Water Child: From Community Theatre to Adelaide Fringe
Water Child, a 2012 award winning new Australian play, is in rehearsal with a group of talented Newcastle based actors, led by local director Adelle Richards, to play at the Adelaide Fringe Festival in March 2013.
First produced in early 2012 by the Newcastle Theatre Company, Water Child enjoyed such critical and audience acclaim that playwright Emma Wood (pictured) was inspired to gather a cast and director to tour the play to the Adelaide Fringe. The play lends itself to a simple set, with the director and cast focussing on letting the play speak for itself, relying on the intimacy and honesty of the actors to present this moving, modern family drama about how the choices we make can change the course of our own lives, and those around us, in profound ways.
In preparation for Adelaide, the production plays 5 performances in Newcastle and Cessnock. After safely touching down in Adelaide (stage props, set dressings, and costumes in “checked-in” luggage), the play will be performed at the Nexus Multicultural Arts Centre from 14 March 2013.
None of the cast have toured before, however they are all up for the challenge of performing at such a prestigious festival as the Adelaide Fringe – it is guaranteed to be both exhilarating and possibly terrifying at the same time.
Richards says that strong planning and organisation is needed to support the touring show, and the production team have already sourced great support, advice and wisdom from their fellow thespians that have trodden this path before them. The other keys are to stay focused on keeping the staging simple and ensuring that all members of the company work as team, implicitly trusting each other. The intended result will be a stripped back, honest, ‘acoustic’ style performance that will have the ability to resonate with audiences irrespective of the venue.
Showcasing the talents of multi award winning local actors Lawrence Aitchison, Lynda Rennie, Claire Williams and Emma Wood in the cast, as well as newcomer Rebecca Wall, Water Child promises to be a night of both laughter and tears in Newcastle, Cessnock or Adelaide.
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