Winner of the 2023 Silver Gull Award, New Theatre presents the world premiere of Alastair Brown’s Next to Godliness for a limited season this October.
Erin and Sophia are crime-scene cleaners, but the people they work for are the ones doing the crimes. They’re paid well for disposing of evidence, especially on public holidays, but when one of the bodies they’re supposed to be collecting turns out to be inconveniently alive it threatens to ruin everything.
With few options available and even less time, the pair decide to outsource their problem to an enigmatic contractor named Ferryman, a decision they may come to regret. Meanwhile, the spirits of the dead are restless, and they have their own stories to tell. This razor-sharp satire will leave you laughing, but also wondering whether you really should.
“Next to Godliness is a satirical play about women, and more specifically about the relationship women have always had with death. Not causing it, but rather dealing with the aftermath, cleaning up the mess,” says Playwright, Alastair Brown.
“Stories from world mythology, the oldest stories we have, display women with a sense of duality. They have dominion over both birth and death, making them simultaneously the midwife and embalmer. Modern stories, possibly reflecting a change in the perception of gender roles, more often focus on women as life-giver only, which does them something of a disservice.”
“While this play has a contemporary setting, it leans on mythology to provide a historical context for the graver side of feminine duality, making use of a Chorus to commentate and provide allusions to Greek myth, with its many examples of female deities, monsters, and psychopomps who are deeply connected with the concepts of death and dying,” said Brown.
Directed by Madeleine Withington, whose previous body of work at New Theatre includes Shakespeare in Love, and Banging Denmark, as well as Much Ado About Nothing at Flight Path Theatre, says this is a comedy you don’t want to miss!
“I am so excited to finally be bringing this fantastic play to life. I’ve loved it since 2023, and it’s everything I look for in a work. Alastair is an incredible playwright, and the opportunity to tell such a contemporary story, rooted so deeply in theatrical traditions is rare,” said Madeleine Withington.
“It feels very present for me, especially this year, with younger generations attitudes to women shifting in such insidious ways. I don’t want to give too much away, (I promise this IS a comedy) but I think the way it displays emotional violence is incredibly important. Also, women are funny. Really, really funny. I always want to see more of that on our stages.”
The cast features Alice Livingstone, known for August: Osage County (dir. Louise Fischer), Sonya Kerr, fresh from The Boys are Kissing at QTopia, Nathan Farrow, returning to us after The Day of the Triffids, as well as some very, very exciting New Theatre debuts!
“…there’s only one skill you need when it comes to killing, and that’s the willingness to do it.”
Director: Madeleine Withington | Featuring: Jessica Carter, Harrison Collis-Oates, Nathan Farrow, Brendan Kater, Sonya Kerr, Alice Livingstone, Sophie Newby, Alisha O’Brien | Associate Director: Sonya Kerr | Set Designer: Tom Bannerman | Costume Designer: Lily Moody | Lighting Designer: Julian Dunne | Sound Designer: Matthew Forbes
Next to Godliness
New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown
Season: 8 – 31 October 2026 (previews: 6 & 7 October)
Information and Bookings: www.newtheatre.org.au
Image: New Theatre presents Next to Godliness – © Camerique/Alamy; Classic Picture Library/Alamy; George Marks/Getty Images; Canva Stock; Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock; Composition: Maddy Withington