Monument returns to Red Stitch Actors' Theatre

Back by popular demand, Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre presents Monument by 2022 Max Afford Playwrights Award Finalist, Emily Sheehan, this February.

Edith Aldridge is the youngest woman to be elected leader of her country. In a lush presidential suite in a heritage-listed hotel, she has just ninety minutes to get ready for the biggest day of her life.

Enter Rosie, a twenty-two-year-old makeup artist from the David Jones counter, sent to help Edith get camera ready. In Rosie’s capable hands, this morning will be a breeze. So long as they both stick to the brief.

Sheehan’s astute and entertaining script challenges the trivialisation of beauty therapy, exploring the role that makeup and fashion play in how we perceive and receive women in power.

In an exploration of politics, privilege and persona, the play premiered in August of 2023 and became a hit with Melbourne audiences.

Directed by Red Stitch’s own Artistic Director, Ella Caldwell, the two-hander will once again feature the brilliant Sarah Sutherland and Julia Hanna returning to their roles.

Monument is a must-see for anyone who’s ever worried about what to wear, or whether that lipstick colour is right. This is thought-provoking theatre wrapped in beautiful packaging.

Emily Sheehan is an award winning playwright and dramaturg. Her plays include Monument (Finalist Max Afford Playwrights Award), Hell’s Canyon (Winner Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award, Winner Melbourne Fringe Festival Award & Patrick White Playwrights Award), Daisy Moon Was Born This Way and Versions of Us.

Her plays have been developed through Melbourne Theatre Company’s Cybec, Playwriting Australia, National Play Festival, Red Stitch Actor’s Theatre and ATYP, and produced by Regional Arts Victoria, La Mama Theatre, Old 505 Theatre, Q Theatre, Platform Arts Geelong, Australian Theatre for Young People, Jopuka and Canberra Youth Theatre.

Hell’s Canyon and Daisy Moon Was Born This Way are published by Currency Press. Emily is a regular guest lecturer in playwriting at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) and hosts the Playwright’s Process Podcast, a monthly podcast about writing, craft and the creative process.

“…contemporary politics expertly skewered in this ambitious, flawlessly performed two-hander.” – Limelight