SYDNEY THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS POWER PLAYS FIVE NEW SHORT PLAYS BY MELISSA BUBNIC, MICHELE LEE, NAKKIAH LUI, HANNIE RAYSON AND DEBRA THOMAS CAST DIRECTOR PRODUCTION MANAGER VANESSA DOWNING PAIGE RATTRAY SALLY WITHNELL ANTHONY GEE DESIGNER STAGE MANAGER MICHELLE LIM DAVIDSON DAVID FLEISCHER TIM BURNS STEVE RODGERS LIGHTING DESIGNER ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER URSULA YOVICH ROSS GRAHAM SHANNYN MILLER COMPOSER & SOUND DESIGNER VENUE TECHNICIAN STEVE TOULMIN MAX WILKIE VOICE COACH JESS CHAMBERS 1 HOUR 40 MINUTES, NO INTERVAL THIS PRODUCTION PREMIERED AT WHARF 2 THEATRE ON 22 SEPTEMBER 2016 PRODUCTION PATRON REBEL PENFOLD-RUSSELL IN CONVERSATION: DIRECTOR PAIGE RATTRAY Who are the five writers of Power Plays comedy and a touching narrative about and what do they each bring? sisterhood to our show. She has a great nose for character and an interest in the We chose writers who represent a range of way political issues impact everyday lives experience and perspectives. – exploring how camaraderie between women can bridge differences in class and Hannie Rayson, one of Australia’s leading power. playwrights, needs no introduction. We haven’t seen her work at STC for a few A graduate of Stephen Sewell’s Writing years, so it’s really exciting to be working for Performance program at NIDA with her. She’s wonderful at tapping and recipient of STC’s Patrick White into middle class self-loathing. This is Playwrights' Award, Debra Thomas is about the way intergenerational conflict an exciting new talent. Interested in is fuelled by disagreements over social the power inequality between men and responsibility and personal entitlement. women, her writing is full of rage about the harassment of women online and how I worked with Melissa Bubnic last year it clearly stems from a casual devaluing when I directed her play Boys will be boys. of women in the real world. She’s written Her writing is fierce in every way and she’s a revolting male character that Steve played loose with the ‘comedy’ brief for Rodgers, who usually plays nice guys, is Power Plays, coming up with a very black having a wonderful time bringing to life. comedy. I love her dark humour and the different, meaner flavour that it brings to With power as a guiding theme, how do the evening. Her play is a tongue-in-cheek the different parts speak to each other? musing on the culture of consumerism that drives us all to acquire more and more The brief for all the writers was to come up beautiful things… because we’re worth it. with a 20-minute play about power. Their responses are wildly different and as such Nakkiah Lui has been honing her satire in Power Plays is a celebration of the creativity TV-land, where she writes and performs and diversity of Australian writers. in sketches for the ABC’s hilarious show Although their plays vary greatly in terms Black Comedy. Anyone who has seen her of form and the kind of comedy that on ABC’s Q&A will know that Nakkiah is they employ, there are common threads also a political animal. Her play combines that have emerged in them – the ideas of these interests – part political satire, part entitlement, disillusionment with politics farce. It’s a gift to the actors. and a new wave of feminism echo in many of the plays. The plays are tiny capsules Michele Lee is an emerging writer from written to entertain us, yet, side by side Melbourne that we wanted to introduce they give us time and space to reflect on to Sydney audiences. She brings gentle the state of the nation. 3 How do you design one set for five plays? How did you go about casting the actors? It’s important to me that the night comes The cast have to play a number of roles so I together as one – that we don’t view it as an needed chameleons; actors who could anthology of short stories, but as chapters switch between characters and worlds in a novel, each building on what has easily. I cast the show before the gone before. The design has been crucial playwrights had begun writing so that they to unifying the plays. David Fleischer, could create roles specifically for this cast. who I have worked with many times, is brilliantly inventive and has found ways to transform the space quickly, while keeping a sense that we stay in the same world. SYNOPSIS CHAPTER 1: WHEN VAMPIRES SHOP CHAPTER 4: BY MELISSA BUBNIC HESTER BECKENBAUER’S GOOD FORTUNE In this first chapter, written as a stream- BY HANNIE RAYSON of-consciousness monologue, the power of Famous children’s book author Hester capitalist consumption is in the spotlight. Beckenbauer has just been awarded a What is the real cost of a designer prestigious prize. It won’t make her rich, handbag? What darkness does it obscure? but she