi Okenyo, Johanna Puglisi, Richard Pyros, Graeme Rhodes, Sophie Ross, Tahki Saul.

Box Office: (02) 9250 1777. www.sydneytheatre.com.au
All Tickets: $25 (transaction fees may apply). Each ticket includes a Free Beer for those over 18 years of age, courtesy of new Next Stage supporter, Little Creatures.

 

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