Admissions

MTC-Kat-Stewart-stars-in-Admissions-photo-by-Sam-BissoA scorching satire that holds a mirror up to privilege and power through the lens of the education system, MTC presents Admissions by Joshua Harmon, at the Southbank Theatre, in an Australian premiere season from 5 March 2022.

Winner of the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for Best Play, it’s deliberately provocative, timely and caustically funny as it takes a subversive side-swipe at hypocritical good intentions.

Sherri Rosen-Mason is head of admissions at an exclusive high school; her husband Bill is the principal. They are passionately committed to increasing the number of students at the school from culturally and linguistically varied backgrounds, and they’re starting to see results.

But when their son’s application to Yale is deferred, it sets in motion a chain of events that will test their convictions to the very core.

Directed by Gary Abrahams, who previously won acclaim with Harmon’s hit play Bad Jews, Admissions is a biting comedy that asks audiences to question just how far they are willing to go to see the change they want in the world.

Starring Kat Stewart (Heisenberg) and William McKenna (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Admissions also features Heidi Arena (The Drowsy Chaperone), Simon Maiden (Come From Away) and Deidre Rubenstein (Shakespeare in Love).

Admissions is a black comedy about white privilege. It revels in discomfort: both for the characters and the audience. Josh Harmon’s writing goes for the jugular, and like a cat with a mouse, it toys with you,” says Abrahams.

“The play daringly offers up a catch-22 situation in which there is no way for the characters to win without suffering a big loss. And the wicked game it plays with the audience is that it forces your allegiances to shift on a dime.”

“At its most bold it asks the pertinent question, “What are you really willing to sacrifice for your ideals?” adds Abrahams.

Director: Gary Abrahams | Featuring: Kat Stewart, Heidi Arena, Simon Maiden, William McKenna, Deidre Rubenstein | Set Designer: Jacob Battista | Costume Designer: Kat Chan | Lighting Designer: Amelia Lever-Davidson | Composer: James Henry | Sound Designer: Daniel Nixon | Voice and Dialect Coach: Matt Furlani | Assistant Director: Alonso Pineda


Admissions
The Sumner – Southbank Theatre, Southbank Boulevard, Southbank
Season: 10 March – 9 April 2022 (previews: 5 – 9 March)
Information and Bookings: www.mtc.com.au

Image: Kat Stewart stars in Admissions – photo by Sam Bisso