THE OTHER END OF THE AFTERNOON Makes World Premiere at Sydney Fringe Next Month

A young adult dramedy about Clive, a boy who wears a top hat to school (in case he goes back in time), Bianca, the cool girl who bullies him (and might have a crush on him), Xavier, the world's worst stepbrother (who wants to be a crime lord), Dylan, the school dropkick (who's about to snap), and (perhaps) time travel.

This delightful new Australian play, suitable for both teens and like-minded adults, is a humorous, whimsical, quirky and surprisingly moving exploration of loneliness, connection, classism, family, relationships, and - most importantly - whether the grossest vegetable is eggplant or corn.

New Theatre is excited to be bringing the world premiere of this new Australian play to Sydney audiences as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival.

This production continues our commitment to present the best scripts from the Silver Gull Play Award entries of the past couple of years, following on from The Park and The Chocolate Roster in January, and the acclaimed and sold-out season of Gods and Little Fishes in June.

Young Sydney playwright Bokkie Robertson has shared her thoughts on what inspired her to create her play:

"A couple years back, I jotted down a dumb little freeform poem about how some afternoons can take you back in time. Shortly thereafter, a nearby bottle shop did a Johnnie Walker promotion and put all their employees in button-ups and top hats, which was bizarre but also, if we're being honest, kind of a Look.

My whole brain went 'oh there's a character in that', followed swiftly by 'and that character for sure believes in time travel afternoons', followed with equal haste by 'he gets bullied for it', and rounded out with 'one of his bullies is weirdly into him (and super mad about it)'.

With the clever addition of some tried and true classics like Plot and Other Characters, and a litany of personal favourites like Jokes, Chaos, Juvenile Delinquency and Soup, I found my way to The Other End of the Afternoon: a semi-ridiculous-but-also-quite-serious high school dramedy about a bunch of kids who fully believe time travel will fix their problems, and do everything they can to make it happen.

Underneath all that, of course, the play has some pretty important things to say about bullying, escaping abusive situations, and the effects of punitive discipline, and my dearest hope is that its theme of You're Allowed To Leave resonates with people who need it most.

But mainly, yeah, it's about crime and romance and jokes - and, maybe, afternoons that take you back in time."

Bokkie is a stage and screen storyteller living and working on Gadigal land. She has a BA Screen (Production) from AFTRS and a Certificate III in Live Productions, Theatre and Events. Her body of work includes Shakespeare-inspired webseries Call Me Katie and its sequel Nothing Like The Sun, Short+Sweet Gala Finalist Wish, apocalyptic one-act drama Headbanging to Beethoven, and an immersive adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing.

Bokkie is also taking on directorial duties for the production, and has put together a terrific team: Blake Hedley (set and costume design), Dany Akbar (lighting), Paris Bell (sound), Ben Bauchet (composer), together with cast Lisa Hanssens, Sam Martin, Brendan McBride, Rebekah Parsons, Courtney Powell, Dominique Purdue, Sophie Teo and Sam Wallace.

Follow the team on Insta @theotherendoftheafternoon

This production features strong language and is suitable for ages 13 and up.

CREATIVE TEAM

Writer/Director Bokkie Robertson
Set & Costume Designer Blake Hedley
Lighting Designer Dany Akbar
Sound Designer Paris Bell
Composer Ben Bauchet
Production Manager Carla Hedley
Stage Managers Robyn Arthur, Louisa Panucci
ASM and Marketing Manager Promise Mudzingwa
Music Assistant Margot Roberts
Photographer Troy Kent
Graphic Design and Consultant Nicola Macindoe
Cast Lisa Hanssens, Sam Martin, Brendan McBride, Rebekah Parsons, Courtney Powell, Dominique Purdue, Sophie Teo, Sam Wallace

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