THE RASPUTIN AFFAIR BY KATE MULVANY 1 APRIL – 30 APRIL 2017 WORLD PREMIERE THE RASPUTIN AFFAIR BY KATE MULVANY Late evening. The Moika Palace. Petrograd. 29th December, 1916. DIRECTOR JOHN SHEEDY CAST CREW FELIX DESIGNER TOM BUDGE ALICIA CLEMENTS VLAD LIGHTING DESIGNER JOHN GADEN MATTHEW MARSHALL DIMITRI SOUND DESIGNER HAMISH MICHAEL NEIL MCLEAN RASPUTIN WARDROBE COORDINATOR SEAN O’SHEA ALANA CANCERI STAGE MANAGER MINYA STEPHANIE LINDWALL ZINDZI OKENYO ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER SLADE BLANCH SPECIAL THANKS: COSTUME MAKERS Alex Stuart at Sydney Theatre Company Props CLAIRE WESTWOOD Scott Fisher at Sydney Theatre Company Wardrobe Department MELANIE LIERTZ Bell Shakespeare Company FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY Peter Blanch KYLE ROWLING Although this play is based on true people and events, some events and characters in this play have been fictionalised and should not be construed as truth. RUNNING TIME APPROX 2 HOURS INCLUDING INTERVAL THANK YOU FOR YOUR $2 DONATION, IT HELPS COVER THE PRODUCTION OF OUR PROGRAMS 02 9929 0644 • ensemble.com.au KATE MULVANY – PLAYWRIGHT Kate Mulvany is an Australian actor, playwright, dramaturg and screenwriter. Her plays include her award-winning autobiographical piece THE SEED, THE WEB, BLOOD & BONE, STORY TIME, THE DANGER AGE, an adaptation of the Craig Silvey novel JASPER JONES, which recently played at Belvoir and the Melbourne Theatre Company, an adaptation of the best-selling childrens’ book MASQUERADE by Kit Williams for Griffin Theatre Company, and a new version of MEDEA, which has had sell-out seasons in Sydney, Warsaw, Auckland and London and won an AWGIE and several Sydney Theatre Critics awards. Kate also wrote the book to the musical SOMEWHERE (music and lyrics by Tim Minchin), and the Australian Anzac oratorio TOWARDS FIRST LIGHT with composer Iain Grandage. Kate was the 2015 Patrick White Fellow at the Sydney Theatre Company and the first Intersticia Fellow at Bell Shakespeare. JOHN SHEEDY – DIRECTOR John is currently the Creative Director and CEO of Theatre Works in Melbourne. A multi-award winning Director whose work has been staged extensively throughout Australia, John has directed productions for Belvoir Street, Bell Shakespeare, Parramatta Riverside, Black Swan State Theatre Company, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Theatre Company, Griffin and Opera Australia. John’s work has been recognized with multiple nominations for Helpmann and Sydney Theatre Awards. John was the Artistic Director at Barking Gecko Theatre Company from 2010, delivering his final season for the company in 2015. In his first season as Artistic Director at Barking Gecko, John directed a stage adaptation of Shaun Tan’s children’s book THE RED TREE, and also DRIVING INTO WALLS, HAMLET, STORM BOY, DUCK, DEATH AND THE TULIP, ONEFIVEZEROSEVEN, and JASPER JONES. In 2015, John’s swan-song for Barking Gecko, in conjunction with Opera Australia, was THE RABBITS adapted from the novel by John Marsden and Shaun Tan, premiering at the 2015 Perth International Arts Festival and Melbourne Festival and has had a subsequent season at the Sydney Festival and QPAC in 2016. THE RABBITS was the winner of 4 awards in the 2015 Helpmann Awards – Best Presentation for Children, Best Original Score, best Costume Design and Best New Australian Work. In 2016 for Opera Australia, John was the assistant director to Matthew Barclay on the recent revival of FOR THE LOVE OF THREE ORANGES and has just completed shooting his first short film MRS MCCUTCHEON. THE RASPUTIN AFFAIR WAS ORIGINALLY COMMISSIONED BY THE MELBOURNE THEATRE COMPANY. THE RASPUTIN AFFAIR WAS DEVELOPED WITH THE SUPPORT OF PLAYWRITING AUSTRALIA AT THE NATIONAL SCRIPT WORKSHOP 2016 THE RASPUTIN AFFAIR BY KATE MULVANY 3 TOM BUDGE – FELIX “Tom Budge is a mystery. It’s THE LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE. Film: been said that if you stare ABRAXAS, SON OF A GUN, TRACKS, LARRY for too long into his sapphire CROWNE, BRAN NUE DAE, TEN EMPTY, eyes you will forget how to LAST TRAIN TO FREO, KOKODA, CANDY, THE love. White box, black box, PROPOSITION, AUSTRALIAN RULES. TV: no box, eyeball, earwall, Narwhal.” Theatre: GALLIPOLI, MABO, THE PACIFIC, EAST OF STC: ENDGAME, MTC: THE BEAST, Belvoir: EVERYTHING. Music: TOM BUDGE BAND. JOHN GADEN – VLAD John Gaden has worked GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD, THE WAR OF extensively in film, theatre and THE ROSES and COPENHAGEN. John recently television for over fifty years, performed in Melbourne Theatre Company’s building a solid reputation as an STRAIGHT WHITE MEN, as well as appearing outstanding actor. Renowned in their production of OTHER DESERT for his exceptional stage performances, CITIES, in PERICLES for Bell Shakespeare recent highlights include Belvoir’s THE and in the State Theatre Company of South WILD DUCK performances in Sydney, Perth, Australia’s KING LEAR in the title role. John’s London, Vienna and Amsterdam, as well as most celebrated performances include THE SEVENTEEN, HAMLET and CLOUDSTREET LOST ECHO and THE UNEXPECTED MAN (National and International tours). For Sydney which have won him Helpmann Awards and Theatre Company he was recently seen in TRAVESTIES, KOLD KOMFORT KAFFE and ORLANDO, MACBETH, ROSENCRANTZ AND GALILEO winning Sydney Critics Circle Awards. HAMISH MICHAEL - DIMITRI Hailing from the island of film Credits include the features THE GREAT Tasmania, Hamish Michael has GATSBY, LUCKY MILES, EM 4 JAY and TOM worked as an actor, musician, WHITE; and the shorts HEAVEN, INGRID composer and voice-artist SITS HOLDING A KNIFE, SBS telemovie THE for nearly two decades. While HEARTBREAK TOUR, HOMESICK, SWEETNESS perhaps best known for his portrayal of lawyer & LIGHT, HEARTWORM and THE ONLY PERSON Richard Stirling in the ABC dramas CROWNIES IN THE WORLD. Hamish’s broad list of theatre and JANET KING, he has an extensive list of credits include: SHAKESPEAREALISM for Red other television credits including: DOCTOR Line Productions, CHILDREN OF THE SUN DOCTOR, READY FOR THIS, BLACK COMEDY, for Sydney Theatre Company; STRAIGHT REDFERN NOW, MISS FISHER’S MURDER WHITE MEN, THE BEAST, RAY’S TEMPEST MYSTERIES, POWER GAMES: THE PACKER- and TWO BROTHERS for Melbourne Theatre MURDOCH STORY, HOWZAT! KERRY PACKER’S Company; DEATH OF A SALESMAN and AS WAR, SPIRITED, CITY HOMICIDE, US mini-series YOU LIKE IT for Belvoir; THE TRIAL, OPTIMISM, NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES: FROM THE WOYZECK, MOVING TARGET and ELDORADO STORIES OF STEPHEN KING, BLUE HEELERS, for Malthouse Theatre; MEAT PARTY for STINGERS and THE SECRET LIFE OF US. His Playbox Theatre Company — to name a few. 02 9929 0644 • ensemble.com.au