A gorgeous collision of love, politics, history and art, Sydney Theatre Company presents Anthony Weigh’s Sunday in the Drama Theatre – Sydney Opera House from 28 October 2024.
After a sell-out, rave-reviewed season in Melbourne, this romantic and transporting portrait of a real-life Australian icon – arts philanthropist and modernist muse Sunday Reed – is having its Sydney premiere.
Described as a “brilliantly realised ode to some of the most important figures in modern Australian art” (Limelight), Sunday is an instant classic that brings some of our greatest ever artists – Sidney Nolan, Joy Hester and Albert Tucker – to vivid life on stage.
Written by the acclaimed playwright Anthony Weigh, Sunday is inspired by the stories and myths of the Heide Circle – the renowned group of friends, lovers, and rivals that ruled Australia’s visual art scene in the 30s, 40s and 50s.
It is also the story of the fiery love triangle between the irrepressible Sunday – played by Nikki Shiels (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) – her husband John Reed, played by Matt Day (Blithe Spirit), and the Circle’s most famous member, Nolan, played by James O’Connell (Into the Shimmering World).
Directed by Sarah Goodes (Julia), and featuring Ratidzo Mambo as Joy Hester and Jude Hyland as Sweeney Reed, this grand, Melbourne Theatre Company production is a dazzling exploration of love, social politics, history and art that reveals the complex relationships that gave rise to the most iconic Australian artworks of the 20th century including Nolan’s Ned Kelly series.
“Anthony Weigh’s extraordinary new Australian play activates Sunday Reed from her role as muse and places her at the psychological centre of an imagined retelling of events that were so emotionally entangled and explosive. Australian art, and the lives of those close to her, were changed forever,” said Nikki Shiels.
“It is a dream to be able to breathe life into a woman with such intellectual dexterity, sensitivity, passion, ruthlessness and emotional complexity. I can’t wait to share her brilliance with Sydney audiences.”
Director: Sarah Goodes | Featuring: Matt Day, Jude Hyland, Ratidzo Mambo, James O’Connell, Nikki Shiels | Set Designer: Anna Cordingley | Costume Designer: Harriet Oxley | Lighting Designer: Paul Jackson | Composer & Sound Designer: Jethro Woodward | Assistant Director: Sonya Suares | Assistant Sound Designer: Beau Esposito | Voice Coach: Geraldine Cook-Dafner | Intimacy Coordinator: Amy Cater | Fight Choreographer: Lyndall Grant
SUNDAY
Drama Theatre – Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney
Season: 1 November – 7 December 2024 (previews: 28 – 31 October)
Information and Bookings: www.sydneytheatre.com.au
Image: Nikki Shiels in Sunday – photo by Pia Johnson