Use Curriculum Connections to plan your school’s booking.
Guide to Ratings Abbreviations

[R]	Approximate Running Time
[L]	Language
[V]	Violence
[S]	Sex
[ELO]	Education Liaison Officer’s Advice

Education Performances

Ruby Moon
Funny Voices
Beckett x 3

Mainstage Performances

The Female of the Species
I Am My Own Wife
The Prisoner of Second Avenue
Rabbit Hole
The August Moon
Travelling North
Anatomy Titus Fall of Rome: A Shakespeare Commentary
The Importance of Being Earnest
Stones in His Pockets

Themes and Ideas

• Mystery
• The grieving process
• The missing child

Performance and Dramatic Elements

• Contemporary Australian drama
• Black comedy
• Multiple characters
• Fractured fairytale
• Brechtian techniques

Curriculum Connections

Ruby Moon is a contemporary fairytale that uses Brechtian and Absurdist elements to create an evocative piece of theatre. This is an excellent example of poetic and at times surreal theatre that will challenge and inspire drama classes exploring the possibilities of the form.

[R]	85 minute show and 10 minute Q&A, no interval
[L]	None
[V]	Low
[S]	Occasional sexual overtones
[ELO]	An exciting recent Australian work, Ruby Moon is suitable for Years 10 – 12. Depending on the theatre culture of the school, some Year 9 students would also engage with this work.

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Themes and Ideas

• The effectiveness of language
• Futility of daily routine
• Absurd situations

Performance and Dramatic Elements

• Absurdist theatre
• Movement
• Heritage world drama style

Curriculum Connections

Beckett won the Nobel Prize for Literature and is considered one of the most important playwrights since Shakespeare. By repeatedly challenging the conventions of theatre he set new standards for the art form and is widely acknowledged as the father of Absurdist theatre. This production of three short, contrasting Beckett works is an outstanding resource for schools studying this genre.

[R]	75 minute show and 15 minute Q&A, no interval
[L]	Low
[V]	Low
[S]	Occasional sexual references
[ELO]	Students in Years 10 – 12 will appreciate the opportunity to see a professional production of three Beckett plays, Act Without Words II, Play and Not I.

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Themes and Ideas

• Expression of ideas and feelings
• Cultural contexts

Performance and Dramatic Elements

• Vocal expression
• Movement and gesture
• Music
• Puppetry

Curriculum Connections

Funny Voices explores the relationship between two people from different places who share stories using their knowledge of movement, music, dance and story.

[R]	45 mins, no interval
[L]	None
[V]	None
[S]	None
[ELO]	Suitable for Prep – Year 4

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Themes and Ideas

• Feminism
• Gender roles and relationships
• The search for identity

Performance and Dramatic Elements

• Farce
• Physical comedy
• Contemporary Australian drama

Curriculum Connections

The Female of the Species is a very funny play. On the surface it is outrageously farcical, but it is underpinned by a comment on the impact of feminism and the search for meaning in people’s lives. It will allow for analysis of slapstick and other comedic elements used by the playwright.

[R]	1 hour 40 mins, no interval
[L]	Occasional coarse language
[V]	Simulated physical violence
[S]	Occasional references to sex
[ELO]	This play is suitable for Year 11 – 12 drama and English students studying Australian drama and comedy genres however some mature Year 10 classes will also find this production a valuable resource.

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Themes and Ideas

• Gender, identity and sexuality
• The preservation of history
• The role of art in repressive regimes

Performance and Dramatic Elements

• One-person show
• Contemporary world drama
• Multiple characterisation
• Audience address

Curriculum Connections

I Am My Own Wife extends the form of multiple characterisation with one actor playing 35 characters. The historical references to the Cold War and life in communist Berlin for a cross-dressing man should ensure a thought-provoking excursion. The style includes using the playwright as a character as well as the use of flashbacks.

[R]	1 hour 50 mins, including interval
[L]	Low
[V]	References to violence
[S]	References to sex and sexuality
[ELO]	Senior drama and history students will appreciate this Pulitzer Prize-winning play. The content is more suitable for Year 12 students, but some committed Year 11 students should find this play accessible as well. It is especially suited to classes studying monologues.

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Themes and Ideas

• Humour in tragic events
• Dehumanising nature of modern life
• Marriage and family

Performance and Dramatic Elements

• Black comedy
• Heritage world drama
• One and two liners

Curriculum Connections

This comedy from the 1970s gives drama and English students the opportunity to experience the work of one of the most successful American writers ever produced on Broadway. Neil Simon’s play is insightful and relevant to today’s audiences with increases in city population and the impact of retrenchment on some families. It blends humour with situations of hopelessness.

