Following its Oliver-nominated run in London’s West End, Blackout Songs by Joe White, is set to captivate Melbourne audiences in its Australian premiere at Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre this June.
Directed by the esteemed Tom Healey, leading an exciting cross-disciplinary creative team, this new play is a compassionate and unflinching study of love, addiction and memory.
Originally staged to sold-out audiences at the Hampstead Theatre Downstairs in 2022, Blackout Songs quickly garnered attention for its poignant portrayal of a co-dependent couple grappling with alcoholism. The play’s success led to a transfer to the Hampstead Mainstage in Spring 2023, where it earned an Oliver nomination for Best Play in an Affiliate Theatre.
The Australian Premiere will feature a stellar cast led by ensemble member Sarah Sutherland, alongside Jack Twelvetree in his Red Stitch debut. Under Healey’s direction, audiences can expect an emotionally charged performance that careers through the chaotic lives of a couple as they crash through binges, regrets, recovery, and relapse.
In a chance encounter at an AA meeting the two are drawn together, setting the stage for years of highs and lows spent falling in and out of each other’s lives. Veering from hedonism to hope, excess to abstinence, their love takes on mythical proportions. As they grapple with their demons, they should really get sober together and figure it all out. Just after one last drink.
Critics have hailed the two-hander as a “brave and original depiction of hedonistic excess and inner battles” (The Guardian). A kinetic, epic love story at its heart, this award-winning new play promises a rollercoaster journey that delves deep into the complexities of human relationships and the pursuit of love.
Director / Co Set Design: Tom Healey | Featuring: Sarah Sutherland, Jack Twelvetree | Co Set Design / Costume Design: Chiara Wenban | Lighting Design: Natalia Velasco Moreno | Composition / Sound Design / AV Design: J.David Franzke | AV Design / Videographer: Meri Blasevksi | Intimacy Director: Margot Fenley | Fight Choreographer / Movement Director: Lyndall Grant | Assistant Director: Khisraw Jones-Shukoor | Stage Manager: Natasha Marich
Blackout Songs
Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, Rear 2 Chapel Street, St Kilda East
Season: 5 – 30 June 2024 (previews: 1 – 4 June)
Information and Bookings: www.redstitch.net
Image: Jack Twelvetree and Sarah Sutherland – photo by James Reiser