has means, and she wants to leave And how can we justify our own good a legacy. Unfortunately for her adult fortune? children, it’s not the legacy they had in mind – Hester has bought a wind farm. CHAPTER 2: THE GREEN ROOM What follows is a comic take on that BY NAKKIAH LUI classic trinity: family, inheritance and Backstage at a TV studio, the executive renewable energy. producer is trying to keep the show on schedule and ratings high. But, on this CHAPTER 5: FEMINAZI panel show, everyone else has a different BY DEBRA THOMAS agenda. In the mix are a terrified The wine is flowing, the night is young, Treasurer, his horny adviser, a wayward The Minister for Women is hoping he host, and a political activist with a daring might get lucky. Meanwhile, on Twitter, plan. What could possibly go wrong? someone is trolling female journalists and commentators. Is the Minister being set CHAPTER 3: OFF CENTRE up? Or is he hiding his misogyny behind BY MICHELE LEE an avatar? When the embattled Minister for Social Services attends a conference at the Pullman Hotel, 26-year-old Donna – a Warning: food and beverage attendant – sees a Power Plays contains frequent strong chance to get square with Centrelink. language, sex scenes and adult themes. 4 CAST & CREATIVES ~ Youth Theatre. Her play, from STC, she has also Stop. Rewind (dir. Anne been commissioned Browning) premièred by Malthouse Theatre, at Red Stitch Theatre Griffin Theatre, in Melbourne in 2010 Platform Youth Theatre, and toured Australia in Next Wave Festival, 2012. In 2011, Melissa Radio National, Darwin completed a Masters in Festival, Arts House, Writing for Performance Westside Circus and MELISSA BUBNIC at Goldsmiths, St Martin’s Youth Arts WRITER University of London. Centre. Michele’s Melissa has written for digital theatre work, Melissa is a writer TV series Shameless The Naked Self, co- for stage and screen. and is developing created with Tanya Melissa’s play Boys numerous TV projects. Dickson, was presented will be boys, directed She is currently writing at the 2016 Festival by Paige Rattray and her first feature of Live Arts. She is the starring Danielle film screenplay, an 2015 recipient of the Cormack, was adaptation of Jamaica Malcolm Robertson commissioned and by Malcolm Knox for Prize for her new play premièred by STC in Black Milk Productions Going Down and the 2015 and has since and director Robert winner of the 2016–17 been performed Connolly. Queensland Premier’s in London at The Drama Award for her Bush Theatre. Her play Rice. Michele’s play Beached won play Moths was the STC’s 2010 Patrick inaugural recipient White Playwrights’ of the Betty Burstall Award and was Commission. She nominated for a 2013 was the 2016 WrICE Green Room Award. Early Career Fellow Beached premièred and a resident at The at Melbourne Theatre Playwrights Centre, Company and was MICHELE LEE Minneapolis in 2016, staged at Griffin WRITER supported through Theatre in 2013. the UNESCO City of Melissa adapted Michele is an Asian- Literature Travel Fund Mariage Blanc by Australian playwright and the Australia Tadeusz Rózewicz and theatre-maker Council. Her radio play (dir. Sarah Giles) for working across stage See how the leaf people STC, co-wrote Hazel and audio, based in run won an Australian Curtis: Fear Doctor with Melbourne. Her works Writers’ Guild Award in Petra Kalive (dir. Jason are about female 2013. Michele’s audio Geary), wrote Shedding identity, otherness, theatre work Talon (dir. Sam Strong) for intimacy and chaotic Salon was presented La Mama, and Citizen worlds, usually in Next Wave Festival Corps (dir. Clare through a non-Anglo 2012 and re-mounted Watson) for Platform perspective. Apart by invitation for You Are 5 CAST & CREATIVES ~ Here Festival 2013 and recipient of the Malcolm Darwin Festival 2013. Robertson Prize and She is a member of a Green Room Award the Melbourne-based for Best Independent New Working Group. Production. Nakkiah’s Her memoir, Banana previous works include: Girl, was published by As Writer: This Heaven, Transit Lounge in 2013. Belvoir 2013 and Finborough Theatre 2015; I Should Have Told HANNIE RAYSON You Before We Made WRITER Love (That I’m Black), You Are Here Festival 2012; Hannie is a graduate Stho Sthexy, MKA 2013; of the University of Blackie Blackie Brown: Melbourne and the The Traditional Owners Victorian College of the of Death, Bondi Feast, Arts (VCA). She holds an Tamarama Rock Surfers Honorary Doctorate of NAKKIAH LUI 2013; Blak Cabaret, Letters from La Trobe WRITER Sydney Festival/ University. Hannie Malthouse Theatre was a co-founder of Nakkiah is a writer/ 2015; Kill the Messenger TheatreWorks and actor and Gamilaroi/ (also as Actor), Belvoir has served as writer- Torres Strait Islander 2015.