Steve Francis Composer & Sound Designer Steve has worked on over 100 theatre productions for leading companies include: for Griffin Independent/Apocalypse including for Griffin: A Strategic Plan, Theatre Company// T H E A Rabbit for Kim Jong-il, The Bull, the HotHouse/Merrigong Theatre Company: Moon and the Coronet of Stars, The Dapto Chaser; for Apocalypse Theatre Between Two Waves, Speaking in Company/Old 505: All My Sleep And Waking; Tongues, Strange Attractor, This for Apocalypse Theatre Company/Red Line Year’s Ashes; for Bell Shakespeare: Productions: Permission to Spin; for the Henry V; for Belvoir: The Sugar House; Australian War Memorial: Last Letters; for

BIOGRAPHIES for Theatre Company: The Christine Dunstan Productions: Inside Out; S M A LLEST Battle of Waterloo, The Children, for Company: Silent Disgraced, The Father, The Hanging, The Long Night; for Glynn Nicholas Group: National Forgotten Dream, The Secret River, Still Point Security and the Art of Taxidermy; for GRIFFIN THEATRE COMPANY Turning, Switzerland; for Legs on the Wall: The South East Arts: Sunshine; for Sydney PRESENTS Man with the Iron Neck; for Melbourne Conservatorium of Music: Die Fledermaus Theatre Company: The Weir, The Sublime; and (adaptation); and for the University of THE SMALLEST HOUR for Queensland Theatre: Nearer the Gods. For Wollongong: These Are Not My People. Mary’s HOUR dance, Steve has composed scores for TV credits include: for the ABC: The Elegant WRITTEN & PERFORMED BY Bangarra Dance Theatre, most recently Dark Gentleman’s Guide to Knife Fighting; and for PHIL SPENCER & SUSIE YOUSSEF Emu and Bennelong. He was commissioned Seven Network: . Mary is the 5-15 DECEMBER to compose music for the Gold Coast XXI recipient of several national playwriting Commonwealth Games Opening, the Sydney awards, including Griffin’s Lysicrates Prize Olympic Games Opening Ceremony and the in 2016, the 2006 Griffin Award, PWA’s Max Rugby World Cup Opening. Steve has Afford Award in 2007 and SBW Foundation’s received two Helpmann Awards for Best Rodney Seaborn Award in 2008. Original Score (Walkabout, 2002 and Belong, 2011), and two nominations for Best Sound Isabella Kerdijk Design. He’s also won two Sydney Theatre Stage Manager Awards for Best Music and Sound Design. Steve was nominated for a Screen Music Isabella graduated from the production Award for his work on Dangerous. course at NIDA in 2008. Her credits include: as Stage Manager and Assistant Stage Manager: for Griffin: And No More Shall We Michael Toisuta Part, Replay, This Year’s Ashes, Ugly Mugs; for Associate Sound Designer Belvoir: An Enemy of the People, The Dog/The Michael has worked as composer and sound Cat, The Drover’s Wife, Girl Asleep, The Glass designer on numerous theatre, dance, video Menagerie, HIR, Jasper Jones, Kill The art and short film projects. His sound design Messenger, Mother, My Name is Jimi, Stories credits include: for Griffin and STCSA: I Want To Tell You In Person, The Sugar House, Masquerade; for Bell Shakespeare: Richard Thyestes (European Tour); for Circus Oz: 3; for Belvoir: The Sugar House; for National Cranked Up; for Darlinghurst Theatre Theatre of Parramatta: Flight Paths; and for Company: Fourplay, Ride, Silent Night; for : Australian Graffiti. : Rainman, The Ruby Sunrise; for Legs on the Wall: Bubble; for LWAA: The Mousetrap (/NZ Tour); Mary Rachel Brown for Spiegelworld: Empire; as Production Dramaturg Coordinator: for Opera Australia: Carmen; Mary has worked as a dramaturg for PWA, and as Production Manager/Stage Manager: Canberra Theatre Centre, ATYP, Canberra for A-List Entertainment: Puppetry of the Youth Theatre and the Australian War Penis. Isabella has also worked on various Memorial. As a playwright, Mary’s credits festivals including The Garden of Unearthly Delights at Fringe, and Woodford Folk Festival.

