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Playbox Theatre Playbox Theatre i(A79709 works by) (Organisation) assertion (a.k.a. Malthouse Theatre; Playbox Theatre Company)
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1 Under the Skin Pamela Carter , 2024 single work drama

'From the studio that created the ward-winning films Everything Everywhere All At Once and Moonlight, and cult classics Hereditary and Spring BreakersA24 had its breakthrough 2013 hit with Under The Skin starring Scarlett Johansson.

'An otherworldly woman, Isserley, embarks on a mysterious mission to hunt hitchhiking men for sustenance. She’s skilled at it, very skilled, but her perspective begins to shift as she learns more about why she’s been sent to hunt.

'Adapted from the Michel Faber novel, Under the Skin is an ambitious, highly technical collaboration between acclaimed writer Pamela Carter and Malthouse Theatre Artistic Director Matthew Lutton.

'In an extraordinary synthesis of performance and technology, featuring live motion capture and digital creature design, audiences are transported into a reality where we are not earth’s apex predator—and in turn—are invited to think deeply about the beauty of the world in which we walk.' (Production summary)

1 The Interpreters (Apologia) Nicola Gunn , 2024 single work drama

'Unpack Nicola Gunn’s personal fantasy of being a French actress—despite being categorically not French.

'In a surreal comedic encounter, the aspiring French actress quarrels with a Japanese film director and their interpreter about how to translate a script of a complex mother-daughter relationship to the screen. Their different points of view spiral into riveting and confounding misunderstandings, and the power of who is doing the translating is paramount.

'The Interpreters (Apologia) fuses comedy with awkward attempts to express ourselves and communicate across boundaries. Armed with her signature bold and candid approach, Nicola Gunn (Piece for Person and Ghetto Blaster) confronts having your voice translated by others.' (Production summary)

1 Multiple Bad Things Back to Back Theatre , 2024 single work drama

'Struggling to work together, three employees grapple with questions of inclusion, identity and intersectionality. Civility slips, bad behaviour escalates and reality distorts. The witching hour is here. Who will be the scapegoat?

'Welcome to the workplace at the end of the world.' (Production summary)

1 Homo Pentecostus Joel Bray , 2024 single work drama

'Join an odyssey of self-discovery and liberation. Actor, dancer and writer, Joel Bray invites you to an intimate exploration of his secret queer identity within the confines of a 1990s Pentecostal Church. Partake in a shared ritual that immerses you in the transformative power of music, movement, and collective ritual. 

'Pentecostalism is Australia’s fastest-growing religion, and Joel will lead you through an insider’s perspective on the intersection of faith and sexuality. From the humble church halls to the vibrant disco dancefloors, Homo Pentecostus peels back layers of conflicting allure and hidden shame to illuminate our quest to embrace our true selves. 

'Awaken your spirit. Shake up your perceptions. Homo Pentecostus is an ecstatic testament to resilience, love, and the pursuit of personal truth.' (Production summary)

1 Yentl Gary Abrahams , Elise Hearst , Galit Klas , 2024 single work drama

'After a triumphant debut in 2022, garnering wide acclaim, four Green Room Awards and numerous five-star reviews—Malthouse is proud to present a return season of Kadimah Yiddish Theatre’s Yentl. This new stage adaptation of Nobel Prize laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer’s iconic short story is the first since the 1975 Broadway play and Barbra Streisand’s iconic 1983 musical film. 

'Yentl is the journey of a young woman who defies the Jewish orthodox tradition that forbids females from studying religious scripture. When her father dies, Yentl emancipates herself by dressing in male guise, determined to live as a man to continue her studies. Religion, gender, sexual politics, and traditional Yiddish culture collide as Yentl finds her truth through faith and love.' (Production summary)

1 3 The Hate Race Maxine Beneba Clarke , 2024 single work drama

'Inspired by the best-selling, award-winning memoir by Caribbean-Australian writer Maxine Beneba ClarkeThe Hate Race is an unflinching exploration of the complexities of race in Australia, and the universal search for belonging. Making its theatrical premiere on the Malthouse stage, this powerful story stars Zahra Newman (Wake In Fright), who embodies all characters from the book with astonishing honesty and theatricality. 

'The Hate Race follows Maxine’s childhood in Sydney’s western suburbs, as she navigates the sting of otherness. From everyday street encounters to schoolyard battles, Maxine’s story exposes the realities of growing up the child of Black migrants in a predominantly white society. This inventive re-imagining, filled with poetry, music and beats, invites audiences to experience Maxine’s world —exposing biases, challenging societal norms, and asking us to foster empathy and understanding as we seek an inclusive future. 

'The Hate Race is more than a theatrical experience—it is a call to action. This is how we change.'

