Auditions

Synopsis

Antonio, a prosperous merchant of Venice in the sixteenth century, is approached by his old friend Bassanio for a loan. Bassanio wishes to present himself in style and travel to Belmont, in order to woo Portia, a young and beautiful heiress. Antonio’s fortune is currently tied up in his trading ships, and he does not have the required funds in hand. However, he agrees to act as guarantor, if Bassanio can borrow the money elsewhere. Bassanio approaches Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. Shylock hates Antonio, who has always treated him with contempt because he is Jewish, and because he charges interest on money that he lends. However, Shylock agrees to loan Bassanio 3000 ducats, to be repaid in three months. Pretending that it is a mere jest, he specifies that the penalty for failure to pay on time will be a pound of Antonio’s flesh, cut from his breast. Confident that his ships will return to Venice in good time so that the debt can be repaid, Antonio accepts this condition for the bond.

Shylock’s daughter Jessica elopes with Lorenzo, fleeing her father’s house with much of her father’s money, with the intention of becoming a Christian. Shylock is furious at the loss of both his daughter and his ducats.

Under the terms of her late father’s will, no suitor may marry Portia unless they choose correctly between three caskets, made respectively of gold, silver and lead. Portia complains to Nerissa, her maid and confidant, about her lack of freedom to make her own choice of husband. Unsuccessful suitors choose wrongly, and go disappointed away. Bassanio, with his young friend Gratiano, sails to Belmont, where Bassanio chooses the correct casket, to Portia’s delight. Portia and Bassanio prepare to marry, as do Nerissa and Gratiano.

News comes to Belmont that Antonio’s ships have been unexpectedly delayed; he cannot repay the loan on time, and Shylock will demand his pound of flesh at the Duke of Venice’s court. Portia and Nerissa disguise themselves as men – a learned lawyer and her clerk – and travel to Venice, where Portia uses brilliant legal argument to confound Shylock’s malicious intentions, and save Antonio’s life.

After the trial Portia and Nerissa, still disguised, will accept no payment, but each asks only for a ring which she has given her husband, who has sworn never to part with it. Bassanio and Gratiano very reluctantly give the lawyer and clerk these precious rings. Portia and Nerissa later have fun upbraiding their husbands for giving away the rings, before the deception is revealed and all ends happily.

Synopsis

Tom Holloway’s emotional and moving play is set against the backdrop of the 3000 plus British children, who between the end of the second world war and 1970, were told they were orphans and were shipped to Australia on a promise of warmth, fresh air, food, love and boundless opportunity. Instead, lives of neglect and abuse awaited them.

Synopsis

A mesmerising thriller with plenty of twists and a liberal dash of comedy. The Great Gordo, an alcoholic stage hypnotist in the twilight of his career, randomly chooses Alan Briggs as his next stooge. Briggs, a mild-mannered policeman, is a good sport, the audience laughs and everyone goes home. For Gordo, it’s just the end of another show, and the time for a drink or three before he goes to bed. But someone out there has other ideas. Extraordinary ideas. The mind games begin, the stakes are raised, and we sense there can only be one winner. But who?
By arrangement with Origin Theatre on behalf of Samuel French.
A mesmerising thriller with plenty of twists and a liberal dash of comedy. The Great Gordo, an alcoholic stage hypnotist in the twilight of his career, randomly chooses Alan Briggs as his next stooge. Briggs, a mild-mannered policeman, is a good sport, the audience laughs and everyone goes home. For Gordo, it’s just the end of another show, and the time for a drink or three before he goes to bed. But someone out there has other ideas. Extraordinary ideas. The mind games begin, the stakes are raised, and we sense there can only be one winner. But who?
By arrangement with Origin Theatre on behalf of Samuel French.

Synopsis

Helen returns to us after her successful direction of ‘Last Gas’ two years ago. The play she has chosen this time is THE FLICK by Annie Baker, a drama set in a run-down movie theatre in Worcester, Massachusetts. The play follows three underpaid employees, Avery, Sam and Rose. Avery has an encyclopaedic obsession with film and Sam has an unrequited obsession with Rose.

As one late night blurs into another, and this trio of painfully ordinary people bond over movie trivia, low-level embezzling and shared ennui, the play evolves into a deeply moving, sometimes funny and delicate examination of the millions of tiny dramas that make up everyday life. Together they do the humdrum and tedious labour necessary to keep one of the last remaining film projector cinemas running. They bicker, laugh, dream and clean their way through shifts in the empty aisles, banter about their favourite films, astrology, the splitting of ‘dinner money’ and ultimately share a history, but will they have a future?

The Flick, winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama was the talk of New York and London. This tender drama, both funny and heartbreaking, will awaken you to another Melbourne Spring!

Synopsis

In a farmhouse at the edge of Salisbury Plain a family is falling apart. Stephen can’t afford to put his mother into care. Arthur can’t afford to stop working and look after his wife. When a young stranger moves in to care for Edie as her mind unravels, the family is forced to ask: Are we living the way we wanted?
VISITORS is a sharply funny love story that takes a haunting, beautiful look at the way our lives slip past us.

Synopsis

Paul and Corie Bratter are newlyweds in every sense of the word. Paul is a straight-laced lawyer and Corie a romantic free-spirit. They begin their new life together in their unfinished apartment in Manhattan. After a visit from Corie’s mother they decide to introduce her to the eccentric neighbour-in-the-attic Velasco. A wild night ensues, one that highlights just how different Corie and Paul are.

In this Neil Simon 1960s classic, the young couple must find a way to accept and embrace their differences as they learn that marriage is no easy walk in the park.

Synopsis

The story of Captain Scott’s expedition to the South Pole, his discovery that Amundsen had preceded him, the bravery and sufferings of his team, the self-sacrifice of Captain Oates and the final tragedy are recounted in a mixture of fantasy and realism which underlines both the human and epic qualities of the deathless adventure. In particular this is achieved by the presence of Amundsen, who appears in a variety of guises: chairman of a congratulatory gathering, as rival, even as a French waiter; and especially as critic, commentator, friend and monitor, when he is visible to Scott alone. Scott’s wife, Kathleen, also comes to him – as a bride, companion and mother to his son, Peter. The play opens and closes with Scott writing in the famous journal from which all the details of the final weeks are known. Period 1910-12.

Synopsis

A mesmerizing thriller with plenty of twists and a liberal dash of comedy.
The Great Gordo, an alcoholic stage hypnotist in the twilight of his career, randomly chooses Alan Briggs as his next stooge. Briggs, a mild-mannered policeman, is a good sport, the audience laughs, and
everyone goes home. For Gordo, it’s just the end of another show, and time for a drink or three before bed. But someone out there has other ideas. Extraordinary ideas. The mind games begin, the stakes are raised, and we sense there can only be one winner. But who?