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Artwork for In the Kingdom of 茶 (Chá)

In the Kingdom of 茶 (Chá)

14 February — 15 February 2014

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A rogue nineteenth century Scottish trader steals tea plants from China to start an empire in India. His dissolute grandson tries to hold together his failing tea fiefdom as post-colonial India tears itself apart. A young Indian woman comes to grips with a contemporary India in which crops are failing, the earth is exhausted and all roads lead to working in a mega-city. Three interconnected stories of the dirty deals, incendiary power and human hands that give us our daily tea bag.

Artwork for Rodney Afif

Rodney Afif

Artwork for Menik Gooneratne

Menik Gooneratne

Artwork for Paul Ireland

Paul Ireland

Simon Maiden

Simon Maiden

Artwork for Rani Pramesti

Rani Pramesti

Artwork for Raj Sidhu

Raj Sidhu

Artwork for Leah Vandenberg

Leah Vandenberg

Artwork for Petra Kalive

Petra Kalive

Petra trained at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and has extensive experience as a director, writer and dramaturg of new works for the stage. Her acclaimed adaptation of Peter Goldsworthy’s novel Three Dog Night toured nationally. She was Dramaturg at Red Stitch from 2009 – 2012, Assistant Dramaturg at The Malthouse in 2010.  Petra was Artistic Director of Union House Theatre (UHT) 2015-2020.

At Melbourne Theatre Company Petra has directed Laurinda, Touching the Void, The Lifespan of a Fact, Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes (Green Room nom Best Direction), Hungry Ghosts, Melbourne Talam (Green Room nom Best Director) and Beached.

Petra has also worked for Belvoir Street, Sydney Theatre Company, Arena Theatre Company, Complete Works Theatre Company, Union House Theatre, St Martins Youth Arts Centre, La Trobe, Monash University & Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) performing arts programs. 

Her notable independent directing credits include the much-acclaimed Taxithi, which had two sell-out seasons at fortyfivedownstairs (Green Room nom Best Director), her own work Oil Babies at Northcote Town Hall (shortlisted for the NSW Premier Literary Awards 2019) and new Australian musical, My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin adapted by Dean Bryant and Matthew Frank.

Sue Smith

Sue Smith

Sue Smith is one of Australia’s finest television writers. In a career spanning thirty years she has written everything from The Young Doctors and Sons and Daughters to The Leaving of Liverpool and Brides of Christ (both co-written with John Alsop). She won an AWGIE in 1994 for The Road from Coorain. Her work also includes the television series R.A.N Remote Area Nurse, My Brother Jack, Fallen Angels and The Cooks; and the feature film Peaches. Her first stage play, Thrall, had a sell-out season at the Old Fitzroy Hotel (Sydney) in 2006. In 2012 Smith was honoured with an AWGIE Award, and a QLD Literary Award for Mabo.