A ride like no other, Victorian Opera and Malthouse Theatre team up with Meow Meow, Paul Capsis, Le Gateau Chocolat, and Kanen Breen this September for the Australian premiere of Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets a delirious journey through a vivid theatrical landscape that is part gothic, part opera, and all dance with the devil.
Based on the German folktale that inspired Carl Maria von Weber’s 19th century opera Der Freischutz, Black Rider is the tale of Wilhelm, an intellectual young clerk who must learn to hunt in order to marry his true love, a woodsman’s daughter. He strikes a Faustian pact with the devil for magic bullets that never miss their mark, but in this world, nothing is what it seems: the devil sings, animals talk, the walls become woods and bullets have a mind of their own.
Hallucinatory writer William S. Burroughs penned the script, musical anarchist Tom Waits wrote the songs and together with experimental director Robert Wilson, they created this audacious and bizarrely beautiful piece of theatrical magic. Cry-in-beer ballads meet a meditation on addiction, Black Rider is a tour-de-force that pulls the audience into the dark and decadent depths of the underworld.
Victorian Opera and Malthouse Theatre continue their strong commitment to presenting bold works of theatre with this latest co-production. Black Rider follows their smash-hit 2010 production of Brecht and Weill’s The Threepenny Opera and their acclaimed 2014 adaptation of Tim Winton’s novel The Riders. The production unites Malthouse Theatre’s Artistic Director Matthew Lutton (Away) with Victorian Opera’s Head of Music, Phoebe Briggs (The Sleeping Beauty).
Director: Matthew Lutton Featuring: Kanen Breen, Paul Capsis, Jacqueline Dark, Winston Hillyer, Le Gateau Chocolat, Meow Meow, Richard Piper, Dimity Shepherd Musical Direction: Phoebe Briggs Music Supervisor: Iain Grandage Set & Costume Design: Zoe Atkinson Scenic Artist: Patrick Jones Lighting Design: Paul Jackson Soundscape Design: Jethro Woodward Sound Design: Jim Atkins Choreographer: Stephanie Lake
Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets
Merlyn Theatre – The Coopers Malthouse, 113 Sturt Street, Southbank
Season: 20 September – 8 October 2017 (previews: 15 – 19 September)
Information and Bookings: www.malthousetheatre.com.au
Image: Kanen Breen, Meow Meow and Paul Capsis star in Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets (supplied)