With Melbourne in raptures over the sold-out season of Ladies in Black, rave reviews for Lungs, four new Australian plays developed through the Cybec Electric play reading series, a swag of Green Room Award nominations, and the hotly anticipated Australian premiere of The Distance opening this Thursday, Melbourne Theatre Company’s 2016 Season is off to an impressive start.
And as tickets to the rest of MTC’s 2016 Season go on sale today, MTC’s Artistic Director Brett Sheehy said there’s plenty more in store for theatregoers.
‘The media have described our season as one with something for everyone, and that statement is certainly ringing true with the high demand for tickets to date. We’ve had a fantastic start to the year but really have barely begun – we still have world premieres, revivals of much-loved classic and incredible new Australian writing yet to come. Personally, I can’t wait.
‘So with tickets to the whole season now available, it might be a cliché but I urge audiences to secure their seats now because if the beginning of the year is anything to go by, and with some truly special productions coming up, tickets will not last long,’ Mr Sheehy said.
With almost all productions fully cast, MTC is also thrilled to reveal a number of additions to the already impressive line-up of talent in its 2016 Season.
From well-known faces to rising stars, some of the exciting announcements include TV favourite Jessica Tovey (Wonderland, Home and Away); Robin McLeavy (Hell on Wheels), Hazem Shammas (Mother Courage and Her Children), Guy Simon (The Battle of Waterloo), Nicholas Denton (Holding the Man), Candy Bowers (Circus Oz), Claire van der Boom (Sisters of War), Hayden Spencer (The Beast), Zindzi Okenyo (Masquerade) and John Gaden (Other Desert Cities).
Subscriptions and single tickets for MTC’s 2016 Season are now available.
For more information and to book go to mtc.com.au/2016, phone 03 8688 0800 or visit Southbank Theatre.
Coming Up:
Next on the calendar, the Australian premiere of The Distance opens this Thursday 10 March at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner starring Susan Prior (Puberty Blues), Nadine Garner (The Dr Blake Mysteries), Katrina Milosevic (Wentworth), Nathan Page (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries) alongside Ben Prendergast (Dead Centre/Sea Wall), Joe Klocek (Oedipus Doesn’t Live Here Anymore) and Martin Blum (The Season At Sarsaparilla).
Robin McLeavy (Hell on Wheels) takes on the complexities of the eponymous lead role in Strindberg’s Miss Julie and will be joined on stage by Mark Leonard Winter (Birdland) and Zahra Newman (The Mountaintop). This modern revival directed by 2015 Helpmann award-winning director Kip Williams opens on Thursday 21 April at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner.
Darcy Brown (Henry V) will captivate audiences in the Australian premiere of the poetic one-person play Peddling, written by former Harry Potter film star Harry Melling and directed by Susie Dee. Peddling opens on Friday 22 April at Southbank Theatre, The Lawler, before going on tour to regional Victoria and Tasmania.
Gareth Reeves, John Gaden (Other Desert Cities), Luke Ryan (Yellow Moon) and Candy Bowers (Circus Oz) join the team for Straight White Men, directed by Sarah Giles. The subversive modern satire by Young Jean Lee opens on Thursday 12 May at Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio.
Claire van der Boom (Sisters of War), Leon Ford (Private Lives), Peter Kowitz (The Weir), Richard Piper (Ghosts), Edwina Samuels (The Crucible) and Jessica Tovey (Wonderland, Home and Away), directed by Sam Strong, will bring Double Indemnity to life on stage on Friday 3 June at Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse.
Led by award-winning director Dean Bryant, Colin Friels (Endgame) and Anna Samson (Birdland) will play the estranged lovers who reunite in David Hare’s contemporary classic Skylight, opening on Thursday 23 June at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner.
Genevieve Morris (True Minds) stars in Egg, MTC’s world premiere co-production with Terrapin Puppet Theatre. This new work from acclaimed creative team Angela Betzien and Leticia Cáceres opens on Thursday 30 June at Southbank Theatre, The Lawler.
Ian Bliss (North by Northwest), Nicholas Denton (Holding the Man), Taylor Ferguson (Miss Julie), Rachel Gordon, Guy Simon (The Battle of Waterloo), Hayden Spencer (The Beast) and Harry Tseng (Winter) star in MTC’s production of Jasper Jones, directed by Sam Strong and opening Friday 5 August at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner.
For NEON NEXT, Sisters Grimm’s Ash Flanders (Buyer and Cellar) is joined by Candy Bowers (Circus Oz) and* Genevieve Giuffre* (The Good Person of Szechuan) in the hilariously irreverent Lilith: The Jungle Girl, opening Saturday 3 September at Southbank Theatre, The Lawler.
Kane Felsinger, Zindzi Okenyo (Masquerade) and Hazem Shammas (Mother Courage and Her Children) complete the cast of Disgraced, alongside Mitchell Butel (Angels in America) and Kat Stewart (The Speechmaker, Offspring). The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama opens Thursday 25 August at Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio.
Sarah Peirse (The Hobbit) and Eamon Farren (Carlotta) reunite with director Sarah Goodes for Joanna Murray-Smith’s acclaimed two-hander, Switzerland, opening Wednesday 21 September at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner.
And to close the season, Shaun Micallef (The Ex-PM) and Francis Greenslade (Winners & Losers) play the famous mismatched duo in comedy classic The Odd Couple, joined on stage by Hayden Spencer (The Beast), Drew Tingwell (Winners & Losers) and Grant Piro (Jack Irish). Directed by Peter Houghton, The Odd Couple opens Thursday 10 November at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner.
Published on 8 March 2016