Following the acclaimed and award-winning productions of kerosene and SIRENS, Benjamin Nichol continues his anthology series of monodramas exploring love and loneliness across Australia with two new works, Milk and Blood, at fortyfivedownstairs from 15 August 2024.
Milk tells the story of Mummy, a young mother whose unconditional love for her incarcerated son, Boy, has led her to staunchly defend his violent sexual crimes. Through monthly visits to Boy, Mummy meditates on redemption, motherhood, and accountability. While her faith is tested, her love for him endures.
Blood tells the story of Daddy, an experienced sex worker and professional Dom who has devoted his life to caring for, teaching, and protecting the queer community. After suffering a violent assault from a gang of teenage boys, Daddy develops an unfamiliar attraction to danger that begins to radically redefine his relationship to pleasure, strength, and masculinity.
Written and Co-Directed by Benjamin Nichol, the works will be performed by Brigid Gallacher (In The Club and Things I Know To Be True at Theatreworks) and Charles Purcell (The Inheritance at fortyfivedownstairs).
“Milk and Blood are presented through the eyes of characters with a darker, more mature perspective on the world than the ones depicted in my previous plays,” says writer and co-director, Benjamin Nichol. “I consider these two works to be my most challenging and psychologically ambitious to date, a terrifying and thrilling thing to name.”
“With the central figures of Mummy and Daddy, I have sought to explore and critique the tropes of maternal and paternal figures, using a unique collaborative model which has seen me write and co-direct them specifically for Purcell and Gallacher, two of Melbourne’s finest multi-disciplinary theatre-makers,” said Nichol.
Last year, fortyfivdownstairs presented a double bill of kerosene and SIRENS following their premiere’s at Theatreworks and Melbourne Fringe Festival respectively.
Seeing the works in conversation with each other inspired Nichol to continue that model, giving audiences the rare opportunity to sit between two remarkably different stories that encourage reflection upon the ways that connection, desire, violence, gender, and inertia shape our lives and intimate relationships.
“On multiple occasions, fortyfivedownstairs has played a significant role in the development and growth of my artistry, offering me one of my early professional acting roles as well as my first ever writing commission,” said Nichol. “I am thrilled that fortyfivedownstairs has chosen to once again support me by presenting Milk and Blood.”
Writer and Co-Director: Benjamin Nichol | Performer and Co-Director (Milk), Dramaturg (Blood): Brigid Gallacher | Performer and Co-Director (Blood), Dramaturg (Milk): Charles Purcell | Lighting Designer: Harrie Hogan | Sound Designer: Connor Ross | Additional Dramaturgy: Izabella Yena
Milk and Blood
fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Season: 16 August – 1 September 2024 (preview: 15 August)
Information and Bookings: www.fortyfivedownstairs.com
Images: Brigid Gallacher and Charles Purcell – photos by Jack Dixon-Gunn