Heart-warming, forthright and moving, Anita Heiss’s own adaptation of her much-loved novel Tiddas, will make its Sydney debut at Belvoir this January as part of Sydney Festival’s 2024 Blak Out program.
Co-directed by Nadine McDonald-Dowd (QTC’s The Longest Minute) and Roxanne McDonald (Belvoir’s Winyanboga Yurringa), Tiddas follows the tumultuous lives of five Tiddas and the deep connections that bind them.
Best friends for decades, the five women meet once a month to talk about books, lovers, and the jagged bits of life in between. Dissecting each other’s lives seems the most natural thing in the world and honesty, no matter how brutal, is something they treasure. Best friends tell each other everything, don’t they?
But each woman carries a complex secret and one weekend, without warning, everything comes unstuck. In a strictly limited season, don’t miss this heartfelt celebration of friendship, connection, and truth.
“Though the Tiddas hail from Wiradyuri country, and live in Magandjin (Meanjan), I spent most of my own life in Sydney, sharing in decades of storytelling at Belvoir St as an audience member,” said Author and playwright Anita Heiss.
“I am personally and professionally thrilled about bringing Tiddas to the iconic theatre, with an extraordinary creative team and ensemble ensuring its success,” added Heiss.
“This play wears its heart on its sleeve, an upbeat start to the year. Plenty of laughs, but there are serious questions that come out of it – about reading and writing in black and white Australia, about whatever reconciliation is now, and about the truths, half-truths and outright lies we tell ourselves,” said Belvoir Artistic Director Eamon Flack.
Commissioned and originally produced by La Boite Theatre, Brisbane Festival, and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in 2022, this production will feature original cast members Louise Brehmer, Lara Croydon, and Anna McMahon joined by Perry Mooney (TV’s Gold Diggers), Jade Lomas-Ronan and Sean Dow .
Co-Directors: Nadine McDonald-Dowd, Roxanne McDonald | Featuring: Louise Brehmer, Lara Croydon, Sean Dow, Jade Lomas-Ronan, Roxanne McDonald, Anna McMahon, Perry Mooney | Set & Costume Designer: Zoe Rouse | Associate Designer: Grace Deacon | Lighting Designer: Jason Glenwright | Sound Designer & Composer: Wil Hughes | Fight & Intimacy Director: Nigel Poulton | Performance Psychologist: Shona Erskine | Song License: Letetia Harris | Stage Manager: Mia Kanzaki | Assistant Stage Manager: India Lively | Writer: Anita Heiss
TIDDAS
Upstairs Theatre – Belvoir St Theatre, 25 Belvoir Street, Surry Hills
Season: 12 – 28 January 2024
Information and Bookings: www.belvoir.com.au
Image: The Cast of TIDDAS – courtesy of Belvoir