The Speechmaker

31 May — 5 July 2014

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From Working Dog, the iconic team behind classic Australian films such as The Castle and The Dish, as well as TV series Frontline and The Hollowmen, comes a hilarious political satire about global power and the fumbling hands that hold it.

Air Force One is London-bound for a surprise Christmas meeting between the US President and the British PM. It will be a diplomatic coup, not to mention one hell of a media opportunity – a no-risk vote-winner for the price of a little jet fuel, and the chance for the Leader of the Free World to give the speech of a lifetime.

Yet with the seatbelt signs barely switched off, what appears to be a major international crisis begins to unfold. As the stakes rise and the clock ticks, the President and his advisors are forced to make some uncomfortable decisions.

Boasting a stellar ensemble cast featuring Erik Thomson (Packed to the Rafters) as the President, as well as Offspring’s Lachy Hulme and Kat Stewart, The Speechmaker promises to be an exhilarating stage debut from one of this country’s most successful creative groups.

Image: Sean Fennessy & Tom Ross

Artwork for Nicholas Bell

Nicholas Bell

Artwork for Jane Harber

Jane Harber

Artwork for Sheridan Harbridge

Sheridan Harbridge

Artwork for Brent Hill

Brent Hill

Artwork for Lachy Hulme

Lachy Hulme

Artwork for David James

David James

Artwork for Christopher Kirby

Christopher Kirby

Artwork for Kat Stewart

Kat Stewart

Artwork for Erik Thomson

Erik Thomson

Artwork for Toby Truslove

Toby Truslove

Artwork for Sam Strong

Sam Strong

Artwork for Dale Ferguson

Dale Ferguson

Artwork for Paul Jackson

Paul Jackson

Artwork for Russell Goldsmith

Russell Goldsmith

Artwork for Kat Henry

Kat Henry

Artwork for Jenny Kent

Jenny Kent

Voice and Dialect Coach

Artwork for Chris Mead

Chris Mead

Chris is Literary Director of Melbourne Theatre Company. He has been the inaugural Artistic Director of PlayWriting Australia; Literary Manager of Company B Belvoir; Curator of the Australian National Playwrights’ Conference; Festival Director of the International Festival for Young Playwrights; and Wharf 2LOUD Producer and Literary Manager of Sydney Theatre Company. His recent directing credits include Ian Wilding’s Rare Earth (NIDA 2011) and Quack (Griffin 2010); and Damien Millar’s The Modern International Dead (Griffin 2008), which won Best New Play at the Sydney Theatre Critics’ Awards and the WA Premier’s Literary Award, as well as being shortlisted for the NSW, Queensland and Victorian Premier’s Literary Award. Chris has a PhD from Sydney University, was awarded an inaugural Dramaturgy Fellowship by the Australia Council for the Arts in 2004 and was selected to attend New Visions New Voices at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center in 2008. His monograph What is an Australian Play? on institutional racism and outreach strategies was published by Currency House in June, 2008; and he has recently written introductions to Currency Press volumes by Lachlan Philpott and Lally Katz.

In 2009, Chris was named as one of Sydney’s 100 Creative Catalysts as part of the Creative Sydney Festival. He sat on the steering committee for the 2011 Australian Theatre Forum and on the Board of Arena Theatre Company from 2008-13, is on the artistic directorate of Hothouse Theatre, and has just joined the Board of Theatre Network Victoria.