www.brinkproductions.com BRINK PRODUCTIONS’ The Aspirations of Daise Morrow A new Australian Play based on a short story by Patrick White PRESENTER PACK Poster from the 2015 season. Design: Yianni Hill FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Lee-Anne Donnolley Producer Far and Away Productions 116 Hewitt Avenue, Toorak Gardens SA 5056 [email protected] +61 410 653 120 The Aspirations of Daise Morrow Presenter Pack COMPANY PROFILE Based in Adelaide, Brink is a theatre company renowned for creating great new Australian theatre. Under the artistic directorship of Chris Drummond, Brink pushes the poetics of storytelling by bringing great artists from different disciplines into intensive collaborations to transform both intimate and epic stories into potent contemporary theatrical allegories. We want theatre to start deep conversations about big ideas in ways that enliven, inspire and elevate. We want theatre to be a transcendent experience: a place to sit outside ourselves, giving voice and flesh to the mysteries of human existence. Over the past 19 years Brink’s productions have been presented by most major Australian theatre companies. Brink’s shows have received widespread critical acclaim including the multi-award winning productions When the Rain Stops Falling and Thursday which are attracting fresh attention around the world. Brink’s patron is Robyn Archer AO. ABOUT THE SHOW SHOW SYNPOSIS Set in the fictional suburb of Barranugli, the Whalley family are getting ready for a day at the dump while next door the Hogben’s prepare for the funeral of the scandalous Daise Morrow. Daise's niece, Meg, and Lum, the oldest Whalley boy, meet in the dump, which is separated from the cemetery only by a strand of barbed wire. The Aspirations of Daise Morrow is a word for word adaptation of Patrick White’s 1964 short story, Down at the Dump. It focusses on timeless themes of community, families, love and death. The audience sits in the round on burnt earth underneath an Australian sky, while the actors swap deftly between characters, moving through the audience, bringing them into the story. The music of Zephyr Quartet weaves in and out of the words, filling the communal space. Both brutally funny and profound, The Aspirations of Daise Morrow is an authentically Australian story. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Director: Chris Drummond, Designer: Michael Hankin, Lighting: Nigel Levings, Musical Director: Hilary Kleinig, Composers: Belinda Gehlert, Emily Tulloch, Jason Thomas, Hilary Kleinig, Cast: Paul Blackwell, Lucy Lehman, Kris McQuade, James Smith and Zephyr Quartet BIOGRAPHIES Chris Drummond – Director Chris Drummond is Artistic Director of Brink Productions where his credits include Thursday, Land & Sea, Skip Miller’s Hit Songs, Harbinger, The Hypochondriac, Beetle Graduation, The Clockwork Forest, This Uncharted Hour and Drums in the Night. Chris’ production of When the Rain Stops Falling won multiple awards including 2010 ACT Green Room Award - Production; 2009 Sydney Theatre Awards: Best New Australian Work; 2009 Victorian Green Room Awards and 2008 Ruby Award (Best Work). Chris was Associate Director at the State Theatre Company of South Australia between 2000 and 2004. His credits at State Theatre include Babyteeth, Art, The Dying Gaul, The Merchant of Venice, drowning in my ocean of You and Night Letters. Other directing credits include The Flying Dutchman for the State Opera Company of South Australia (Helpmann Award nomination for best direction) and a devised work entitled The Dissolving Self for NIDA in association with Carriageworks. Michael Hankin – Designer Michael is a set and costume designer for theatre and film, and a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). Some of his theatre credits include Angels In America, The Glass Menagerie, A Christmas Carol, Ivanov, The Dark Room and Fool For Love for Belvoir; Jumpy for Melbourne Theatre Company/Sydney Theatre Company; As You Like It for Bell Shakespeare; Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Theatre Royal; 247 Days (Australian season and Netherlands tour) for Chunky Move/Malthouse Theatre; Ugly Mugs for Malthouse Theatre/Griffin Theatre; Of Mice and Men for Sport for Jove; Rust And Bone and The Ugly One for Griffin Theatre Company; Songs For The Fallen for Brisbane Festival/Seymour Centre/Old Fitzroy Theatre; The Boat People for The Updated by Françoise Piron Page 2 of 12 Production Manager, 2015 The Aspirations of Daise Morrow Presenter Pack Hayloft Project; Obscura for Force Majeure/Carriageworks; The Lighthouse and Through The Gates for Sydney Chamber Opera; Deathtrap and Macbeth for Darlinghurst Theatre Company; and Suddenly Last Summer and Women Of Troy for Cell Block Theatre. His film credits include Reason To Smile, and Julian and