Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play, Dino Dimitriadis in association with Red Line Productions presents Michael Cristofer’s The Shadow Box at the Old Fitz Theatre from 15 November 2016.
A compelling dramatic triptych, The Shadow Box follows three terminal cancer patients who dwell in separate cottages on the grounds of a hospital. The three are attended and visited by family and close friends: Agnes and her mother Felicity, estranged further by the latter’s dementia; Brian and Beverly, whose marital complications are exacerbated by Brian’s new lover, Mark; and Joe and Maggie, unready for the strain of Joe’s impending death and its effect on their teenage son.
Kim Hardwick (House on the Lake, Unholy Ghosts) directs an accomplished cast including Jackson Blair-West (QUT Fine Arts: Acting), Jeanette Cronin (Queen Bette, Dark Voyager), Anthony Gooley (Inner Voices, All My Sons), Mark Lee (A Place to Call Home, A Conversation), Tim McGarry (My Name is Asher Lev, The Peasant Prince), Fiona Press (Antigone, Is This Thing On?), Ella Prince (Hedda Gabler, Yerma), Kate Raison (The Good Doctor, A Country Practice) and Simon Thomson (That Eye, The Sky, The History Boys).
“Anthony Gooley brought this play to Kim Hardwick and I. He’s been trying to get it up for close to four years now,” said producer Dino Dimitriadis. “It’s a beautiful piece and I instantly knew that it needed to be produced. It is an elemental story that charts the triumph of the spirit as the body deteriorates.”
“It transcends time and place to boldly ask us the questions we spend a lifetime avoiding. It urges us to be brave, naked and loving because ultimately life is ephemeral. Although it’s an emotional play, it’s quite funny too but most importantly the play is a celebration of living.”
Michael Cristofer is an American playwright, filmmaker and actor. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play for The Shadow Box in 1977. His other plays include: Amazing Grace, Black Angel, Breaking Up, Eyes Wide Open, Pop, Tabarja, and The Whore and Mr. Moore.
Cristofer’s screenplays include: Breaking Up, Casanova, Falling in Love, Georgia O’Keeffe, The Bonfire of the Vanities, The Shadow Box, The Witches of Eastwick, and Georgia O’Keeffe. His acting credits for film, TV and the stage include: American Horror Story: Coven, A View from the Bridge (Broadway Revival), Mr Robot, Rubicon, Smash, Romeo and Juliet (New York Shakespeare Festival), just to name a few…
“An important, touching and courageous play… Triumphantly turns up… Cristofer writes with the compassion of the undamned. An extraordinarily good play.” – New York Times
Director: Kim Hardwick Featuring: Jackson Blair-West, Jeanette Cronin, Anthony Gooley, Mark Lee, Tim McGarry, Fiona Press, Ella Prince, Kate Raison, Simon Thomson Set and Costume Design: Isabel Hudson Lighting Design: Martin Kinnane Sound Design: Julian Starr Dialect Coach: Paige Walker
The Shadow Box
Old Fitz Theatre, 129 Dowling Street, Woolloomooloo
Season: 17 November – 10 December 2016 (previews: 15 & 16 November)
Information and Bookings: www.redlineproductions.com.au
Image: The Shadow Box – photography by Robert Catto / image by Natalie Behjan