Other Desert Cities

Other Desert CitiesMixing a nation’s politics with a family in crisis, Other Desert Cities is a smash hit US drama that bridges the public and the personal.

Christmas in sun-drenched Palm Springs: a desert tomb, populated by shrivelled mummies with tans. The Wyeth children are home for the holidays and conversation doesn’t flow easily: politics isn’t fit for table talk in a family as fractious as this.

Neither is the war in the Middle East, nor the shadow of terrorism. But there’s one thing everyone wants to chime in on: troubled daughter Brooke has just finished her magnum opus, a tell-all memoir exposing a pivotal, tragic, ferociously-guarded family secret.

As a quiet Christmas dissolves into feuding, there’s more than one meltdown brewing in the searing desert heat.

Written by Jon Robin Baitz, the play brings all the insecurity, vulnerability and honesty of the family structure to life; circumstances that cause emotions to bubble spectacularly to the surface as the Wyeth family re-unite in a myriad of meltdowns.

Former Republican Senator Lyman Wyeth and his wife Polly have it all: wealth, fame and a sterling political legacy. They welcome their family home to sunny Palm Springs for Christmas for the first time in years. But when daughter Brooke announces she’s written a tell-all memoir about the event that changed their lives, old wounds  re-open and the vulnerability of Lyman and Polly’s rock-solid legacy becomes apparent.

With an illustrious career on the Australian screen and stage, Robert Coleby is an acting powerhouse with long-running and guest roles in various television series and films  including All Saints (2001 -2004),Terra Nova (2011)Bad Behaviour (2009)The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002) and The Marine films (2006/2009). 

Robert holds over 80 acting titles bringing a wealth of experience to QTC’s stage as his complex character and head of the damaged Wyeth family, Lyman is brought to life.

Performance prowess runs in the family, with Conrad Coleby earning himself an equally impressive acting career including roles in upcoming blockbuster film The Wolverine as well as in Australian television series such as Underbelly 4: RazorSea Patrol and Home and Away.

“In Other Desert Cities, we see the artists gradually implode as they’re collectively forced to delve into their traumatic past, weaving in elements of comedy along the way, this performance sees a brilliant cast bring this Broadway spectacular to life under the direction of Kate Cherry,” said QTC Artistic Director, Wesley Enoch.

Director: Kate Cherry  Cast: Janet Andrewartha, Robert Coleby, Conrad Coleby, Rebecca Davis, Vivienne Garrett  Set Designer: Christina Smith  Lighting Designer: Trent Suidgeest  Sound Designer: Tony Brumpton

Other Desert Cities
Playhouse – Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Southbank
Season: 15 August – 1 September 2013
Bookings: 13 62 46 or online at: www.queenslandtheatre.com.au

For more information, visit: www.queenslandtheatre.com.au for details.

Image: courtesy of Queensland Theatre Company