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Artwork for 37
Artwork for 37
Artwork for 37
Artwork for 37
37

24 JAN  —  22 FEB 2025

Southbank Theatre, The Sumner

★★★★★ The Age ★★★★★ ArtsHub
★★★★ The Guardian ★★★★ Limelight

The standout of Season 2024 is back, and you don’t need to be a footy fan to love it.

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This is rated 5 out of 5 stars

‘Unquestionably the best theatre about football.’

The Age
This is rated 5 out of 5 stars

‘In a nutshell: perfect theatre.’

ArtsHub
This is rated 4 out of 5 stars

‘Terrific, thrilling – and a wake-up call.’

The Guardian
This is rated 4 out of 5 stars

‘A heartfelt, cleverly crafted snapshot.’

Limelight

ABOUT THE SHOW

Lace up your boots! Whether you’re a footy fanatic or not, the Cutting Cove boys are back.

The laugh-out-loud hit of Melbourne Theatre Company’s Season 2024 returns after winning the hearts of critics and audiences alike.

The local footy team of this small coastal town has spent too long at the bottom of the ladder. But then a new hope arrives: the Marngrook cousins. Named after the Aboriginal game that inspired AFL, they’re match-fit to bring home the team’s first flag in forever. 37 juxtaposes choreographed sequences of Marngrook and the modern game with the hilarity and at-times questionable banter found within sporting clubs around Australia.

Set within the era of Adam Goodes’s war cry – and named for the number he immortalised – 37 asks ten actors to throw themselves into this world of blood and grit to get at the values that drive a national obsession. Community, identity, the price of winning and the meaning of a goal: they’re all up for grabs.

Penned by Nathan Maynard – twice named Tasmanian Aboriginal Artist of the Year – and directed by Isaac Drandic (The Birthday Party, ABC’s Cleverman), 37 is a reminder that honest conversations are more than a ball toss. It matters where you stand.

Co-producer
QT STACKED BLACK s3tfxs


Supported by MTC’s 37 Giving Circle; Fitzpatrick Sykes Family Foundation, Angie & Colin Carter, Diane John, Larry & Petra Kamener, Marcia Langton AO & Craig Semple.


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Commissioned and developed through Melbourne Theatre Company’s NEXT STAGE Writers’ Program, with the support of our Playwrights Giving Circle.

Accessibility

  • Wheelchair Accessible

  • Hearing Assistance

  • Audio Described

  • Tactile Tour

  • Open Captioning

  • Closed Captioning

  • Auslan Interpreted

Performance Type Performance Date(s)
Audio Described
by Vision Australia 		Saturday 8 February at 2pm
Tuesday 11 February at 6.30pm
Tactile Tour
at venue 		Saturday 8 February at 2pm (Tactile tour commences at 1pm)
Open Captioning
via screen 		Saturday 15 February at 2pm
Closed Captioning
via GoTheatrical App 		Saturday 15 February at 2pm
Auslan Interpreted Please email mtcticketing@mtc.com.au for more information
Artwork for Syd Brisbane

Syd Brisbane

The General

Graduating from Flinders University Drama Centre in 1983, Syd Brisbane has worked in the industry for 40 years. 37 is his debut for Melbourne Theatre Company. His theatre credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, The Comedy of Errors, Henry IV part one, Twelfth Night, Pygmalion, Alice in Wonderland (Australian Shakespeare Company); Victory (Sydney Theatre Company); Night On Bald Mountain, Because The Night, K Box (Malthouse Theatre); Fawlty Towers Live (Michael Coppel Entertainment); Coranderrk (ILBIJERRI Theatre/La Mama); MiWi 3027, Masterpiece (Glenn Shea/La Mama); The Club, Marat/Sade, Restoration, Spring Awakening, Capricornia (State Theatre of South Australia); He Stumbled (The Wrestling School U.K.); Uncle (Vanya), The Europeans, Blue Remembered Hills, The Ecstatic Bible (Brink Productions); Assassins (Flying Penguin). In 2023 he directed the sold-out season of The Crucible at Athenaeum Theatre. Film credits include Silent Partner, Boxing Day, Dirt Music, Red Dog True Blue and for TV, Stateless, Aftertaste, High Country, Beaconsfield and Conspiracy 365.

Current as of February 2024. 

Artwork for Mitchell Brotz

Mitchell Brotz

Gorby

37 is Mitchell Brotz’s debut performance with Melbourne Theatre Company. Previous theatre credits include Batmania (The Very Good Looking Initiative); Bromance (Melbourne and Adelaide Fringe Festivals); Battlefield Blues (Melbourne Fringe Festival). Mitchell has many television, film and commercial credits including True Story with Hamish & Andy, How to Stay Married, Superwog and Fruit Salad. His performance in the short film Animal Work earned him Best Actor awards at the Peninsula Film Festival, Reale Film Festival, and the Canberra Short Film Festival. He is a graduate of the 2014 Ballarat Arts Academy.

