Take a seat and join two of WA’s favourite families for a once-in-a-generation theatre event as Tim Winton’s award-winning novel Cloudstreet adapted by Nick Enright and Justin Monjo comes to life on the stage of His Majesty’s Theatre as part of the 2020 Perth Festival.
Set in Perth, Australia between 1943 and 1963, Cloudstreet follows the Pickles and the Lambs – two families who initially find themselves sharing the same house, but who over time end up sharing so much more.
The epic story begins when the Lambs rent half of their Cloudstreet home from Sam Pickle. They work hard, setting up a small grocery business that does very well. But in the aftermath of a tragic accident that left their son with an intellectual disability, there are unresolved griefs and tensions that the Lambs must overcome each and every day.
Woven into the story is the very house both families share; a former mission for First Nations girls that has its own history of secrets, misery and despair. Over the course of the narrative, Cloudstreet’s characters experience every possible emotion including loss, guilt, hardship, love and joy. This extraordinary play represents a true microcosm of Australian society in the mid-1900s.
After breaking box office records in Melbourne, Black Swan is proud to bring this epic new production of Cloudstreet home – a story born of our city. Directed by Perth born-and-raised Matthew Lutton, with a cast of 12 including Bert LaBonté (Book of Mormon), Alison Whyte (Seachange, Frontline) and Arielle Gray (Picnic at Hanging Rock) this re-imagined epic experience will be a Perth Festival highlight.
“One of the remarkable qualities of Cloudstreet is that it means something different to everyone who experiences it,” says Director Matthew Lutton. “It is the story of two families who are forced together against their will, on land they have no connection to. It is a story about being homeless and making a new home. It is a story about culture, spirituality, and history that has been repressed and denied, demanding to be heard.”
“This theatrical adaptation of Tim Winton’s story offers a very different experience to reading the novel. It offers a community, where an audience has the opportunity to live, for a period of time, with the characters of Cloudstreet and the spirits of the house, and to worry for them, want for them, and love with them.”
A Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA And Malthouse Theatre co-production presented by Perth Festival, Cloudstreet was first commissioned by Black Swan State Theatre Company and Company B Belvoir in 1998.
Director: Matthew Lutton Featuring: Arielle Gray, Brenna Harding, Natasha Herbert, Keegan Joyce, Bert LaBonté, Ebony McGuire, Mikayla Merks, Ian Michael, Benjamin Oakes, Scott Sheridan, Greg Stone, Alison Whyte Set & Costume Designer: Zoë Atkinson Lighting Designer: Paul Jackson Sound Designer: J. David Franzke Composer: Elizabeth Drake Associate Director: Katt Osborne
Cloudstreet
His Majesty’s Theatre, 825 Hay Street, Perth
Season continues to 15 March 2020
Information and Bookings: www.bsstc.com.au
Image: Scott Sheridan and Natasha Herbert feature in Cloudstreet – photo by Pia Johnson