THANK YOU Supported by A big thank you to Nikki Britton, Eden Lacey, Daniel Cottier, Leila Enright from PWA, Caleb Lewis, Tilly, Whitney and Polly for all their help with the kidlets, and Matt Cartwright—for everything. THE SMALLEST HOUR Tyler Hawkins A bleak romantic comedy from two of Sydney’s best-loved raconteurs. Susie Youssef Set & Costume Designer Writer/Performer A woman bails on her bestie’s Hens’ Night. A cop dodges the bus fare into town. A dog As a design graduate of NIDA’s Master of Fine walker whistles ABBA in the dead of night. Pop the kettle on and join storytellers Phil Susie Youssef is a comedian, actor, writer Arts in 2017, Tyler has already been fortunate Spencer (Story Club, Radiotonic) and Susie Youssef (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) for this and improviser. Susie’s solo shows include: enough to work for a number of major companies across theatre, opera, art and bleary-eyed stagger through the night that was. The Smallest Hour is a richly woven for /Melbourne fashion. His previous theatre credits include: as comedy about broken dreams, second chances and velcro pants. International Comedy Festival: Behave Youssef, Check Youssef Before You Wreck Designer: for 25a (Belvoir): Greater Sunrise; for Youssef, which she toured to the Edinburgh ATYP: Intersection: Chrysalis, Moth; for Black Fringe and London, Owl Eyes On You and Birds/Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre: After long walks around Kings Sketchual Chocolate. As a performer, Susie’s Black Birds; for Clock and Spiel Productions/ Cross, cups of tea and a few too theatre credits include: for the Hayloft : Freud’s Last Session; for The many baked goods, we knack for painting characters whose flaws Project: The Boat People; and for Sydney Kings Collective: Gruesome Playground Injuries, discovered that we had started and failures are painfully tragic and Theatre Company: Accidental Death of an Out of Gas on Lover’s Leap, This is Our Youth, writing in each other’s voices. beautifully comic in equal measure. Anarchist. Susie’s television credits include: Wasted, The Wonderful World of Dissocia; for Throughout the script we for the ABC: The Chaser’s Media Circus, The Next Wave Festival: L.O.T.R.A.F; for NIDA: genuinely couldn’t tell you who This project sees them combining their skills Checkout, Get Krack!n, How Not To Behave, #KillAllMen, The Olympians; for Old 505/La

WRITERS’ NOTE wrote which line (probably Susie). to collectively craft a story of two individuals Rosehaven, Squinters; for the Comedy Mama: Hell’s Canyon; for Red Line Productions: as they move through a city at night. A city at I Hate You My Mother; for Sam Productions: We never set out to write a romantic comedy, Channel: Whose Line Is It Anyway? Australia; once familiar and new. Join them as they Dolores; for Sydney Chamber Opera/ and perhaps this story isn’t terribly romantic for Network Ten: Have You Been Paying travel down back alleys and up carpeted Carriageworks: Howling Girls; for Underbelly or maybe even all that comedic (that’s a joke, Attention?; and for Stan: No Activity. A regular stairwells into the forgotten corners of a city Arts Festival: Watermelon; as Festival Designer: we’re joking). But for us, The Smallest Hour is performer at the Sydney Comedy Store and much like our own. Spend an evening nestled for Bondi Feast: Bondi Feast 2018; for Opera a story about our fears: Am I being true to Giant Dwarf, Susie has also performed at alongside these people as they negotiate their Australia: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon: myself? Am I living the life I really want to , Secret Garden own longing, and search for that special Dinner on the Dock; as Design Secondment: for live? And should I stop drinking Pimm’s and Festival and . As an improviser, connection that we all ultimately want, but Griffin:A Strategic Plan; for Belvoir: The Wizard lemonade? Susie has performed internationally as a seldom attain. guest at Improvaganza in Edmonton, Dad’s of Oz; and for Sydney Theatre Company: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. His design credits We knew we wanted this story to be told by Scarlet McGlynn Garage in Atlanta and The Del Close for screen include: for ABC/Noble Savage characters who were familiar to us and set Director Marathon in New York. She has studied at in a place not unlike the one we live in now. the iO Theatre in . Pictures: Scout; for Dollhouse Collective/ A place where, hidden away in the hustling Shannon Murphy: Eaglehawk; for / debris of city life, there are (if you look hard Scarlet McGlynn Noble Savage Pictures: Brown Lips; for Nick enough) still real moments of hopefulness, Phil Spencer Director Waterman/Megan Washington: Saint Lo; and for flashes of joy and on a good day—actual love. Writer/Performer Noble Savage Pictures: A Chance Affair. Scarlet is an award-winning director and Phil Spencer & Susie Youssef Phil is a writer, performer and festival dramaturg who has worked professionally director. Originally from the UK, he now Veronique Benett Writers both in Australia and the UK. Her theatre Lighting Designer lives in Sydney with his young family, credits include: as Director: for Griffin: where he makes comedy, theatre and Glimpse with Jonathan Hindmarsh (Batch Veronique is a lighting designer, as well as a set stories for radio. His most recent Festival); The Lysicrates Prize (staged and costume designer. In 2017, Veronique I loved this play the first time I theatre credits include: as Performer: read it. I felt it was a story many readings); for Critical Stages: Hooting & completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical for : Destroyer of Worlds; Howling; for La Boite Indie: Show Me Yours, Theatre and Stage Management) at NIDA. She people would be able to connect as Writer/Performer: for Battersea Arts to. Something about the I’ll Show You Mine, for which the show won a is continuing her studies at NIDA this year in a Centre/The Arches Glasgow/Melbourne Green Room Award at the Melbourne Fringe; Master of Fine Arts (Design for Performance). simplicity of it attracted me, and Fringe: Bluey; for Critical Stages/Lorne

