Ensemble Theatre is delighted to bring to the stage Tennessee Williams’ gothic melodrama, Suddenly Last Summer, from 15 May 2023.
Directed by Shaun Rennie, Suddenly Last Summer will take the audience into the poetic world of redemption and love, shadowed by the dark secrets a family can hold. Deep amongst the monstrous flytraps and ferns in Sebastian’s garden, tendrils of a sordid family secret are beginning to unfurl.
Sebastian Venable died mysteriously last summer, and his mother Violet will do anything in her power to protect his memory – and her own reputation. Young cousin Catharine was the only witness to this nightmarish event. She is desperate to reveal what really happened, but Violet will go to any lengths to stop the ugly truth from seeing the light of day.
“Having directed Baby Doll in 2019 at the Ensemble Theatre, I was keen to sink my teeth into another Tennessee Williams classic,” said director Shaun Rennie. “I love his poetic language and his ability to juxtapose it to examine the darker sides of the human experience.”
“The play explores how we use each other to protect our own legacies and the lengths that we go to, in a “civilised society”, to keep unspeakable truths coming to the surface.”
Andrea Demetriades (STC’s Pygmalion, Bell Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night) plays lead Catharine Holly, alongside Belinda Giblin (Griffin Theatre Company’s Ghosting the Party, TV’s Home and Away) who plays the complex Ms Violet Venable.
They are joined by Valerie Bader (A Christmas Carol, Killing Katie: Confessions Of A Book Club) as Mrs Holly, Justin Amankwah (KXT’s Good Dog, TV’s Aftertaste) as Dr Cukrowicz, Socratis Otto (TV’s Wentworth, Home and Away) as George Holly, and Kate Skinner (Seymour Centre’s Anatomy of a Suicide, Red Line Production’s King of Pigs) who will play both Miss Foxhill and Sister Felicity.
“I am so excited to bring such an enduring classic to the Ensemble stage, and with the talented cast gathered by the director Shaun Rennie, audiences can expect a gripping and unforgettable theatrical experience that will stay with them long after the final curtain falls,” said the Artistic Director of Ensemble Theatre, Mark Kilmurry.
Suddenly Last Summer masterfully weaves themes of truth, memory and power dynamics in a captivating tale that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats.
“A beautiful poetic yet sinister piece of theatre which muses on truth, power and storytelling itself.” – Oxford Culture Review
Director: Shaun Rennie | Featuring: Justin Amankwah, Valerie Bader, Andrea Demetriades, Belinda Giblin, Socratis Otto, Kate Skinner | Understudies: Jamie Oxenbould, Grace Smibert | Assistant Director: Emma Canalese | Set & Costume Designer: Simone Romaniuk | Lighting Designer: Morgan Moroney | Composer & Sound Designer: Kelly Ryall | Dialect Coach: Linda Nicholls-Gidley | Intimacy, Movement & Fight Director: Nigel Poulton | Stage Manager: Erin Shaw | Assistant Stage Manager: Sophie Jones | Costume Supervisor: Monica Smith | Costume Assistant: Alexis Worthing
Suddenly Last Summer
Ensemble Theatre, 78 McDougall Street, Kirribilli
Season: 15 May – 10 June 2023
Information and Bookings: www.ensemble.com.au
Image: Andrea Demetriades stars at Catharine in Suddenly Last Summer (supplied)