Out of the Water

Out of the Water edtorialRed Stitch Actors Theatre opens its 2014 season with the world premiere of Out of the Water by award-­winning American playwright Brooke Berman.

A searing excavation of love and family, Out of the Water delves into the depths of personal loneliness and questions our primal hunger for intimacy. Polly and Graham knew each other once. Or rather, they didn’t know each other, once. Now Graham has embarked on an odyssey, and Polly isn’t scared of anyone.

Acclaimed film and theatre director Nadia Tass returns to Red Stitch (The Aliens, 2011 and The Grönholm Method, 2010) to direct this tale of a contemporary Calypso on the island of Manhattan who learns what family is all about. Red Stitch Ensemble members Kate Cole as Polly and Brett Cousins as Graham are joined by Emily Milledge (The Rabble’s Story of O and Room of Regret) as Cat.

“I’m so excited to premiere this play with Red Stitch under Nadia’s direction. I’ve heard great things about this company and am delighted to be among the writers the company produces. It’s going to be a wonderful ride,” says playwright Brooke Berman.

Originally trained as an actor, Brooke graduated in playwriting from the Juilliard School. Her play Hunting and Gathering was named one of the Ten Best of 2008 by New York Magazine. Her memoir No Place Like Home was published by Random House in 2010, and her plays have been produced and developed across the US.

She is the recipient of a Berilla Kerr Award, a Helen Merrill Award, two Francesca Primus Awards, two LeCompte du Nuoy awards and a commissioning grant from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture.

“Brooke’s plays are personal and intimate and even naked. They are funny and brave, loose and incredibly inclusive, full of messy revelations and brilliant insights” – New Dramatists, NYC

Director: Nadia Tass  Featuring: Kate Cole, Brett Cousins, Emily Milledge  Lighting Designer: Jason Bovaird  Set Designers: Andrew Bellchambers & Jacob Battista  Sound Designers: Russell Goldsmith & Daniel Nixon  Costume Designer: Rebecca Dunn  Production Manager: Clare Springett  Stage Manager: Rebekah Gibbs

Out of the Water
Red Stitch Actors Theatre, Rear 2 Chapel St, St Kilda
Season continues to 8 March 2014
Bookings: (03) 9533 8083 or online at: www.redstitch.net

For more information, visit: www.redstitch.net for details.

Image: Brett Cousins and Kate Cole – by Jodie Hutchinson