Last year Hamish received an AACTA Award for Most Outstanding New Talent’ at the nomination for ‘Best Guest or Supporting Logies for his work in CROWNIES. He received Actor in a Television Drama’ for his portrayal a 2008 Green Room Award as part of ‘Best of Richard Stirling in the JANET KING season Ensemble’ for Moving Target. In 2007 he 2 finale, ‘The Long Goodbye’. In 2015 Hamish received Green Room Award nomination for was awarded the Equity Atlantic Scholarship ‘Best Male Performer’ for his roles in both to study at the prestigious Atlantic Acting ELDORADO & RAY’S TEMPEST and in 2006 School in New York, founded by David Mamet he received a Helpmann Award nomination for & William H. Macy. In 2012 he was nominated ‘Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play’ for the peer-voted ‘Graham Kennedy Award for TWO BROTHERS, his main-stage debut. SEAN O’SHEA – RASPUTIN Sean has worked extensively Murdoch in RUPERT at the Kennedy Center in theatre throughout the in Washington and for Melbourne Theatre country since graduating Company. Work for Sydney Theatre Company from the Western Australian includes A FLEA IN HER EAR, MARIAGE Academy of Performing BLANC, THE CRUCIBLE, WAY OF THE WORLD Arts (WAAPA). For Ensemble Theatre he has and SCENES FROM A SEPARATION. He has appeared in TRIBES, SWEET ROAD and THE worked for many other companies including CAVALCADERS. He has a long association with Griffin, Sport for Jove, South Australia Theatre Bell Shakespeare, having appeared in some Company, Railway Street and West Australian twenty of their productions over the years, Theatre Company. Television and film credits including their UK tour of COMEDY OF ERRORS, include MCLEOD’S DAUGHTERS, MURDER the title role in MACBETH and more recently, CALL, WATER RATS, CHLORINE DREAMS, THE TARTUFFE and HAMLET. Sean played Rupert RAGE IN PLACID LAKE and WONDERLAND. ZINDZI OKENYO – MINYA Soon after graduating from THE GIRL IN TAN BOOTS (Griffin) and won NIDA in 2006 Zindzi was cast a Best Female Performer Award for her role in THE VERTICAL HOUR and in STCSA’s RANDOM. In 2014 she continued THE CRUCIBLE for STC and PLAYSCHOOL and appeared in WONDERLAND SCORCHED for Company B (Network 10) and THE CODE (ABC). 2015 saw Belvoir. From 2009 to 2011 she was a member her in the ABC series HIDING, MASQUERADE of the Residents Company at STC performing (Griffin), GAYBIES (Darlinghurst), LA TRAVIATA in THE MYSTERIES: GENESIS, Vs MACBETH, (Belvoir) and BOYS WILL BE BOYS (STC). THE ORESTEIA, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, She commenced 2016 in THE GOLDEN AGE BLOOD WEDDING, BEFORE/AFTER, MONEY (STC) followed by GOOD PEOPLE (Ensemble SHOTS and A HISTORY OF EVERYTHING. In Theatre) and DISGRACED (MTC). In 2017 Zindzi 2012 Zindzi toured Europe and the USA with performed in PRIZE FIGHTER (Belvoir) and A HISTORY OF EVERYTHING and began as will be seen on TV in JANET KING (ABC) and a presenter on ABC’s PLAYSCHOOL. In 2013 SISTERS (Network 10). Zindzi also performs Zindzi appeared in THE OTHER WAY (STC), her own music under the name ‘OKENYO’. THE RASPUTIN AFFAIR BY KATE MULVANY 5 ALICIA CLEMENTS – DESIGNER Alicia Clements is a costume IVANOV (Belvoir Theatre Company). Additionally and set designer who has she was production and costume designer for worked and trained across two short films in 2016, PROBLEM PLAY and Australia and the UK.