An audacious fantasy inspired by the stories and myths that surround Heide Museum of Modern Art founder Sunday Reed, Melbourne Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Sunday by Anthony Weigh at the Southbank Theatre this January.
A muse and mentor to a circle of artists including Sidney Nolan, Albert Tucker and Joy Hester, Sunday Reed isn’t like most women. In fact, she’s not like most men. Outspoken, uninhibited, adventurous, she has a laser eye for the new – in life and in art.
When struggling artist Sidney Nolan arrives at Heide, the idyllic utopia Sunday is creating with her beloved husband John Reed on the outskirts of 1940s Melbourne – what ensues will haunt all three to their dying days. And in the aftermath, Australian art will never look the same.
Award-winning playwright Anthony Weigh (2,000 Feet Away) creates a fantasy around this Melbourne icon that captures her passionate and unconventional spirit.
Directed by Sarah Goodes (The Sound Inside), Sunday features Nikki Shiels (Girls & Boys, The Picture of Dorian Gray), alongside Matt Day (North by Northwest), Josh McConville (Elvis), Ratidzo Mambo (The Heartbreak Choir) and Joshua Tighe.
Sunday is an unforgettable story of a bold and complex woman and the price she paid for living and loving on her own terms as a woman in mid-20th century Australia.
Director: Sarah Goodes | Featuring: Matt Day, Josh McConville, Ratidzo Mambo, Nikki Shiels, Joshua Tighe | Set Designer: Anna Cordingley | Costume Designer: Harriet Oxley | Lighting Designer: Paul Jackson | Composer & Sound Designer: Jethro Woodward | Assistant Director: Sonya Suares | Assistant Sound Designer: Danni A. Esposito | Voice Coach: Geraldine Cook-Dafner | Writer: Anthony Weigh
Sunday
Southbank Theatre – The Sumner, Southbank Boulevard, Southbank
Season: 20 January – 18 February 2023 (previews: 16 – 19 January)
Information and Bookings: www.mtc.com.au
Image: Nikki Shiels stars as Sunday Reed – photo by Jo Duck