THREE BY THREE
Three by Three
About the Plays
Creativity in the Time of Dictatorship, written and directed by Giorgi Corrêa Rossi
Written by one of our own, Giorgi Corrêa Rossi has based this work on his own understanding of the dictatorship which overshadowed Brazil, his home country, from 1964 to 1985. A theatre group is trying to produce a children's play, with little funding and constant censorship. With a mixed group of individuals, all striving for their own goals of fame, love, sex or peace, the result is a humorous, light-hearted, yet personal new work.
Bombshells, by Joanne Murray-Smith, directed by Rachel Gorman
Six women on the edge, all of them total bombshells. Or to be more precise, actual bombs in various stages of implosion. These women are trying to keep it together and only just succeeding. There’s Meryl, mother of three, struggling through the day with a heavy dose of parental guilt and a severe caffeine deficit. There’s Tiggy, piecing together the remnants of her broken marriage, and finding solace in her love of cacti. There's Theresa, who is just minutes from saying “I do” when she realises that she hasn’t given much thought to the actual marriage until now. There’s Winsome, a retired widow yearning for something to shake up her monotonous existence, and Mary, a teenage drama queen preparing for her most epic performance yet. Finally, there’s Zoe, a cabaret diva who should probably be retired but instead is desperately clinging on for dear life. This hilarious and heartfelt play from Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith explores that universal struggle of reconciling our private and public selves, and keeping a cool, calm facade, when on the inside you're really flailing about, trying to hold your life together while it all threatens to fall apart.
Audience, by Michael Frayn, directed by Matt Percy
What could possibly go wrong at a night out at the theatre? When the play fails to hold the audience’s attention and theatre etiquette is clearly not a priority, the answer is plenty. The evening descends into chaos whilst the aspiring playwright, there in the stalls, watches on in frustration and horror. In this comedy by Michael Frayn, the playwright holds a mirror up to the audience and we see the many weaknesses of human nature reflected - from everyday irritation, the agony of first love and the excruciating embarrassment of being a teenager to crumbling marriages and affairs, all subtly and expertly drawn out as the “audience” we are watching reveal themselves to us.
Casts
Creativity in the time of dictatorship
Alex............................................Shirley Blake
Bernie......................................Abigail Levene
Censor 1..............................................Svarupa
Censor 2.............Marianne Schoonderbeek
Director...............................Meriel Overloop
Elis..................................Giorgi Rossi Corrêa
Fred.................................Borislava Todorova
Hans....................................Christine Blakely
John............................................Elisha Moore
Julia.............................................Liz Stienstra
Omar......................................Yvette Supraski
Osen.................................Frieda Jacobowitz
Star......................................Henrietta Bryant
Set: Espen Strand Hagen
Costumes: Giorgi Rossi Corrêa
Bombshells
Theresa............................Alyssa Wagner
Meryl..................................Amy Dobbert
Winsome....................Christine Blakeley
Tiggy..................................Jackie Poplar
Mary...............................Sherilyn Caudle
Zoe...............................Terrence Sinclair
Audience
Amanda...................Eliza Dernovskaya
Bobbie........................Meriel Overloop
Charles..........................Freek Wouters
Katherine.........................Amy Dobbert
Claire...................................Alli Wallace
Eileen..........Marianne Schoonderbeek
Helen.................................Sona Prakash
Joan..........................Frieda Jacobowitz
Lee...........................................Yann Belin
Merrill...................................Ken Kitchen
Rebecca....................Christine Blakeley
Usherette.....................Sherilyn Caudle
Wendy.........................Manouk Tideman
Gallery
photos below of Audience, Bombshells, Creativity in the Time of Dictatorship
photos courtesy of Arjen Veldt Fotografie
Poster design by André van Naarden