BIOGRAPHIES for Sydney Theatre Company: Hooting and Veronique’s lighting design work includes: for I loved the space it left for me to Arts Festival/Melbourne Fringe/Sydney fill in the blanks. The stripped- Howling (Rough Draft Program); for Tin Shed K X T: A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing; for the Company Rough Draft Program: Theatre Company: Boxing Day, You and Theatre: Stupid Fucking Bird; for NIDA: Directors back storytelling, the Hooting & Howling; for Giant Dwarf: No conversational sparring between Whose Army?; as Writer/Director: for Rock and Designers Graduating Productions 2017, Standing. No Dancing.; for Sydney Fringe: Surfers Theatre Company: Future Senior/ Fraternal, Venus in Fur, Women on the Verge of a the narrators, the endearing Glorious Pomegranate; for Tin Shed Theatre vulnerability of its two characters Former Youth; as Assistant Director: for Nervous Breakdown; for Red Line Productions

DIRECTOR’S NOTE Company: You And Whose Army? (Australian travelling through the night. It’s Griffin: The Almighty Sometimes; for Sydney at the Old Fitz: Live, The Wolves; Tour); and for Tin Shed Theatre Company/Old Theatre Company: Disgraced, Storm Boy, for UTS Backstage: Blood Wedding; as Set been a real treat to see it evolve from early Fitz: Boxing Day. Phil’s piece for radio, All Lost development through to this premiere season. Switzerland; and as National Tour Director: Designer: for NIDA: Venus in Fur; as Costume in the Supermarket, was featured on ABC for Sydney Theatre Company: Disgraced. Designer: for NIDA: Women on the Verge of a Susie and Phil’s respective creative careers Radio’s Radiotonic and at Sydney Writers’ Scarlet is currently on the Women in Theatre Nervous Breakdown; as Assistant Lighting have been devoted to bringing unique Festival. Phil is Griffin Theatre Company’s Program at MTC and is Artist in Residence at Designer: for Apocalypse Theatre Company: characters and peculiar scenarios to life for Artistic Associate, Co-Festival Director for the Critical Stages. Metamorphoses; for The Apollo Opera their audiences. As writers, they both annual Bondi Feast festival and is a regular Collective: Ariodante; for KXT: Visiting Hours; possess an acute eye for noticing the finer guest on the Story Club Podcast. and as Associate Lighting Designer: for The details that you and I might miss, and have a Hayes: Cry-Baby.