Riverside | National Theatre Of Parramatta Presents ZOMBIE THOUGHTS  Australian Premiere

From 27th May to 5th June Riverside Theatres' National Theatre of Parramatta (NTofP) will present the Australian premiere of Zombie Thoughts, an interactive choose your own adventure story written by mother and son playwrights Jennifer A. Kokai and Oliver Kokai-Means.

During Zombie Thoughts, audiences have the power to decide which actor will play Sam or Pig, and which worlds they'll enter. Sam's deepest darkest fears come to life and this awesome best friends duo look out for each other in a often scary world. "No two shows will be the same, as the audience influences the storytelling, deciding characters, enemies and even costuming." said Warwick Dodrell, Director.

In Australia, almost one in seven children struggle with anxiety. Zombie Thoughts offers a powerful tool to teach young people about Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), in a fun and entertaining way. Inspired by video games, like old school Mario or pacman, Zombie Thoughts takes us to worlds where the power of our mind controls our experience of the world , as Pig helps Sam through his fears.

After having his own experiences of GAD, Oliver created Zombie Thoughts when he was nine, specifically to speak to other young people. The production is a fun and engaging springboard for parents, families and teachers and anyone who has suffered with anxiety to begin a journey to recovery and acceptance.

Bringing the production to life on stage are the incredible talents of Sydney Theatre Award-winning Annie Stafford (New Theatre's Stupid F*cking Bird), Jose Talite in his stage debut, and Monica Sayers (STC's Chimerica and The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui) under the direction of award-winning director Warrick Doddrell (Ensemble Theatre's Kenny, Opera Australia's La Traviata on Sydney Harbour).

Doddrell said "I'm so excited to work on the show. We've been developing and designing the work with an incredible team of artists and will finally get to put it all together to thrill audiences. Wrapped up in a retro-theatrical, interactive fantasy adventure, where the audience actively participates to help our heroes overcome the big bad!".

NTofP has been working alongside internationally acclaimed educational games company, COGNISS to create a Choose Your Own Adventure app which will be launched alongside the production.

National Theatre of Parramatta Executive Producer, Joanne Kee said "We are so excited to be presenting this brilliant work, it's by Oliver, when he was 9, and his Mum. Because of that it's so relatable for young audiences, touching on childhood fears like goblins and zombies and what would you do if your parents disappeared, then it offers practical ways on how you can overcome them. I am looking forward to seeing our audiences reactions to these scenarios".

Riverside Theatres is a registered COVID Safe venue, please check the website for up to date COVID safe practices, ticket information and refund policies.

Available from https://riversideparramatta.com.au/show/zombiethoughts/.

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