Sydney Theatre Company Presents THE DEEP BLUE SEA

STC Associate Director Paige Rattray will direct a stellar cast including Marta Dusseldop, Fayssal Bazzi and Paul Capsis in the Terrance Rattigan classic The Deep Blue Sea, opening at the Roslyn Packer Theatre in February 2020.

It's 1952 in post-Blitz London and Hester Collyer's (Marta Dusseldorp) life is in turmoil. She has gambled everything - her home, her status, her marriage to a High Court judge - to pursue a life with the dashing RAF fighter pilot Freddie (Fayssal Bazzi), and she has lost. Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, the deep blue sea suddenly looks very inviting. But Hester is determined to forge her own path in a repressive age.

"In a really great play there is usually one line that hits you with a bolt of enlightenment. This play has three," says Paige Rattray. "I'm in awe of Rattigan's delicate insight into these characters. The Deep Blue Sea has made me feel differently about how to live in the world. It's a very rare play that can do that."

Terence Rattigan was one of the great stage and screen writers of the twentieth century and The Deep Blue Sea one of his master works. In Hester, he has created one of the most striking heroines of his era: strong-willed, unconventional and complex. Marta Dusseldorp returns to the STC after an almost decade-long absence to take on the role.

"Hester's is a powerful journey and one that can only be portrayed by a fearless actor who is willing to reach into the depths of their soul to discover why the character makes the choices she does," says Rattray. "And our fearless actor is Marta, her willingness to take risks and search the very depths of a character make her the perfect person to collaborate with on this play."

Marta will be joined by Fayssal Bazzi (Mary Stuart) as the feckless Freddie, iconic performer Paul Capsis, John Adam, Vanessa Downing (How to Rule the World), Charlie Garber (The Real Thing), Brandon McClelland (Saint Joan) and Contessa Treffone (Harp in the South).

For more information visit www.sydneytheatre.com.au.