2015 OLD FITZ THEATRE SEASON ANNOUNCED

The new artistic management team for the Old Fitz Theatre today announced the first six months programming in the 2015 season. Red Line Productions, run by Sean Hawkins, Andrew Henry and Vanessa Wright, have announced six mainstage plays and four late shows as part one of the season, entitled REINCARNATION.

The season kicks off with the return of the hit indie comedy Masterclass, written and performed by Gareth Davies and Charlie Garber, and a late night surprise, Bad. Two Sydney premieres will be presented as part of the 2015 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, the uproariously funny Cock and the new Australian gem Playing Rock Hudson. Marshall Napier’s classic Freak Winds returns to the Old Fitzroy Theatre where it premiered ten years ago, paired with the late night improv showHolly and Ado Get It On!, followed by the moving and ultimately heart-breaking Orphans andEdward Allen Baker’s emotionally charged one-act playDelores. One of the most exciting producers in the indie scene, Mophead Productions, will present the Latin American hit The House of Ramon Iglesia. Rounding off Red Line Productions’ inaugural season in their new home is the seductive and terrifying Misterman directed by Kate Gaul and starring Thomas Campbell.

Andrew Henry is thrilled to be involved in the REINCARNATION of his favourite stomping ground. “Sydney needs a well-run, intimate small theatre venue. The Fitz is so damn special,” he said. “We are privileged to be embarking on a journey that hopefully will excite every single storyteller in Sydney. The Fitz is the best fucking night out in Sydney hands down!”

The Old Fitzroy Theatre has been home to a diverse range of world class, independent theatre since 1997, and a new energy in 2015 will reinvigorate the theatre and its programming.

www.oldfitztheatre.com

Image: Andrew Henry, Vanessa Wright and Sean Hawkins (c) Marnya Rothe

2015 OLD FITZ SEASON

MASTERCLASS (A Play)

Written and performed by Gareth Davies and Charlie Garber

14 - 31 January

Gareth Davies and Charlie Garber invite you to witness an evening of learning at the deepest level and enter their ‘Dream Forge’. Let these two frail geniuses take your hand. Let them take you through a story of how they came to understand the true power of art.

“Masterclass is an eccentrically charming deadpan comedy that melds motivational talk, mystic acting twaddle and bromance into a satiric celebration of the act of theatre itself.” - Sydney Morning Herald

Times: Tues – Sat 7:30pm, Sun 5pm 

Ticket price: $20

BAD

By Kate Walder and Penny Greenhalgh

14 – 31 January (Late Night Show)

What is bad? Is bad bad or is it mostly bad with some redeeming features? If bad was a camel, would it be good? If bad was a 1987 Honda Civic, would it be bad? How bad is a bad boy? What is this show even about? I don't know. But you should come and see it. We can find out together.

Times: Tues - Sat 9pm, Sun 6:30pm

Ticket price: $15

COCK

By Mike Bartlett

Directed by Shane Jones

3 February – 6 March

John has been in a stable relationship with his boyfriend for a number of years. But when he takes a break, he accidentally falls in love with a woman. Torn between the two, filled with guilt and conflicting emotions, he doesn't know which way to turn. His boyfriend is willing to wait for him to make a decision, but so is his girlfriend. And both are prepared to fight to keep him. As the pressure mounts, a dinner with both parties is arranged, and everyone wants to know who John is, what he is and what his decision will be?

Workhorse Theatre Company in association with Red Line Productions and the Mardi Gras Festival present the Sydney Premiere of this smash hit play.

"With the exception of Oscar Wilde, quarrelling lovers are never as articulate and entertaining as they are in Cock, Mike Bartlett's Battle Royal of wit and persuasion." - Variety

Times: Tues – Sat 7:30pm, Sun 5pm 

Ticket prices: $32 Adult, $27 Concession, $22 Previews and Cheap Tuesday

PLAYING ROCK HUDSON

By Cameron Lukey

Directed by Jason Langley and Cameron Lukey

Produced by Left Bauer Productions

3 – 15 February (Late Night Show)

One of America’s most popular movie stars throughout the 50’s and 60’s, Rock Hudson’s death in 1985 from complications related to AIDS made headlines the world over. He was the first famous figure to publicly succumb to the disease. In 1988 Hudson’s former lover Marc Christian sued the actor’s estate and personal secretary Mark Miller on the grounds of reckless endangerment, claiming they had put his life at risk by lying about Hudson's diagnosis.

Within the courtroom, the most intimate details of Hudson’s life were presented for public scrutiny. The chief question for the jury: Was Christian the love of Hudson’s life and a victim of malice, or was he a blackmailing hustler out to play Rock Hudson for all he was worth?

