Melbourne Theatre Company 2010 season

 

MTC promises thrill ride

The GFC may appear to be on the wane in this part of the world, but it's a factor the Melbourne Theatre Company has taken into account in its 2010 mainstage season. Speaking about his choices for the 2010 season, MTC artistic director Simon Phillips noted, "I’m conscious this year that many of our audiences have been through economically uncertain times, so I’ve slanted the season towards diversion, variety, a certain amount of nostalgic joy and above all an exhilarating emotional roller coaster – hence the season’s catch-cry 'Take the Ride'."

While that might conjure up images of austerity, the season kicks off with the Australian premiere of The Drowsy Chaperone (Jan 18 - Feb 20), the flamboyant hit of the 2006 Broadway Season, starring Geoffrey Rush, Shane Jacobson and Robyn Nevin. Rush stars as a die-hard musical theatre fan who invites us into his dreary living room. As he drops the needle on his all-time favourite album, an outrageously funny musical from the 1920s, The Drowsy Chaperone, bursts into life complete with a pampered starlet, gangsters, chorus girls and all manner of mayhem.

It's followed by the world premiere of Hannie Rayson’s The Swimming Club (Jan 30 - Mar 14), the tale of a group of friends who spent one glorious summer together in the sun-drenched and fancy-free Greek Islands in 1983; and who now, in middle-age, contemplate a reunion. The cast includes Caroline Gillmer and John Waters.

The Australian premiere of J.T. Rogers' haunting mystery Madagascar follows in February (Feb 12 - Mar 27). Sam Strong’s MTC directing debut will star Noni Hazlehurst and Asher Keddie. The play tells three versions of a story at three different times: by an older woman Lilian, by a young woman June, and by an older man Nathan. As each reveals how they came to be in a particular hotel room in Rome, the audience pieces together the story of a young man’s mysterious disappearance and its shattering implications.

Next up is the world premiere of Tony McNamara’s satire The Grenade (Apr 10 - May 15), starring Garry McDonald and Genevieve Picot. A prominent lobbyist finds a live grenade in the middle of his living room. Is it a warning? Or someone’s stupid idea of a practical joke? Or maybe the threat comes from within, from among his troubled family. Sounds paranoid? Sure – but even the paranoid have enemies.

April also sees a new production of William Shakespeare’s classic Richard III (Apr 24 - Jun 12), the story of one of England’s most controversial kings and one of the theatre’s greatest villains. MTC Artistic Director Simon Phillips will direct Jennifer Hagan, Deidre Rubenstein, Alison Whyte, Meredith Penman and young Ewen Leslie in his MTC debut as Richard.

The first chills of winter bring on Boston Marriage Jun 4 - Jul 17), an American revival by David Mamet. The ultimate parody of social proprieties and collapsed class distinctions, which demonstrates how even sophisticated women of society will stop at nothing to get what they want. The play stars Pamela Rabe and will be directed by MTC associate director Aidan Fennessy.

The MTC stays across the Pacific for the Australian premiere of the American comedy smash-hit Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Jun 26 - Aug 7), a romantic fantasy, full of bright insights into the way technology transforms our lives. The show will be directed by MTC associate director Peter Evans and will star Aussie heart-throb Matt Day.

No Australian mainstage season would be complete without some David Williamson, and the MTC obliges with the Melbourne premiere of Let the Sunshine (Jul 28 - Sep 4). Attempting to escape a scandal in Sydney, Toby, a lefty documentary filmmaker, arrives in Noosa with his wife Ros to discover that the quaint fishing village of youthful memory is now filled with the sort of wealthy Sydney-siders he hoped to leave behind. A short acquaintance with the right-wing Ron and Natasha becomes a long-term problem when his slacker son and their striver daughter hit it off. A co-production with the Queensland Theatre Company, the play will be directed by QTC artistic director Michael Gow and stars Jacki Weaver, John Wood, Robert Coleby and Andrea Moor.

The Australian premiere of Samuel Adamson’s stage adaption of Pedro Almodóvar’s Oscar-winning film All About My Mother follows (Aug 14 - Sep 26). When her 17 year-old son dies, Manuela leaves her job and takes to the road to search for her son’s father. In Barcelona, she becomes involved with three women in crisis: a young nun, a famous actress and a drag queen. But will taking care of these women help her overcome her guilt and grief for a lost child? The production will feature the iconic Wendy Hughes alongside cabaret diva Paul Capsis.

Daniel Keene marks his MTC debut with the world premier of Life Without Me (Oct 9 - Nov 21), the beguiling tale of a group of people who get stuck in a run down two-star hotel, where the lift doesn’t work, the toast is burnt and the pot plants set off your allergies. Bringing Keene's vision to life will be some of MTC’s finest character actors: Robert Menzies, Greg Stone, Kerry Walker and Brian Lipson.

The mainstage season wraps with Joanna Murray-Smith’s new play Songs For Nobodies (Nov 5 - Dec 18). The tale of five anonymous women whose brushes with fame had a profound effect on their lives, interleaved with the songs that gave them heart, Songs For Nobodies is actually a one-woman play showcasing the extraordinary talents of Bernadette Robinson.

For more information, subscriptions and ticketing information, visit the MTC website.

David Edwards