1 Fuck Christmas Sarah Ward , Bec Matthews , 2024 single work drama

'Release yourself from the capitalistic machine that Christmas has become and enjoy a wild, mutinous, hilarious holiday season celebration. Serving post-punk, anti-capitalist realness, this is an epic Grinchian party like no other, brought to you by a family of queers, rebels and runaways. It's time to flip four calling birds to secular traditions and embrace the festive chaos with Fuck Christmas.' (Production summary)

1 Atlantis Chanella Macri , 2023 single work drama

'Three friends gather in a theatre to talk about the Big One: CLIMATE CHANGE. But before they can even agree on how Big this Big One is, a tsunami hits—and both they and the audience are dragged to the bottom of the ocean…

'Using Plato’s ancient myth of a sunken city as an anchor point, Atlantis is an allegory for Australia in its current stage of climate crisis—and the search for lost systems of knowledge that might help us understand our relationship to the environment. Drawing on Indigenous and Pasifika philosophies and modes of storytelling, this fantastical play is ultimately about young people stepping into their power as future guardians of country.'

Source: Production blurb.

1 Whose Gonna Love 'Em? I Am That I Am Kamarra Bell-Wykes , 2023 single work drama

'Written and directed by Kamarra Bell-Wykes, Whose Gonna Love 'Em? I am that i AM is a post-traumatic performance thesis, winning the 2021 Patrick White Playwriting Award.

'Starring Maggie Church-Kopp, Corey Saylor-Brunskill, and Maurial Spearim, accompanied by a live improvisational score by smallsound, Whose Gonna Love 'Em? I am that i AM is an absurd group therapy session held somewhere in the deepest cells of the collective mind and the colonised heart.'

Source: Matlhouse Theatre.

1 Hour of the Wolf Keziah Warner , Keziah Warner , Matthew Lutton , 2023 single work drama

'The cursed night approaches, or so the story goes. When the clock hits 3am the wolf returns to Hope Hill. The wise leave an offering at their door; else she takes what she is owed. 

'But it’s only a myth… Don’t believe everything you hear.

'Building on the landmark success of Because the Night (2021), Malthouse Theatre ambitiously realises Australia’s next chapter of large-scale immersive theatre. Hour of the Wolf introduces you to Hope Hill, a town that is yours to freely explore on the longest night of the year. Interweaving stories unravel the disturbing disappearances occurring between the hours of 3am and 4am. Choose which of the ten characters to follow, pick left or right at the end of every scene, and trace this night from different points of view.

'Everyone has their own truth in Hope Hill.

'Immerse in the stories and indulge your curiosity by venturing off the path to solve side quests that unearth the history of the town - it might take you one step closer to meeting the myth herself.

'Unlock the Hour of the Wolf.'

Source: Malthouse Theatre.

1 1 Telethon Kid Alistair Baldwin , 2023 single work drama

'Telethon Kid is the debut play from writer, comedian and self-described 'disabled ingenue' Alistair Baldwin

'Shortlisted for this year's Griffin Award, Telethon Kid sees a disabled influencer team up with the world's leading expert in his condition as they vie for funding at a pharmaceutical company's annual conference. Set in the fickle world of rare disease research, Telethon Kid promises to be a sexy ethical nightmare unlike anything you've seen onstage before.'

Source: Matlhouse Theatre.

1 2 This Is Living Ash Flanders , 2023 single work drama

'Falling apart can bring you together.

'Check your emotional baggage at the door because this self-described gang of queers, singles, and divorcees is going on holiday. Hugh has organised a fabulous weekend away for his partner and their best girlfriends in Hepburn’s finest to escape a year from hell. But even deli meats, medicinal hydroponics and soaking in spring water can’t fix everything. Try as you might to float on the surface, life has a funny way of bubbling up—and over.

'Writer Ash Flanders is notorious for crafting caustic comedy that makes you laugh ‘til you hurt, only this time he’s gone somewhere completely unexpected… the real world. This semi-autobiographical play is the saltiest, sweetest, and most honest look at love and friendship you’ll see.

'Because when shit hits the fan it’s your chosen family who’ll clean you up—once they’ve stopped laughing. So pack an overnighter and enjoy the only safe seat on a getaway you won’t want to get away from. This Is Living!'

Source: Malthouse Theatre.

1 y separately published work icon Nosferatu Keziah Warner , 2023 Strawberry Hills : Currency Press , 2023 25467124 2023 single work drama

'You've heard the rumours, the whispers of what happened here.

'Wander too far from Tasmania’s western highway and you might find Bluewater—a mining town that time left behind. The locals are desperate to restore the place to its glory days and put their faith in a mysterious investor with a green thumb and an appetite for blood.

'Vineyards are planted and money flows for the first time in years—so when people start disappearing, no one dares to ask why…'

Source: Matlhouse Theatre.

1 The Return John Harvey , 2022 single work drama

'Once considered ‘exotic’ trophies of antiquity, the bodily remains of Indigenous men, women, and children served scientific theories of evolution and were prized objects displayed on mantelpieces. In the cover of darkness, grave robbers would pillage burial grounds, to sell Ancestral remains to the highest bidder under the guise of scientific research. Thousands were stolen and sold.

