Sydney Theatre Company Presents BAAL, 5/7-6/11

Sydney Theatre Company and Malthouse Melbourne collaborate on a new production of the rarely performed Baal, the first play of one of the greatest theatrical minds of all time, Bertolt Brecht. Written in 1918 when the playwright was just 20 years old and regarded as a play of confronting and contrasting beauty and brutality, Baal is directed by Simon Stone. Performances are at The Wharf from 7 May to 11 June 2011.

Melbourne actor Thomas M Wright plays the nihilistic, hedonistic and amoral artist, Baal, whose exceptional charisma wins the devotion of all he encounters. An anti-hero of the first order, the drunken, depraved and magnetically alluring Baal is a monster of  appetite who cruelly uses, abuses and discards friends, patrons and lovers of both sexes, leaving a trail of devastation lying in his wake.

Translated and adapted by Sydney Theatre Company Associate Director Tom Wright and Simon Stone, Baal represents STC Main Stage debuts for most of those associated with it including the entire cast, director and costume designer. Stefan Gregory's new compositions of settings to Brecht's songs are a feature, sung by Thomas M Wright accompanying himself on guitar.

Director Simon Stone's work will be known to many in Sydney for his highly acclaimed productions of The Wild Duck and The Only Child. He is a founder member of The Hayloft Project and has recently become Resident Director at Belvoir. His production of Thyestes last year for Malthouse was awarded three Green Room Awards including Best Production and Best Adaptation.

Tom Wright's many adaptations for Sydney Theatre Company include Ovid's Metamorphoses, The Lost Echo, Shakespeare's The War of the Roses, Euripides' The Women of Troy and Aeschylus' Oresteia.

Baal is the first of two Sydney Theatre Company Main Stage productions by Brecht presented in 2011. In September Brecht and Weill's The Threepenny Opera featuring Paul Capsis and Eddie Perfect is at Sydney Theatre. The productions are presented in association with the exhibition The mad square: modernity in German art 1910 - 37 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 6 Aug- 6 Nov 2011.

Director: Simon Stone. Set and Lighting Designer: Nick Schlieper. Costume Designer: Mel Page. Composer and Sound Designer: Stefan Gregory. Assistant Set and lighting Designer: Tom Willis.

Cast: Brigid Gallacher Geraldine Hakewill, Luisa Hastings Edge, Shelly Lauman, Oscar Redding, Chris Ryan, Lotte St Clair, Katherine Tonkin, Thomas M Wright

Box Office: (02) 9250 1777. sydneytheatre.com.au. Tickets: $30 - $77 (transaction fees may apply)

For further information: Tim McKeough (9250 1703 or tmckeough@sydneytheatre.com.au).

Warning: This production contains adult themes, nudity, violence, simulated sex scenes, drug references and coarse language.

Photo Credit: Terence Chin 2010

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