Examining the mind of a tortured soul hell-bent on retribution, FizzWack Theatre presents Enda Walsh’s riveting and Drama Desk Award winning masterpiece Misterman at Footscray’s Bluestone Church Arts Space until 2 December 2017.
Set in an Irish village called Inishfree, Thomas Magill is having a bad day – disembodied voices inhabit his thoughts, his mother has a cold, the dogs of hell are on his tail and Doris Day won’t shut up. But Thomas needs to watch because the people of Inishfree are misbehaving. Desperate and disturbed, Thomas is a cataclysmic force on speaking terms with the Lord.
“Misterman is an astonishing piece of storytelling by an incredibly talented playwright,” says director Kris Weber. “Enda Walsh has written a freight train of a tale with a protagonist who is wading neck deep in the murky waters of madness while the voices inside, and outside, his head are re-enacting a day in the life of the villagers in the Irish town of Inishfree.”
“This is Thomas Magill’s town and these are his friends and neighbours but Thomas can see them for who they really are, and he understands that things can never be the same again. This is a powerful script that both challenges and mesmerizes and one that, as a director, I am very excited to be navigating with the talented Travis Handcock.”
Kris Weber is an award winning director with highlights in this discipline: Agnes of God; Steel Magnolias; Cosi; Last of the Red Hot Lovers; The Odd Couple (Female Version); The Castle; Nuts; The Laramie Project; Speaking in Tongues, Almost Maine, The Other Place, The Dixie Swim Club, Rumors, Death and the Maiden and Water Child.
Travis Handcock is a VDL nominated actor (Ruben Guthrie) and director (The Freedom of the City). He is also co-founder of FizzWack Theatre Company. His acting credits include: Stars in the Morning Sky, Macbeth (UTE), Roulette (La Mama), The Twits, The Role Model (RTC), Ten x 10 (SOACT), The Glass Menagerie, Aladdin (ETC) & The Odd Couple (MTC) and, most recently, One For The Pot (Beaumaris).
Enda Walsh is a multi award-winning Irish playwright, who shot to fame when he won both the George Devine Award and the Stewart Parker Award in 1997 with his play Disco Pigs. In 2007 and 2008 Enda won Fringe First Awards at two consecutive Edinburgh Festivals for his plays The Walworth Farce and The New Electric Ballroom.
Walsh’s work has been translated into over 20 languages and has been performed internationally since 1998. His recents works include: The Second Violinist, The Same, Lazarus, Arlington, A Girl’s Bedroom, The Last Hotel and Ballyturk. He won a Tony Award (2012) for writing the book for the musical Once.
“Enda Walsh, one of the most fiercely individual voices in the theatre today…this is a seductive and terrifying portrait of a luminous madness that dares you not to look away.” – New York Times
Misterman
Bluestone Church Arts Space, 8A Hyde Street, Footscray
Season continues to 2 December 2017
Information and Bookings: www.fizzwacktheatre.com.au
Image: Travis Handcock – photo by Shane Anthony