Following performances across the globe and a five-year run in the West End, the multi award-winning comedy Stones in His Pockets by Irish writer Marie Jones, will be performed at Parramatta’s Riverside Theatres for two shows only on 18 March 2017, before embarking on an 8 week national tour.
Both riotously funny and deeply moving, this new production is from national touring powerhouse Critical Stages (Songs for the Fallen, 4000 Miles) and is universally loved by all who see it.
Stones in His Pockets is the tale of a quiet Irish community that is turned upside down by the arrival of a Hollywood movie shoot. The film’s story of a budding romance between a rich girl and a local farmer, is played out in stark contrast with the growing friction that develops between the locals hired as extras on the film and the Hollywood big shots.
Directed by Chris Bendall (Thomas Murray & the Upside Down River, The Magic Hour), the show features virtuosic performances by Grant Cartwright (Hurried Steps, Thomas Murray and the Upside Down River) and Sean Hawkins (Sydney Theatre Awards, Best Actor for Howie the Rookie) who play 15 characters between them – from the Irish extras looking for a brighter future on the silver screen, the young local who is bitter about being rejected for a job on set, to the gorgeous Hollywood superstar.
“Stones in His Pockets focuses on the film extra, the person in the background or the fringes of the story,” says Bendall. “By telling the story from this perspective – and including comedy and a great deal of theatricality – the play highlights intimate and confronting narratives that are often left out of our histories.”
Marie Jones is an award-winning Irish writer and has written extensively for stage and television. Best known for her play Stones in His Pockets, it was an international success, has been performed in over thirty countries, and has won numerous awards all over the world. Her other works include: Women on the Verge of HRT, A Night in November, Dancing Shoes: The George Best Story, Fly Me To The Moon and Mistletoe and Crime.
Jones is one of the founding members of the Charabanc Theatre Company, and was its Writer in Residence from 1983-90. She also works as an actress and played Sarah Conlon in the Jim Sheridan film, In the Name of the Father. She received the John Hewitt Award for outstanding contribution to culture, tradition and the arts in Northern Ireland.
“It is refreshing to know that two men and a box can succeed in keeping a theatre audience fully satisfied for two hours. This is a pitch-perfect two-hander that is entirely absorbing from start to finish.” – The Irish Times
Stones in His Pockets
Lennox Theatre – Riverside Theatres, Corner Church and Market Streets, Parramatta
Performances: Saturday 18 March 2018 – 2.15pm & 7.30pm
Bookings: www.riversideparramatta.com.au
Following the Parramatta performances, Stones in His Pockets will embark on an 8 week tour in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. For more information and performance schedule, visit: www.criticalstages.com.au for details.
Image: Grant Cartwright and Sean Hawkins feature in Stones in His Pockets (supplied)