North by Northwest

1 June — 4 July 2015

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Every twist, every thrill, every hairbreadth escape from Alfred Hitchcock’s supreme comedy of suspense is retained for this stunning new stage adaptation from director Simon Phillips and writer Carolyn Burns, starring Matt Day (Muriel’s Wedding, Spooks, Rake) in the title role made famous by Cary Grant.

Roger O. Thornhill is a suave and successful advertising executive, abducted by thugs who insist he is a man called George Kaplan. There’s obviously been a mix up. When they don’t believe him, that’s infuriating. When they try to kill him, that’s frightening. And when they pin a murder on him, that’s time to run!

From New York to North Dakota, Thornhill is chased by spies, Feds, crop-dusting planes and the inevitable cool blonde. Years before the James Bond films there was North by Northwest – a lightning paced thriller that mixed glamour with espionage for a truly irresistible cocktail.

And now, in an extraordinary collaboration between MTC, Kay + McLean Productions and Warner Bros. Theater Ventures, Melbourne audiences can enjoy the World Premiere of this unmissable theatrical spectacular, where the magic of film and theatre collide live on stage.

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Leith McPherson

Simon Phillips

Simon Phillips

Artwork for Nick Schlieper

Nick Schlieper

Set and Lighting Designer

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Ian McDonald

Esther Marie Hayes

Esther Marie Hayes

Matt Day

Matt Day

Amber McMahon

Amber McMahon

Deidre Rubenstein

Deidre Rubenstein

Matt Hetherington

Matt Hetherington

Nicholas Bell

Nicholas Bell

Ian Bliss

Ian Bliss

Justin Stewart Cotta

Justin Stewart Cotta

Having made his MTC debut in Glengarry Glen Ross, Justin Stewart Cotta returns to the Company in North by Northwest. He has also appeared on stage in Before/After for Sydney Theatre Company; Fool for Love for Belvoir; Horrible Histories – Awful Egyptians for Andrew Kay; The Floating World, The Sea Project, and Below for Griffin Theatre; Romeo and Juliet and King Lear for Bell Shakespeare; The Removalists for Tamarama Rock Surfers; Syncopation for Critical Stages; Let the Sun Shine and Dream Home for Ensemble Theatre; Sweeney Todd for New Theatre; Burn This for Stephanie Feury Theatre, LA; A Cry from the City of Virgins in its Japan season. A NIDA graduate and a Bachelor of Laws, he is a two-time nominee for Best Actor at the Sydney Theatre Awards. On television he has appeared in Packed to the Rafters, I Rock, Home and Away, and Water Rats. His film credits include Happy Feet 2 and Boys and Girls Guide to Getting Down. An award-winning classical pianist and guitarist and a singer-songwriter for EMI publishing, Justin was the lead singer for rock band Memento (Columbia Records) and guitarist for VAST (Electra Records).

Artwork for Sheridan Harbridge

Sheridan Harbridge

John Leary

John Leary

John Leary is a graduate of Theatre Nepean and a proud member of MEAA. Theatre credits include Shakespeare in Love, North By Northwest, Private Lives, His Girl Friday and Realism (Melbourne Theatre Company); All My Sons, White Guard, Taming of the Shrew and Julius Caesar (Sydney Theatre Company); Peter Pan, The Business, The Book of Everything, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Marriage of Figaro and Cloudstreet (Belvoir); The Dragon and White Rabbit Red Rabbit (Malthouse Theatre); Just Macbeth (Bell Shakespeare). John also co-wrote and performed in the plays The Suitors and Vital Organs. Television credits include The Newsreader, Five Bedrooms, Glitch, Upright, The Letdown, True Story with Hamish and Andy, Get Krack!n, Upper Middle BoganLaid, Offspring, Tough Nuts, Woodley, All Saints. His US television credits include The Good Place and No Activity. Selected film credits include Pirates of the Caribbean V, Oddball, Red Dog, Where the Wild Things Are and the Tropfest winning short Lemonade Stand.

Current as of March 2023.

Tony Llewellyn-Jones

Tony Llewellyn-Jones

As an actor, Tony previously appeared for MTC in Realism, Amigos, The Visit, Corporate Vibes, and LifeX3, for which he received a Green Room Nomination. In the early seventies, Tony was a member of the Company, appearing in, Tonight at 8.30, Macquarie, Danton’s Death, Forget-me-not Lane, How Does Your Garden Grow? The Plough and the Stars, Mother Courage, The Cherry Orchard, An Ideal Husband, The Time is Not Yet Ripe, Much Ado About Nothing, Batman’s Beach-Head, Paying the Piper, You Want It Don’t You Billy? and others. For Sydney Theatre Company, his performances include The Crucible, St Joan, Corporate Vibes, King Lear, The Tempest, Life After George, Two Brothers, and Metamorphosis. He has worked for Nimrod Theatre, the Old Tote, Marian Street Theatre, Bell Shakespeare Company, Griffin Theatre Company and Belvoir. His television credits include I Spry, Rogue Nation, The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce, Underbelly 2, GP, Blabbermouth and Stickybeak, Who Do You Think You Are?, Backberner, All Saints, Hell has Harbour Views, and One Day Miller; while on film he has appeared in Inside Looking Out, Kostas, Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Girl Who Met Simone de Beauvoir in Paris, Fatty Finn, To Market to Market, Seeing Red, Cosi, and Human Touch. As a film producer, he has worked on a number of Paul Cox features including: Man of Flowers, My First Wife, Cactus, Vincent, Salvation, and Force of Destiny. Tony is a graduate of NIDA and a proud member of Equity since 1970.

Lucas Stibbard

Lucas Stibbard

For MTC Education, Lucas Stibbard previously appeared in boy girl wall, created by The Escapists, for whom he is a founding member. Their other shows include Suburbia, Packed, Attack of the Attacking Attackers!, Elephant Gun, The Critic, The Prometheus Project, and Revenge of the Revenging Revengers! As an actor he has appeared in The Danger Age and Zig-Zag Street for La Boîte; Macbeth, An Oak Tree, Grimm Tales, Eating Ice Cream with Your Eyes Closed, The Real Inspector Hound/Black Comedy, The Cherry Orchard, and Richard II for Queensland Theatre Company; Grug for Windmill Theatre; The Alchemist and Richard III for QTC/Bell Shakespeare, Hamlet for QTC/STCSA; Fractions for QTC/ Hothouse Theatre; Drag Queensland for Queensland Music Festival; New Royal for Elbow Room/SOOB; He Died with a Felafel in His Hand for Someone; and White Rabbit Red Rabbit for World Theatre Festival. As a director or facilitator, his credits include The Lost Property Rules and The Landmine is Me for QTC; ><R&J (iterations one and two) for La Boîte/Breadbeard Collective/Vena Cava; boy girl wall, Suburbia, Elephant Gun, and Packed for The Escapists/La Boîte/ HotHouse Theatre; The Laramie Project for Forward Movement/Brisbane Powerhouse; Funny Boys for Empire Theatre; and Horrendo’s Curse for Imaginary Theatre/Brisbane Powerhouse. He has appeared in the films Kokoda, The Great Raid, Attack on the Queen, and The Wilde Girls. He is also the Artistic Director of Fast, the Festival of Australian Student Theatre.

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Lachlan Woods

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Josh Burns

Carolyn Burns

Carolyn Burns