Fifty years after the Dunstan Playhouse opened with The Department, commissioned by then South Australian Theatre Company Artistic Director George Ogilvie, venerated playwright David Williamson returns to the Dunstan Playhouse with his bitingly funny, smart and surprising take on sex, secrecy and second chances in The Puzzle.
The Puzzle is a delicious new black comedy about marriage, desire, polyamory and parenthood and it’s set to hit those same heights as Williamson’s The Department did five decades ago.
“I’m delighted that one of my plays is part of the STCSA season in the wonderful Dunstan Playhouse with such a strong cast and capable director,” said Williamson. “It’s a comedy about how easily our lives can run off course, and how hard it sometimes is to get them back on track.”
Married couple Mandy and Craig are bored with their monogamous relationship. Eager to inject some vim into their vows, they book themselves in for a “lifestyle” cruise, where they meet Brian and Michelle, similarly looking for some stimulation at sea…
Meanwhile the buttoned-up Drew is trying to reconnect with his free-spirited daughter Cassie on what he thought was a “mediterranean history” tour! The keys go in the jar, the recriminations flow in the bar.
The large cast of comic experts is led by the AFI and Logie Award-winning Erik Thomson (Packed to the Rafters, Aftertaste) as Drew, Chris Asimos (Ripcord, Hibernation) as Brian, and in her professional stage debut, the electric Ahunim Abebe as Cassie.
The Puzzle also stars Anna Lindner (A Beginner’s Guide To Grief, Look Both Ways), Nathan O’Keefe (Gaslight, Macbeth, Cathedral) and Ansuya Nathan (Hotel Mumbai, Aftertaste).
The White Lotus meets Triangle of Sadness meets Don’s Party in this whip-sharp comedy written by one of Australia’s finest playwrights and directed by Artistic Associate Shannon Rush (Welcome to Your New Life, Cathedral).
“David Williamson has written another iconic drama that is as sharp, funny and insightful as his most defining plays from the past five decades. It is a joy to direct these masterful words from the page to the stage with an incandescent cast of talented actors,” said Rush.
Director: Shannon Rush | Featuring: Ahunim Abebe, Chris Asimos, Anna Lindner, Ansuya Nathan, Nathan O’Keefe, Erik Thomson | Set and Costume Designer: Ailsa Paterson | Lighting Designer: Mark Shelton | AV Designer: Mark Oakley | Composer: Andrew Howard | Sound Designer: Patrick Pages-Oliver
The Puzzle
Dunstan Playhouse – Adelaide Festival Centre, King William Road, Adelaide
Season: 24 September – 12 October 2024 (previews: 20 – 23 September)
Information and Bookings: www.statetheatrecompany.com.au
Image: Chris Asimos, Ahunim Abebe and Erik Thomson star in The Puzzle (supplied)