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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Notes
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'Based on the original by Seneca the Younger written in the 1st century AD'.
Production Details
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World premiere of a Hayloft Project production commissioned by the Malthouse Theatre, at the Tower Theatre, 16 September - 3 October 2010.
Director: Simon Stone.
Performed at the Adelaide Festival, 2-4 and 6-7 March 2018.
Director: Simon Stone.
Cast: Thomas Henning, Chris Ryan, and Toby Schmitz.
Set and Costume Designer: Claude Marcos.
Composer and Sound Designer: Stefan Gregory.
Lighting Designer: Govin Ruben.
Dramaturg: Anne-Louise Sarks.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Thyestes (The Hayloft Project/Adelaide Festival)
2018
single work
essay
— Appears in: ABR : Arts 2018;'I think it was Peter Brook who said the longest that a staging of a play could remain vital was five years. The Hayloft Project’s Thyestes, directed by Simon Stone and adapted from Seneca’s tragedy by Stone himself, Thomas Henning, Chris Ryan, and Mark Winter, was first seen at the Malthouse Theatre in 2010. Notwithstanding a handful of updates to the text, this production feels like it belongs to a particular moment in time, appearing amid the largely confected furore around the proliferation of adapted classics on Australian stages. There is something, too, in its depiction of a certain kind of hypermasculinity that seems to date it to a specific period in Melbourne’s independent theatre scene, before the recent upsurge of queer work by Sisters Grimm and others. And yet this Thyestes remains viscerally alive: confronting and funny, a deeply compelling mix of the excessive and the ascetic, like the pared-back, shoulder-to-the-wheel rock and roll of a middle-period Bruce Springsteen album. (The Boss does not feature in Stefan Gregory’s raucous sound design, but Wu Tang Clan, Queen, and Roy Orbison do.)' (Introduction)
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Highlights under Spotlights
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 28-29 December 2012; (p. 11) -
An Ego Trip That Pushes the Boundaries
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 5 January 2012; (p. 14) Director Simon Stone is hoping that gay-friendly Sydney will embrace this 21st-century version of Thyestes. -
Festival Line-Up Big on Urban Grit
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 20 October 2011; (p. 5) -
Untitled
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 26 September 2010; (p. 19)
— Review of Thyestes 2010 single work drama
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Ancient Tale of Darkness Given New Resonance
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian , 20 September 2010; (p. 16)
— Review of Thyestes 2010 single work drama -
Thyestes a Fine Parting Gift
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 20 September 2010; (p. 17)
— Review of Thyestes 2010 single work drama -
Untitled
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 26 September 2010; (p. 19)
— Review of Thyestes 2010 single work drama -
Festival Line-Up Big on Urban Grit
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 20 October 2011; (p. 5) -
An Ego Trip That Pushes the Boundaries
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 5 January 2012; (p. 14) Director Simon Stone is hoping that gay-friendly Sydney will embrace this 21st-century version of Thyestes. -
Highlights under Spotlights
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 28-29 December 2012; (p. 11) -
Thyestes (The Hayloft Project/Adelaide Festival)
2018
single work
essay
— Appears in: ABR : Arts 2018;'I think it was Peter Brook who said the longest that a staging of a play could remain vital was five years. The Hayloft Project’s Thyestes, directed by Simon Stone and adapted from Seneca’s tragedy by Stone himself, Thomas Henning, Chris Ryan, and Mark Winter, was first seen at the Malthouse Theatre in 2010. Notwithstanding a handful of updates to the text, this production feels like it belongs to a particular moment in time, appearing amid the largely confected furore around the proliferation of adapted classics on Australian stages. There is something, too, in its depiction of a certain kind of hypermasculinity that seems to date it to a specific period in Melbourne’s independent theatre scene, before the recent upsurge of queer work by Sisters Grimm and others. And yet this Thyestes remains viscerally alive: confronting and funny, a deeply compelling mix of the excessive and the ascetic, like the pared-back, shoulder-to-the-wheel rock and roll of a middle-period Bruce Springsteen album. (The Boss does not feature in Stefan Gregory’s raucous sound design, but Wu Tang Clan, Queen, and Roy Orbison do.)' (Introduction)
Awards
- 2012 shortlisted Sydney Theatre Awards — Best New Australian Work
- 2012 shortlisted Sydney Theatre Awards — Best Mainstage Production