Black Swan Theatre Company invites you to join them for another year of spirited and moving nights in the theatre. Their new season is a celebration of female writers and local talent. Dinner events, play readings, panel discussions and dance parties, 2019 is set to be a year of huge talent, fun and big ideas. View the 2018 and 2019 Season.
Where the Heart Is is about the myriad of Australian families, a collection of characters and stories that explore belonging. It asks us what it means to be a citizen and belong to a community. The 2019 lineup includes a variety of classic plays and contemporary work, old tales told anew and some of the best, freshest voices that Australian theatre boasts today.
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Our Town
State Theatre Centre Courtyard, Feb 8 – 23
Thornton Wilder presents a unique and intriguing look into the lives of the inhabitants of the fictional town Grover’s Corner.
This Pulitzer prize-winning drama will delight audiences with a story about ordinary people, experiencing their extraordinary everyday life. Along the way, the characters will take audiences themselves on a journey of self-discovery as the plot digs deep into the intricacy of their day-to-day lives.
The Black Swan Theatre Company’s production will take a spin on the highly popular play. A policeman will play the part of a policeman, a solider taking on the role of a soldier, and a staggering number of community citizens will join a team of three talented actors for a fresh take on the much-loved classic.
“A play that celebrates the extraordinary in ordinary lives has undoubted resonance”
- The Guardian
You Know We Belong Together
Heath Ledger Theatre, Mar 20 – 31
Julia Hayes’ hearty production is back by popular demand for an encore season in 2019.
Hayes’ play is a humble recount of her life as an actor, dreamer and person with Down syndrome. She brings to the stage a sense of community that is rarely seen, which is felt by audiences from start to finish.
The production will no doubt touch the hearts of everyone witnessing the magic and light beaming off the stage, which becomes a transformation of Julia’s own reality. Haynes’ humour and ambition shines through with this remarkable production.
“A shared, joyous experience of the rarest kinds.”
- The West Australian
Water
Studio Underground, May 9 – 26
This politically infused story is mixed with an epic family drama. Jane Bodie’s drama will be Clare Watson’s first commission as Artistic Director and will take audiences to the future, unravelling the politics of Australia’s treatment of refugees and the inevitable consequences it will lead to.
The story follows a once powerful politician off on a retreat for his birthday to spend time with family. With questions brewing about crimes against humanity, the drama begins as tensions run high when there’s no water in the taps, no birds in the sky and an unexpected guest arrives for dinner.
Internationally renowned playwright Jane Bodie extends her string of highly successful works with a play that searches for clarity in a past that is full of contradictions.
“Bodie’s writing is both funny and stunningly lyrical…honest, human and true”
- The Irish Times
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The Torrents
Heath Ledger Theatre, Jun 15 – 30
An Australian classic written by Oriel Gray in 1955, and set in the 1890s, tells the story of J.G. Milford in a newsroom comedy-drama spectacular about gender politics and environmental issues.
When entering the newsroom of Koolgalla Argus, Milford stuns the room of the regional paper with people that didn’t expect a new position to be filled by a woman. The plot also tackles the town’s struggle about its future as a gold town.
Helpmann Award-winning comedian and actor Celie Pacquola will fill the shoes of Jenny, as she navigates through the notion of gender equity and her new town’s fight for survival.
This take on an underrated Australian classic will have some audiences reminiscing on the highs and lows during that time and shed some insight into what life was like at that time for the younger audience members.
“Oriel Gray’s name will take a prominent place in the history of Australian Theatre”
- The Daily News, Perth (1950)
Medea
Studio Underground – Aug 8 – 25
Taking a modern spin on the classic ‘Euripides’ Medea,’ Kate Mulvany and Anne-Louise Sarks presents a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of minor characters before the central plot takes over.
Locked in their bedroom, two brothers play games to pass the time, as siblings do. Off-stage, their parents are having a very famous showdown. At an inevitable moment, the children will be drawn away from their games and into their parents' bitter argument. From there, they will enter mythology as the most tragic siblings of all time.
This take on the play focuses on the side angle to the story, providing audiences with a different insight from what they are used to in a smart, sharp and bittersweet way.
“A radical update…that genuinely makes us see an old play through new eyes”
- The Guardian
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Black is the New White
Heath Ledger Theatre, Sep 11 – 22
Award-winning playwright Nakkiah Lui brings her sold-out show to Perth, which promises to explore the prejudice within the characters’ family through laughter, loveable characters and an eclectic soundtrack.
The story unfolds as Indigenous woman Charlotte Gibson invites her white fiancè Francis Smith and his conservative family to Christmas to face her parents. Things start to turn south as they try to navigate through issues of class, politics and secrets within their families.
“A wonderfully quick-witted, sharp-as-tack Australian rom-com with a lot of heart that keeps the audience laughing – or gasping – all the way.”
- Limelight
Fully Sikh
Studio Underground Oct 10 – 27
Poetically following the life of Skhjit Kaur Khalsa, who shot to fame following her appearance on Australia’s Got Talent, Khalsa presents a unique show to the 2019 line-up.
Khalsa will entertain audiences with her heartfelt poetic talent, while taking them on a journey of what it’s like growing up as an Aussie Sikh girl in the suburbs of Perth. Stories of her family and faith will be put on display through a series of music, dance, poetry and food.
“Sukhjit’s performance got her a standing ovation from everyone on the show”
- Deccan Chronicle
