The New Deal for Sydney Fringe

POWER IS THE GREATEST APHRODISIAC!

What does Alex Simmons think about asylum seekers, women's rights, tax cuts and party leadership?

The New Deal is a new play about power and politics by James Ballan, playing the 2011 Sydney Fringe Festival from September 15 – 19.

Alex Simmons (Lynden Jones) is on a one man crusade to bring old fashioned values back into politics.  He says he stands for balance and democracy – the will of the majority taking in the welfare of the minority. When he is offered pre-selection, he’s also accused of being a bigot and a redneck, he wants to ban marches and insult the unions. The play resonates very strongly with the current political climate regarding boat people, negative and ugly political rhetoric and the white-anting of our political leaders.

In The New Deal, Alex concludes that his lack of libido has a lot to do with being powerless in the wider world, so he makes a deal with the devilish Stan (Christopher Miller) to turn his failures around and gain political power. But what is the true cost of the deal? The New Dealexplores themes of political allegiance, love, loyalty and personal/public integrity.

Following last year’s production of The Viagra Monologues at the Sydney Fringe, director/ writer James Balian is producing another new play for this year’s Fringe. 

We asked James what inspired him to write The New Deal.

“I've always been interested in politics, but more importantly in human behaviour. And it seemed that the political sphere is a pretty intense environment for bringing out the best and worse in people. It's also a somewhat theatrical arena for individuals and political parties to posture, make deals and wield power in all its forms, whether by white-anting each other or targeting helpless groups to gain the upper-hand in a political debate. The ongoing boat people issue is just one example of this.”

The plot of The New Deal seems to draw on the Faustian legend.

“Yes it does. Self-justification is a pretty strong drive. So how far will someone go to justify his stand? What are the personal costs? What part of ourselves are we willing to sell? And who refuses? The New Deal approaches these themes with satire and comedy.”

One of your plays was part of last year's Sydney Fringe. You're back, so it must have been a positive and productive experience?

“It's good to be part of a larger event. I enjoyed last year's production. I had a great cast of 4 and a terrific venue in the New Theatre. I've been just as lucky this year. We're playing at the New Theatre again and this time I have a great cast of 8. So it just keeps getting better.”

What sort of impact are you hoping to have on audiences?

“First and foremost I want them to be entertained and hopefully afterwards they will sit in a local pub or cafe and have a heated discussion over what they just saw.”

James has assembled a cast of 8 seasoned fringe theatre performers for this production at the New Theatre for 6 performances as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival. The cast includes Karen Bayly, Alastair Buchanan, Kate Buchanan, Jim Gosden, Catherine Hollyman, Lynden Jones, Christopher Miller, and Katherine Shearer. 

Images: Top - James Ballan. Lower - Katherine Shearer and Lynden Jones.

NEW THEATRE, 542 King Street, Newtown. Thursday 15 to Monday 19 September at 7pm, Sat 17 Sept at 5pm and 7pm

Bookings: www.thesydneyfringe.com.au or (02) 9020 6980

To keep up with the latest news and reviews at Stage Whispers, click here to like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.