'Today, they are still locked away.

'Some are displayed in private homes, while others are hidden deep within the bowels of museums and universities. Now is the time to bring them back to Country.

'Torres Strait Islander playwright John Harvey (Heart is a Wasteland) recounts a dark history of Australia in The Return, inspired by Yorta Yorta man Jason Tamiru’s experiences as a repatriation worker. Three narratives interweave—a repatriation officer, a museum curator, and a bone collector—uncovering a macabre history of false justifications in an epic tale spanning 250 years.'

Source: Production blurb.

1 Monsters Emme Hoy , Matthew Lutton , Stephanie Lake , 2022 single work drama

'A SINKHOLE HAS OPENED IN THE GROUND. THIS IS THE STORY OF A WOMAN WHO CLIMBS INTO IT. AND WHAT SHE FINDS.

'In a thrilling fever dream told by Alison Whyte (CloudstreetThe Bloody Chamber), a woman and her guide journey into a chasm that has opened in a city and stolen her sister. As they plunge into the subterranean depths; and on the knife’s edge of panic, the woman refuses the urgent pleas of her guide to turn back—how can she when she knows her sister is so close?     

'But they are not alone.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 Stay Woke Aran Thangaratnam , 2022 single work drama

'A play about two brothers, Niv and Sai, heading to the mountains to bury the hatchet on a lifelong rivalry.  

'Big brother Niv has gone vegan. He’s madly in love, he's starting his own business, and seems to have finally found himself after years as the black sheep of the family. In an attempt to reconcile their differences, Niv invites golden child Sai and his new girlfriend Kate on a ski trip where they can put the past aside for the sake of family.

'But when party banter turns political, Kate stumbles into a minefield, and finds herself the focal point of an all-out war.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 S.S. Metaphor Ash Flanders , 2021 single work drama

'Welcome aboard the luxury cruise liner S.S. Metaphor! Sure, this glittering ode to freedom, adventure, and endless possibility is stuck at sea, but as top tier passengers you’ll be none the wiser about troubles back home... or even below deck! Just slip on a kaftan or linen slack, sip your mai tai and kick up your heels as the world-class cabaret duo Cruise Control croon your cares away. Remember—it’s all about you!'

Source: Malthouse Theatre.

1 3 Because the Night Kamarra Bell-Wykes , Ra Chapman , Matthew Lutton , 2021 single work drama

'Something is unfolding here in Elsinore. For weeks the strikes have been intensifying—but there’s a new mood tonight as Carnival approaches. There’s a vivid sense of an era ending—a new age opening up. The timber workers feel it… and the royals too. Inside the palace there are whispers… the King’s death, the grinning Queen, the agitated Prince… And the ancient forest is wild again, groaning—restless... It seems to me that everything is part of a broader picture—that no matter where you look, it will tell the whole wicked story.

'In a landmark production of unmissable storytelling, Malthouse Theatre launches an immersive theatre work on a scale never seen before in Australia. An entire world has been constructed for you to explore: follow the royals through the palace, roam the length of a town on the cusp of the digital age, or sift through the drawers of a single desk. Whatever you choose, a story will play out around you of a regime on the edge of collapse. You are a silent witness in the halls of power on a pivotal night in history. Move, venture deeper, listen closely, because the night will soon be lostand all its secrets with it.

'Because The Night is an immersive theatre show. The show is experienced by moving through the world of Elsinore as the story plays out around you.

'The actors cannot 'see' you, and will never touch or talk to you. You are a silent witness to the story.

'Enter the sprawling world of Elsinore from one of three entrance rooms: the Bedroom, the Gymnasium, or the Royal Office. The story commences with different characters' perspectives before you are invited to explore the expanse that awaits you.

'Follow the characters as their stories intersect, or go off the beaten track to discover the secrets of the town. Every choice you make is the right choice, for whatever path you take will uncover the mysteries of Because The Night.

'If you are experiencing Because The Night as a group, it is recommended you start at different entrances. Whether you choose to explore together, or split up to discover the world alone, your journey is yours to take as you wish.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 y separately published work icon What Matters Jane Harrison , 2020 Melbourne : Playbox Theatre , 2020 23370601 2020 single work drama

'A First Nations woman decides to take her family on Country to do lockdown. Together they find peace in stripping things back to their most essential; chopping wood, fetching water, with no internet and no real connection to the outside world. On returning to the city, she discovers the news of George Floyd’s death and the explosion of the Black Lives Matter movement, here and overseas.'

Source: Malthouse Theatre.

1 y separately published work icon At Your Own Peril Jean Tong , 2020 Melbourne : Playbox Theatre , 2020 23370532 2020 single work drama

'A Malaysian-Chinese International student counsels a friend on whether studying in Australia is a good idea. They recount a recent racist verbal assault they experienced, one that has shattered their illusions about Australia and brings the underlying racism in our society and government into focus. They’ve come from innocence, and now they’re waking up to the world.'

Source: Malthouse Theatre.

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