The Amber Amulet. Michael has been nominated four times for Best Stage Design at the Sydney Theatre Awards (winning in 2012 for Truckstop), as well as two Australian Production Design Guild Awards. He is currently designing Jasper Jones for Belvoir St Theatre, Othello for Bell Shakespeare and will be joining NIDA as Associate Lecturer in Design in 2016. Nigel Levings – designer Nigel Levings studied Lighting Design at Theatre Projects in London and with Jules Fisher in New York. He is the only Australian lighting designer to have won Broadway’s prestigious Tony Award – other awards include a Helpmann, an Ovation, a Dora Mava Moore, two Outer Circle Critics Awards and a Drama Desk. In a distinguished career he has lit over 480 productions including 170 operas and 25 musicals. His recent productions include Don Carlos for Opera Australia, Romeo and Juliette for Korea National Opera and Summer of the Seventeenth Doll for State Theatre Company of South Australia. Hilary Kleinig – Musical Director Hilary is a multi-skilled musician whose work includes performance, composition, education and arts management. She is passionate about creating new work, collaborating with new artists and inspiring new audiences. As well as her role as Artistic Director of, and cellist with, the Zephyr Quartet she works in live and recorded performance as a freelance musician for ensembles, orchestras and bands. As a baroque cellist she regularly plays with chamber ensembles such as Ensemble Galante, Adelaide Baroque, Adelaide Chamber Singers and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. At the other end of the musical spectrum she is a skilled improviser and plays amplified cello with various experimental and improvising ensembles. Hilary also composes music for film, dance, theatre and ensembles working with companies such as Brink Productions, The State Theatre Company of South Australia, Restless Dance Theatre, Adelaide Youth Orchestras, Adelaide Chamber Singers and Cirkidz. Zephyr Quartet – composers and performers Zephyr Quartet is Hilary Kleinig, Jason Thomas, Emily Tulloch and Belinda Gehlert. They are a bold and adventurous string quartet, delighting in the exploration of diverse music and forging dynamic collaborations. Since its inception in 1999 the quartet has shown a continued determination to expand the boundaries of art music and how it is received by audiences. A firm believer in the power of the string quartet as a medium to communicate and explore complex relationships between society and art, Zephyr has achieved an enviable reputation for artistic excellence, innovation and audience development. Armed with the spirit of collaboration, Zephyr Quartet has become a leading exponent of collaborative arts practice, drawing inspiration from working with artists from diverse backgrounds, including theatre, dance, literature, visual art, environmental art, design, film and media art, to produce work that is vital, current and courageous. Paul Blackwell – Cast Paul Blackwell has worked throughout Australia on stage, TV and film for more than thirty years. Paul’s work with Brink’s Artistic Director, Chris Drummond, includes Thursday, When the Rain Stops Falling, The Clockwork Forest, The Hypochondriac and Night Letters. His recent stage work includes Volpone, Eh Joe, The Seagull and Vere (Faith) for State Theatre Company of South Australia. Other theatre credits include Tartuffe, The Government Inspector and The Ham Funeral for Sydney Theatre Company; The Odyssey, Ubu and Up the Road for Malthouse and Belvoir. Paul’s film credits include Charlie’s Country, The Boy Castaways, Red Dog, Dr Plonk and The December Boys and TV credits include Deadline Gallipoli, Frank Fenner - Microbes to Macrobes and My Place. Lucy Lehman – Cast Lucy is a recent graduate of Flinders Drama Centre. During this time she has worked with Anne Thompson, Rosalba Clemente, David Mealor, Tom Healey, Nescha Jelk and Sarah Dunn. This is Lucy’s first production with Brink Productions. Updated by Françoise Piron Page 3 of 12 Production Manager, 2015 The Aspirations of Daise Morrow Presenter Pack Kris McQuade – Cast A graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Kris’ most recent TV series has included Wentworth (earning her an Astra Award nomination for Most Outstanding Performance by an Actor - Female), A Place to Call Home, Packed to the Rafters, Killing Time and The Circuit. Kris is excited to return to Brink Productions after three successful seasons of When the Rain Stops Falling. Her other theatre credits include the role of Dolly Pickles in three international tours of Cloudstreet playing in Zurich, London, Dublin and New York, and roles in Neighbourhood Watch, Threepenny Opera in Sydney and Bogota (South America), Our Lady of Sligo, Snugglepot & Cuddlepie, Mourning Becomes