A play for anyone who has never been destined to save the world, the hit Off-Broadway phenomenon, PUFFS or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic & Magic, will make its Australian premiere at the Alex Theatre, St Kilda in May 2018.
Some people are born with the capacity to do great things. Some people change the world. Some people rise from humble beginnings to defeat the forces of darkness in the face of insurmountable odds. PUFFS is the story of the people who sit in class next to those people.
For seven years a certain boy wizard went to Wizard School. This, however, is not his story. This is the story of The Puffs who just happened to be there too. A Potter-inspired comedy for anyone who has ever felt like a secondary character in someone else’s story.
PUFFS gives you a new look at a familiar adventure from the perspective of three new heroes just trying to make it through magic school. It takes a second look at everyone’s favourite world of wizards through the eyes of The Puffs – a lovable group of magical misfits.
Meet Wayne, a very average Australian boy who finds out he is a wizard and that wizards are real. Wayne and his new friends Megan and Oliver try to keep their heads down and get a basic wizarding education, while a certain other famous boy – with a very peculiar-shaped scar on his forehead – sets out to make life at school increasingly eventful.
Written by New York-based playwright & actor Matt Cox and directed by Kristin McCarthy Parker, the Australian production will feature Ryan Hawkes (The Wind in the Willows; Bromance) as Wayne; Eva Seymour (Desert, 6.29pm; Trevor) as Megan; and Keith Brockett (Shrine; The Librarians) as Oliver – as our three heroes. The full company of 13 actors will be announced soon.
PUFFS features production and costume design by Madeleine Bundy, original lighting design by Herrick Goldman, sound design by Matt Cox and original music by Brian Hoes.
When PUFFS debuted in New York in 2015, it was celebrated as “a tremendous comedic feast” by The New York Theatre Review, the show was praised by Entertainment Weekly as “packed with knowing winks to its source material and a heart all its own” and by The Huffington Post for its “rip-roaring staging, wit and delightful theatrical craft.”
The original New York production has been updated for this Australian premiere by Cox and McCarthy Parker – both of whom are travelling down under to bring this piece to life for local audiences with a whole new company of local actors.
PUFFS
Alex Theatre, 135 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
Season: 31 May – 17 June 2018 (previews: 26 – 30 May)
Bookings: www.ticketek.com.au (tickets on sale Friday 16 March)
For more information, visit: www.puffstheplay.com for details.
Image: the incomparable Miriam Margolyes was on hand to support our three new heroes – Keith Brockett, Ryan Hawkes and Eva Seymour at the launch of PUFFS – photo by Rohan Shearn