New Theatre Presents the Sydney Premiere of THE CLEAN HOUSE by Sarah Ruhl

"Love isn't clean. It's dirty. Like a good joke"

Lane, a successful doctor, values order in every aspect of her life: her career, her house, her emotions, her relationships.

When her husband, a surgeon, falls in love with a terminally-ill patient, everything that was clean and tidy for Lane is thrown into disarray, and she must turn to the women in her life - her sister Virginia and her Brazilian maid Mathilde - to help sort out the mess.

Blending whimsical humour with wisdom and compassion, this romantic comedy about love, sex, death - and finding the perfect joke - proves that shared laughter really is the best medicine.

From the writer of In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) comes this award-winning celebration of the solidarity, practicality and emotional resilience of women.

Winner: 2004 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize (awarded annually for the best English-language play written by a woman)
Finalist: 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

The Clean House has had successful productions in Perth and Brisbane (BLACK SWAN/QTC) and Melbourne (MTC), but this is its first outing in Sydney and we've very excited to be presenting this wonderful example of contemporary US theatre writing by one of America's most acclaimed playwrights.

Directed by Rosane McNamara (Entertaining Mr Sloane, Hay Fever), leading a dynamic design team: set and lighting by David Marshall-Martin (The Heidi Chronicles, Hay Fever), costumes by Nicola Block (Marat/Sade), sound by Tegan Nicholls and a/v by Louise Reilly, the cast includes James Bean, Colleen Cook, Mary-Anne Halpin, Alice Livingstone and Keila Terencio (who brings her Brazilian and English skills to the bilingual role of 'Mathilde').

"Sarah Ruhl is a poet as well as a playwright and this I feel is why The Clean House is so succinct and poetic," says director Rosane McNamara. "As with poetry, Ruhl is able to express so much in just a few words. It is therefore a delight for a director and actors to work with her text.

The Clean House reminds us that seeing the funny side of life (and death) helps to keep us sane," continues Rosane. "The play also explores family relationships in all their complexity and absurdity. At the centre of the play is a Brazilian woman, Mathilde, whose mother literally died laughing and who is now on a quest to be a comedian and write the perfect joke. In the meantime, she takes a job in a household where people seem to have lost the important ability to laugh - especially at themselves. Each of the characters in the play has their own personal quest : to find a soulmate, a task, a perfect joke, a perfect death, respect.

"I'm hoping that audiences will recognise what a powerful author Sarah Ruhl is, and that they'll appreciate her gentle exploration of the universal need to be loved, to be appreciated - and to laugh."

CREATIVE TEAM:
Director Rosane McNamara
Set & Lighting Designer David Marshall-Martin
Costume Designer Nicola Block
Sound Designer Tegan Nicholls
A/V Designer Louise Reilly
Production Manager Louise Fischer
Stage Managers/Props Coordinators Jo Jewitt, Ricci Costa
Assistant Director Tabitha Woo

CAST:
James Bean, Colleen Cook, Mary-Anne Halpin,
Alice Livingstone, Keila Terencio

SEASON:
6 June - 8 May 2017

PERFORMANCES:
Previews Tue 6 and Wed 7 June 7:30pm
Thu - Sat 7:30pm, Sun 5pm
Final performance Sat 8 July 2pm

TICKETS:
$35 full
$30 concession, groups (6+)
$20 previews, student rush, Thrifty Thursdays

BOOKINGS:
www.newtheatre.org.au

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