Sydney Theatre Company Presents CHALKFACE Next Month

Australia's primary education system will be put under the microscope, and teachers working "at the chalkface" saluted in Angela Betzien's satirical staffroom comedy Chalkface, playing Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House from 15 September.

Commissioned by Sydney Theatre Company (STC) and co-produced with State Theatre Company South Australia (STCSA), Chalkface premiered at Adelaide's Dunstan Playhouse last week and was praised by critics and teachers alike as "eminently and hilariously successful" (Arts Hub) and "a darkly humorous class worth taking" (Limelight).

The play was in-part inspired by Betzien's upbringing as the daughter of two teachers, as well as her own challenging experience with homeschooling throughout the pandemic.

Set entirely in the staffroom of a fictional public school over the course of a school year, the play examines issues facing the Australian education system and takes an irreverent jab at privatisation, bureaucracy and workplace culture.

Chalkface is directed by STC Resident Director Jessica Arthur (Wonnangatta, Grand Horizons), and stars acclaimed actor Catherine McClements (Water Rats, Wentworth), Stephanie Somerville (who understudied for STC productions Julius Caesar and Blithe Spirit), Susan Prior (Aftertaste) and in their STC debuts: Michelle Ny, Nathan O'Keefe and Ezra Juanta.

Arthur, who has assembled an excellent creative team including composer and sound designer Jessica Dunn, set and costume designer Ailsa Paterson, lighting designer Mark Shelton and assistant director Clement Rukundo, says Chalkface is a tribute to all teachers.

"This is a play about school and teaching; most people attended school or perhaps had some sort of inspirational figure in their life - whether that be a teacher or some other role model. Watching this play, you can't help but reflect on the teachers that shaped you, or interesting experiences you shared with classmates," she said.

"I also think it's very relevant coming out of lockdown because, having now been through the experience of homeschooling, collectively people are appreciating just how essential teachers and education are. I think it's very easy for us to become complacent with that, but Chalkface is almost like a love letter to teachers and the people that shape us."

Playwright Angela Betzien (The Hanging, ABC's Total Control) says Chalkface is her first foray into comedy - "writing through a pandemic, I couldn't bear the idea of creating something bleak".

"Life was bleak, and like so many others I was struggling to work and homeschool. In Chalkface, I've written a comedy about a familiar world - an education system that's past its expiry date, a system that needs a revolution," Betzien said.

"I hope that Chalkface will be cathartic for teachers, a comic feast they can enjoy with their colleagues and a chance to see their vital work reflected on the stage. This play is a whacky love letter to all those teachers who've changed us, who've made a difference, who've set us on our life's course. It's about the need to teach and encourage our kids to resist and question. In an uncertain future those qualities will be more important than ever."

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