PARENTS
Bring your children
MTC encourages parents to bring children to see our mainstage shows, but recognise that some plays may not be suitable for all ages or temperaments. Of course, parents are the best judge of what is suitable for their own children, but below we give a rough guide and our recommendation for each play in the season. Most MTC shows are suitable for young people in the upper years of high school. Many younger children are likely to find adult drama uninteresting. Remember that for parents with babes-in arms there is a soundproofed Crying Room available for all performances at the Playhouse and Sumner Theatre.
A click on the titles will lead you to the play pages where there is more information.
SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN 12 YEARS OR OLDER (AND YOUNGER CHILDREN WITH PARENTAL GUIDANCE)
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
This classic Australian drama from the mid-fifties about cane-cutters spending their long lay-off in Carlton with their girlfriends has long been on school reading lists. Full of life and detail of a time gone by, the play has a straightforward story and language that is mild by today’s standards.
Australia Day
A broad satirical comedy about councils and committees, Australia Day contains characters that would not be out of place in an Australian TV sit-com. Some of the satirical targets and references may go over the heads of younger audience members. There is some occasional strong Australian vernacular.
Queen Lear
This version of Shakespeare’s tragedy features Robyn Nevin as the matriarch who divides her realm unwisely between her three daughters. There are scenes of violence, including one in which a man has his eyes gouged out, though we cannot know how graphic any of the violence will be until the play is well into rehearsals. Concerned parents should enquire closer to performance. Generally speaking, we believe that twelve to fourteen is the right age to introduce most children to Shakespeare, especially his great tragedies.
His Girl Friday
Based on The Front Page from the 1920s about reporters covering an execution at a prison is a cynical black comedy. Sheer entertainment, its narrative is fast-paced and the characters broad. It contains little to bore, confuse or frighten younger teens. The language is mild by today’s standards.
Elling
A charming comedy about two institutionalised men who are released into the community to fend for themselves. Despite some adult themes, there is a great deal for younger audiences to enjoy in Elling, including some wonderful physical comedy. The language is mild.
SUITABLE FOR 15 YEARS OR OLDER
Tribes
A contemporary family drama-comedy, Tribes is about a deaf son who feels excluded from his family and needs a ‘tribe’ to belong to. This makes it very accessible for younger audiences. However, although there are no distressing or violent scenes, there is some very coarse language at times. The subject and treatment might best suit older high school students.
The Seed
A drama about the reunion of three generations of an estranged family, The Seed has a great deal of tension and the threat of violence. It has a background in the IRA period of recent Irish history and Australia’s involvement in Vietnam. The language is often coarse and its subject matter perhaps would suit more mature teens.
Red
About the abstract expressionist Mark Rothko and the painting of his greatest works, Red is about art, its place in modern society and the obsession of the artist. The subject matter probably places this play beyond the understanding or interest of younger teens. The language is not particularly coarse.
The Heretic
A play with climate change as its central topic, The Heretic broadens in its final act into a social satire. It is not particularly educative about climate change and should be enjoyed for its comic and dramatic elements. Some strong language and adult themes probably requires a mature sensibility.
National Interest
Aidan Fennessy’s play about a family’s involvement in a public tragedy will best be appreciated by older teens. It develops the story of the Balibo Five and the Australian government’s complicity in the invasion of east Timor in 1975.
Top Girls
Caryl Churchill’s play from the early eighties is a thought-provoking and highly entertaining piece. The many feminist issues it raises, particularly about the balance of life between family and career, make it timely and topical, especially for VCE students.
Music
Barry Oakley’s touching work about a man facing death and how those around him cope with the news is unlikely to interest younger teens. Mature teens will get the most out of it.