Times: Tues – Sat 9:30pm, Sat 3pm, Sun 7pm 

Ticket prices: $32 Adult, $27 Concession, $22 Previews and Cheap Tuesday

FREAK WINDS

Written by and starring Marshall Napier

10 March – 11 April

In an isolated, rural neighbourhood on a dangerously stormy night, brash insurance man Henry Crumb raps on the door of the comfortable home of Ernest and Myra, only to discover that this is not going to be the average insurance pitch...

Red Line Productions is proud to announce the long awaited revival of Marshall Napier’s classic Freak Winds at its original home before a subsequent world tour.

“Freak Winds is that kind of story that makes Edgar Alan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher read like the goings-on at a Girl Scout camp.” - New York Theatre Wire

Times: Tues – Sat 7:30pm, Sun 5pm 

Ticket prices: $32 Adult, $27 Concession, $22 Previews and Cheap Tuesday

HOLLY & ADO GET IT ON!

Devised and performed by Holly Austin and Adriano Cappelletta

10-15 March (Late Night Show)

A night of long-form improvisation where best friends Holly and Ado do exactly what the title says … well kind of. Known for their low-fi and high-fun stage play and fantastic voyages into imagination, they will attempt to make a new show every night. It promises ridiculous characters, plot twists, dramatic climaxes, beat boxing musical numbers and maybe some unexpected romance. This is boutique theatre, where every night is a one off!

Holly and Ado are the creators and performers of Ruby’s Wish (Belvoir), Cubbyhouse (Old Fitz, Public Theatre NY) and Connie Chang’s Cabaret Roadshow (Melbourne Comedy Fest, Opera House Studio).

Times: Tues - Sat 10pm, Sun 8pm

Ticket price: $15 

ORPHANS

By Lyle Kessler

Directed by Anthony Gooley

With Andrew Henry, Scott Lee and Danny Adcock

14 April – 9 May

Two grown orphan brothers live in an old dilapidated row house in North Philadelphia, deserted in childhood by an unfaithful father and by the death of their mother. Older brother Treat, brutal and violent, provides for his younger brother Phillip by being a petty thief. When Treat kidnaps Harold, a gangster from Chicago, Harold morphs into the role of teacher, healer and surrogate parent, that the boys have always longed for….

Times: Tues – Sat 7:30pm, Sun 5pm 

Ticket prices: $32 Adult, $27 Concession, $22 Previews and Cheap Tuesday

DOLORES

By Edward Allan Baker

With Kate Box and Janine Watson

28 April - 9 May (Late Night Show)

A woman who escapes her dangerously abusive husband and a woman who doesn't want to get involved. Dolores is the story of two sisters drawn together because of domestic violence which influences the lives of both characters more than they've ever admitted.

"Edward Allan Baker is the real thing, a hard hitting East Coast playwright, with a firm command of the issues of the day.” - John Patrick Shanley

Times: Tues - Sat 10pm, Sun 8pm

Ticket price: $20 

THE HOUSE OF RAMON IGLESIA

By José Rivera

Directed by Anthony Skuse        

With Stephen Multari and Eloise Snape

Produced by Mophead

12 May - 6 June

The creative team behind References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot in 2009 return with another Latin American hit. The House of Ramon Iglesia follows Javier, a bright, Americanised son's tortured efforts to break away from his tradition-bound parents – a break that can't be made until he learns to accept the ethnic heritage he has spent his life trying to suppress.

Times: Tues – Sat 7:30pm, Sun 5pm 

Ticket prices: $32 Adult, $27 Concession, $22 Previews and Cheap Tuesday

MISTERMAN

Directed by Kate Gaul

With Thomas Campbell

Produced by Siren Theatre Company in association with Red Line Productions

9 - 27 June

Inishfree might seem like a quaint Irish town, but fierce evangelist Thomas Magill knows better. He knows jovial Dwain Flynn is a miserable drunk, that Timmy O’Leary enslaves his lovely mother and that sweet Mrs Cleary is a blasphemous flirt. It is down to Thomas, with God on his shoulder, to save this sinful place. But the townsfolk are not listening, an angel is misbehaving and a barking dog will not be silenced. Just how far will Thomas go in his quest for salvation?

“Enda Walsh, one of the most fiercely individual voices in the theatre today… a seductive and terrifying portrait of a luminous madness that dares you not to look away.” - New York Times

Times: Tues – Sat 7:30pm, Sun 5pm 

Ticket prices: $32 Adult, $27 Concession, $22 Previews and Cheap Tuesday