Kendall Feaver’s illuminating portrait of a mother-daughter relationship, The Almighty Sometimes, will be staged at Southbank Theatre this April. With biting humour and fierce honesty this coming-of-age story explores the perils of adolescence and growing up with mental illness.
Written by Australian playwright Kendall Feaver, The Almighty Sometimes is the winner of the Judges Award at the 2015 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting – the largest playwriting competition in Europe – and both the Victorian and New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards.
In this new production directed by Hannah Goodwin, Nadine Garner (ABC’s Savage River) stars with Max McKenna (Muriel’s Wedding The Musical) as mother and daughter Renee and Anna, with Louisa Mignone (The Twelve) and Karl Richmond (The Inheritance).
When 18-year-old Anna stumbles upon stories she wrote as a child she discovers a thrilling but unfamiliar imagination bursting from the pages. Now she’s determined to rediscover who she is without the label that has defined most of her life, but her pursuit pits her against her seemingly well-meaning mother, boyfriend and the therapist she no longer sees as an ally.
Kendall Feaver’s tender writing echoes conversations happening about mental health at dinner tables across the country, while balancing the timeless tension between a mother learning to let go and a daughter finding her feet as an independent young woman.
“Theatre is a space where we can come together as a society and explore difficult conversations” says Melbourne Theatre Company’s Artistic Director & Co-CEO Anne-Louise Sarks.
“Kendall Feaver has created four deeply nuanced characters with razor-sharp wit, humour and sensitivity, and in the hands of Hannah Goodwin these characters will provoke conversations and challenge perceptions.”
Director: Hannah Goodwin | Featuring: Nadine Garner, Max McKenna, Louisa Mignone, Karl Richmond | Set & Costume Designer: Jacob Battista | Lighting Designer: Amelia Lever-Davidson | Composer & Sound Designer: Kelly Ryall | Voice & Text Coach: Matt Furlani | Fight Choreographer & Movement Consultant: Lyndall Grant | Intimacy Coordinator: Bayley Turner | Assistant Director: Jennifer Sarah Dean | Playwright: Kendall Feaver
The Almighty Sometimes
Southbank Theatre – The Sumner, Southbank Boulevard, Southbank
Season: 19 April – 18 May 2024 (previews: 15 – 18 April)
Information and Bookings: www.mtc.com.au
Image: Max McKenna and Nadine Garner – photo by Victoria Zschommler