Acclaimed Canberra playwright Emma Gibson re-imagines Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid as a supernatural psychological thriller in Johnny Castellano is Mine – a sharp-edged, full-throttled ride into the limits of human torment for a limited season at The Street Theatre from 3 April 2014.
This tour-de-force solo work kickstarts a collaboration focussed on vocationally-based professional development between The Street and Canberra Youth Theatre, and features an exciting ensemble of artists for Canberra to discover led by director Karla Conway.
Johnny Castellano is Mine follows Alice across time to on her quest to find a way to reach town heart-throb Johnny Castellano and escape the prison of unreliable memories she finds herself trapped in.
Alice is accomplished, poised and perfect – at least on the surface. Johnny Castellano is the golden boy loved and longed for by everyone. Nothing can keep Alice from Johnny – her best friend, her father, her music, the cuts on her legs…But has she found her happily ever after?
Johnny Castellano is Mine is a story of obsession, repression, teenage rebellion and most of all, an enduring love developed in Canberra through The Street and Canberra Youth Theatre. It is the first solo work to be written by Emma Gibson fresh from success in 2013 with a sell-out season of her nine-hander The Pyjama Girl produced by Albury-Wodonga’s Hothouse Theatre.
Emma Gibson’s other writing credits include Love Cupboard (2010) and Widowbird (2012) at the Street Theatre. Her plays have been performed across Australia and in Sweden and the USA and she was one of five women invited to participate in the International Women Playwrights Conference in Stockholm in 2012. In January this year, Emma’s play A Treeful of Tragical Tales was presented at La Mama ETC in New York.
Director Karla Conway leads an outstanding production team with the work produced by The Street Theatre in association with The Canberra Youth Theatre. This collaboration is the first of its kind and seeks to bridge the gap between youth theatre and professional practise by giving vocationally-oriented career development opportunities to emerging artists.
Imagine The Little Mermaid all mixed up with Alice Seabold’s The Lovely Bones and Darren Aronofsky’s film Black Swan and you have Johnny Castellano is Mine. Drown this visceral, darkly funny, visually intense journey where not all are as they seem to be.
Director: Karla Conway Performer: Alison Plevey Playwright: Emma Gibson Sound Designer: Stephen Fitzgerald Scenic Designer: Samantha Pickering Costume Designer: Tundi-Rose Hammond
Johnny Castellano is Mine
The Street Theatre, 15 Childers St, Canberra City West
Season: 3 – 12 April 2014
Bookings: (02) 6247 1223 or online at: www.thestreet.org.au
For more information, visit: www.thestreet.org.au for details.