ITSAZOO Presents KILLER JOE, Now thru 5/4
ITSAZOO Productions presents the grisly, pitch-black comedy Killer Joe from today, April 15 to May 4, 2014 at the Italian Cultural Centre Parking Lot. Directed by Chelsea Haberlin, this 'trailer-trash noir' is penned by Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts (August: Osage County) and follows a deeply dysfunctional Texas family who engage a contract killer in a scheme to collect life insurance. The site-specific production places the action in a purpose-built trailer park, giving audiences immersive, intimate proximity to the homicidal kinfolk.
"Killer Joe is theatre for the Tarantino and HBO crowd; a bloody, sexy, brilliant piece of work with something to say," says Chelsea Haberlin, Killer Joe director and ITSAZOO Co-Artistic Director. "There are definitely shock factors - nudity, simulated sex, violence - but they are applied in an incisive way to create a dialogue about moral righteousness, ambiguity, and the depravity that poverty can necessitate. We can't wait to welcome artistic risk-takers to our trailers."
The action plays out before an intimate audience of 30 in a trailer-home belonging to the Smith family. The eldest son Chris embroils his kin in a plot to kill his mother and collect her life insurance policy. They hire cop-by-day/hitman-by-night Killer Joe Cooper to carry out of the dirty deed. But when Killer Joe takes an interest in Chris' virginal younger sister Dottie, all hell breaks loose. In addition to the Smith's mobile-home, an elaborate trailer park will be constructed onto the Italian Cultural Centre's lot, including 'installation trailers' that will offer deeper experiential insights into the work. Audiences will be invited to engage in a fully-immersive environment: roaming the park prior to the show and sticking around for a beer afterward. This darkly comic work will be brought to life by a stellar cast of local talent, including Sebastien Archibald, Meghan Chenosky, Ted Cole, Emma Slipp, and Colby Wilson as the titular killer. The production team includes Carmen Alatorre (costumes), Lauchlin Johnston (set/lights), Mishelle Cutler (sound), and Peter Carlone (video). Killer Joe marks the second production in ITSAZOO's Premiere Series, which presents site-specific versions of debut works by renowned playwrights. The series' first production was 2012's award-winning production of Jez Butterworth's Mojo. Killer Joe is not suitable for children.