A play about people telling stories about telling stories, Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre presents the Australian Premiere of The Antipodes by Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright, Annie Baker, for a limited season until 12 August 2018.
Set amid a storm in Los Angeles, a top-notch writers’ room is in lock-down, in pursuit of the ultimate story. Who do we listen to and who do we not? Baker’s keen insight shines in this rumination on the paramount function of fiction amid the turmoil of human experience.
Red Stitch continues its long-running relationship with Baker, following the company’s acclaimed Australian premiere productions of her earlier works The Aliens and The Flick.
Directed by Red Stitch Artistic Director, Ella Caldwell, The Antipodes will feature Ensemble members Ngaire Dawn Fair, Casey Filips, Darcy Kent, Ben Prendergast and Harvey Zielinski, joined by guest actors Jim Daly, Edwina Samuels, Dushan Philips and George Lingard.
“Annie Baker is a masterful writer and The Antipodes is her most complex and surprising work to date,” says Caldwell. “Baker’s nuanced characters and pithy dialogue are as true as ever, and yet The Antipodes transcends the micro. The script demands every inch of you, and working with our terrific ensemble and creative team on this production has been a joyful adventure into the world of possibility.”
Annie Baker is an award-winning American playwright. Her plays include: Body Awareness, Circle Mirror Transformations (OBIE Award for Best New American Play), The Aliens (OBIE Award for Best New American Play), Uncle Vanya (adaptation), The Flick (Pulitzer Prize for Drama, OBIE Award for Playwriting, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize), and John (OBIE Award for Collaboration). Baker was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2017. The Antipodes premiered at the Signature Theatre in New York City in April 2017
“Ms. Baker delivers a complete and confident narrative… The Antipodes is also deeply funny, but it’s naturally funny, and if it’s a satire, it’s an organic one. This playwright doesn’t need to exaggerate to elicit what’s absurd in the human condition.” – The New York Times
Director: Ella Caldwell Featuring: Ngaire Dawn Fair, Casey Filips, Darcy Kent, Ben Prendergast, Harvey Zielinski, Jim Daly, George Lingard, Dushan Philips, Edwina Samuels Set & Costume Design: Chloe Greaves Sound Design & Composition: Dan Nixon Lighting Design: Clare Springett & Bronwyn Pringle Design Assistant: Alexander Rothnie Dialect Coach: Jean Goodwin Stage Manager: Jackie Mates Assistant Stage Manager: Terri Steer
The Antipodes
Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, Rear 2 Chapel Street, St Kilda East
Season continues to 12 August 2018
Information and Bookings: www.redstitch.net
Image: The Antipodes – courtesy of Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre