shake & stir theatre co.'s TEQUILA MOCKINGBIRD to Play QPAC, Aug 21-Sept 7

From the multi-award winning team behind shake & stir's 1984 and Animal Farm, comes a brand new production, Tequila Mockingbird, inspired by the themes, characters and relationships from the classic novel by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird.

The Australian premiere season of Tequila Mockingbird opens on the Queensland Performing Arts Centre's (QPAC's) Cremorne Theatre stage, for a strictly limited season from 21 August to 7 September 2013.

Set in a small Australian town, Tequila Mockingbird tells the story of the racist underbelly that rears its ugly head after a young woman is attacked and the small community targets a young Indian contractor who has recently relocated to the area. Only one local man possesses the strength and conviction to uncover the truth and defend the accused in the ultimate fight for what's right.

Tequila Mockingbird features some of Queensland's most experienced actors including Bryan Probets, Barbara Lowing and all three of shake & stir theatre co's Artistic Directors, Ross Balbuziente, Nelle Lee and Nick Skubij along with emerging actor, Shannon Haegler, who makes his main stage debut with the company.

Writer of Tequila Mockingbird, shake & stir's Co-Artistic Director Nelle Lee said the company has stepped away from a straight adaption with this latest work and created a brand new contemporary Australian play re-told specifically for Australian audiences.

"We knew this piece would carry with it specific challenges. To Kill a Mockingbird is, hands down, one of the most famous and cherished novels of all time and we had to be very careful with how we translated its delicate themes, charm and sense of adventure while attempting to retain its overwhelming sense of atmosphere.

"To Kill a Mockingbird deals with racial and social discrimination in a distinctly historical American context but this is something that is still a massive problem in modern Australia albeit it in a very different way".

"We have taken the themes and the key characters from the novel and relocated them to a parallel world and set of circumstances that relate directly to us as modern Australians.

"Tequila Mockingbird still deals with racial intolerance but uncovers a more cleverly disguised, almost socially acceptable form of racism lurking just under the surface in Australian society; Racism that is often downgraded and accepted as us being our ocker, larrikin 'Australian' selves", said Lee.

Racial prejudice, discrimination and the loss of innocence return to the surface in this re-imagined, utterly timeless tale.

shake & stir theatre co. and Queensland Performing Arts Centre Present Tequila Mockingbird, written by Nelle Lee with director Michael Futcher, designer Josh McIntosh, lighting designer Jason Glenwright, and sound designer/composer Guy Webster. Featuring: Ross Balbuziente, Shannon Haegler, Nelle Lee, Barbara Lowing, Bryan Probets and Nick Skubij.

When: 21 August to 7 September 2013
Where: Cremorne Theatre, QPAC, Cultural Precinct, South Bank, Brisbane
Tickets*: Refer to qpac.com.au for current pricing
Bookings: qpac.com.au or 136 246

To post a comment, you must register and login.