[R]	2 hours 20 mins, including interval
[L]	Low
[V]	None
[S]	None
[ELO]	Elective drama students or English students from Years 10 – 12 should find this play engaging. The husband and wife characters in particular provide exceptional examples of characterisation. Neil Simon’s play would serve as a great resource for students about to develop their own scripts.

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Themes and Ideas

• Isolation of grief
• Parental relationships

Performance and Dramatic Elements

• Realism conventions
• Contemporary world drama
• Symbolism of personal effects and the unseen character

Curriculum Connections

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 2007, Rabbit Hole is a realistic treatment of grief following a horrible accident. Fitting into the contemporary world drama context, it is an open-ended play that will encourage young people to acknowledge the power of theatre’s ability to comment on sensitive issues.

[R]	2 hours 30 mins, including interval
[L]	Occasional coarse language
[V]	None
[S]	Occasional sexual overtones
[ELO]	This play is suitable for Year 11 – 12 students only. The issue of unexpected death in the family requires the audience to be mature and appropriately prepared. Recommended for students studying realism and contemporary theatre.

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Themes and Ideas

• Sensationalist reporting
• Real stories told with an authentic Australian voice
• Effects of natural disaster on regional communities
• Laconic humour
• The human face of news stories

Performance and Dramatic Elements

• Verbatim Theatre
• Contemporary Australian drama
• Multimedia

Curriculum Connections

The August Moon is an opportunity for young people to engage with Verbatim Theatre. With a strong multimedia component, students will be able to see how technology and dramatic performance can be effectively interwoven in the theatre to tell a contemporary story from North Queensland.

[R]	80 mins, no interval
[L]	Frequent coarse language
[V]	None
[S]	None
[ELO]	This story is sourced from the aftermath of Cyclone Larry in 2006 and is suitable for students studying the use of multiple art forms in theatre. The coarse language may be an issue for some school communities and is most suited to Year 11 – 12 students.

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Themes and Ideas

• Australia in the 1970s
• Aging and romance
• The ‘grey nomad’ phenomenon

Performance and Dramatic Elements

• Realism conventions
• Heritage Australian drama
• Linear narrative structure

Curriculum Connections

This heritage Australian play is written by a playwright skilled in the realisation of significant aspects of Australian society. Drama students will appreciate the historical references in this production as well as the realistic characterisation.

[R]	2 hours 20 mins, including interval
[L]	None
[V]	None
[S]	Occasional references to sex
[ELO]	This play combines a balance between pathos and humour. For a drama student, the expert manipulation of the elements of theatre to produce these moments successfully is extremely valuable. Suitable for students in Years 10 – 12.

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Themes and Ideas

• The cycle of revenge
• Violence and society
• Racism
• Power and politics
• Civilisation versus barbarism

Performance and Dramatic Elements

• Shakespearean revenge tragedy
• Contemporary world drama
• Audience address
• Commentary

Curriculum Connections

Heiner Müller’s play investigates Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus by using the text of the original play as well as a commentary with new text. Student audiences should be able to relate to the plot of this play bearing in mind the violence existing in the world today. It also explores the possibilities of modern theatre making.

[R]	2 hours 20 mins, including interval
[L]	None
[V]	Simulated physical violence and discussions of violence
[S]	Sexual references
[ELO]	This play is a bloody tragedy of large proportions. The language and content is of a sophisticated nature and as such it is best suited to Year 12 drama students.

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Themes and Ideas

• Class society in Victorian England
• The humour of mistaken identity
• Arranged marriage
• Deception

Performance and Dramatic Elements

• Heritage world drama
• Comedy of manners
• One-liners and puns

Curriculum Connections

The Importance of Being Earnest was first performed in 1895. Its witty dialogue and comic situations has made it a classic in the English repertoire. The farcical elements of the plot also comment on the society of the time, which is one of the reasons it is such an enduring work.

[R]	2 hours 20 mins, including interval
[L]	None
[V]	None
[S]	Occasional sexual overtones
[ELO]	All students of drama and English from Years 10 – 12 will appreciate this comedy of manners. With little to offend, it will provide much for students to reflect upon for a critical review and provide ideas for incorporation into their own performance practice.

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Themes and Ideas

• Dreams and aspirations
• Big business versus a small community
• Hierarchy on a large film set
• Obsession with celebrity

Performance and Dramatic Elements

• Contemporary world drama
• Multiple characterisation
• Short scene structure

Curriculum Connections

The two actors in this play portray 15 characters. Stones in His Pockets delivers distinct characters and an appealingly layered plot with both humour and sadness. The play is a valuable resource for students of drama looking at cultural contexts and contemporary comedy. Film and television students would enjoy the satirical elements aimed at the film industry.

[R]	2 hours, including interval
[L]	Occasional coarse language
[V]	None
[S]	Occasional sexual references
[ELO]	Although the language is sometimes coarse, Stones in His Pockets is suitable for Year 10 – 12 students of drama, film and television and English.

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