Current as of February 2024.

Artwork for Samuel Buckley

Samuel Buckley

Apples

37 is Samuel Buckley’s debut performance with Melbourne Theatre Company. Samuel studied Acting at the Victorian College of the Arts, where he performed in First Love is the Revolution (dir. Georgina Naidu), Love and Information (dir. Marcel Dorney), and The Seagull (dir. Bagryana Popov). Since graduating in 2022, Samuel has collaborated on several independent theatre productions as a creator, writer and actor including The Owl of the Woods (Pummel Squad); Seduction (The Lowbrow Outfit); La Mama Theatre’s Explorations season and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. His screen credits include Hyde and Seek (Matchbox Pictures) and Stye (Azure Productions).

Current as of February 2024.

Artwork for Thomas Larkin

Thomas Larkin

GJ

Thomas Larkin is an award winning British-Australian actor making his debut with Melbourne Theatre Company. Other theatre credits include Death of a Salesman, Bernhardt/Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet (Queensland Theatre); Hamlet, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, The Wizard of Oz (La Boite Theatre); Holding Achilles, The Wider Earth (Dead Puppet Society/Sydney Festival); I Just Came To Say Goodbye (The Good Room/Brisbane Festival). Thom has also appeared in and produced Sex With Strangers and True West (with Brisbane Powerhouse) and Cinderella (with QPAC). Recent film credits in Australia and Europe include Elvis, Gabriel's Redemption and Combat Wombat. Television credits include Bad Ancestors, Rock Island Mysteries, Darby and Joan, Troppo, Homecoming Queens, Sexy Nails and For a Good Cause. He was awarded Best Supporting Male Actor, 'Biff Loman', at the 2019 Matilda Awards and the 2020 Brian Boak Fellowship.

Current as of February 2024. 

Artwork for Ben O’Toole

Ben O’Toole

Joe

Ben O’Toole graduated from the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts in 2011. He returns to Melbourne Theatre Company following The Sublime. Other theatre credits include On the Beach, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Harp in the South, Mojo (Sydney Theatre Company); A Streetcar Named Desire, Freak Winds, Men (Old Fitz Theatre); Death of a Salesman, Boy Gets Girl (Black Swan Theatre Company). His film credits include Bloody Hell, Nekrotronic, 12 Strong, Detroit, Everybody Loves Somebody, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Hacksaw: Ridge and The Water Diviner. Television credits include Boy Swallows Universe, Caught, Barons, Pieces of Her, Amazing Grace, Halifax Retribution, Love Child (Series 3), Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door, Love Child (Series 1 and 2).

Current as of February 2024.

Artwork for Eddie Orton

Eddie Orton

Woodsy

Eddie is a graduate of the National Theatre Drama School. His recent stage credits include Touching the Void (Melbourne Theatre Company); Let the Right One In (Darlinghurst Theatre Company); Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Outhouse Theatre); Jurassica (Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre); Our Blood Runs In The Street (Old Fitz Theatre) and The Players (Bell Shakespeare). His screen credits include Framed (SBS) and the feature film About an Age. Eddie is proudly represented by Ian White Management.

Current as of February 2024. 

Artwork for Anthony Standish

Anthony Standish

Dazza

37 is Anthony Standish’s debut with Melbourne Theatre Company. Other theatre credits include City of Gold (Griffin Theatre Company); An Octoroon, Our Town, The Wider Earth, End of the Rainbow, Trollop, Kelly, American Buffalo, The Woman Before, Puss In Boots, The Removalists, Caucasian Chalk Circle, A Property of the Clan, Man Equals Man, The Exception and The Rule (Queensland Theatre); Cosi (LaBoite Theatre); The Wider Earth, Megafauna (Dead Puppet Society); Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights (Shake & Stir); Prehistoric (Elbow Room); Brutal Utopias (Playlab Theatre). His film and television credits include Aquaman, Rock Island Mysteries, Hoges, Heartbeat, Wanted, Sea Patrol, Reef Break, Don’t Tell, Drive Hard, Bureau of Magical Things, The End, Harrow, Lightning Point and Mabo. Anthony won a Matilda Award for Best Supporting Actor for An Octoroon.

Current as of February 2024. 

Artwork for Ngali Shaw

Ngali Shaw

Jayma

Ngali Shaw is from the Wiradjuri, Murawari, Kunja tribes and returns to Melbourne Theatre Company following his debut with Jacky. Ngali made his television debut in Royal Flying Doctor Service directed by Jeremy Sims. He also appeared in the short film Ben 10: Age of the Universe. Other TV credits include Foxtel’s drama series The Twelve, opposite Sam Neill and Marta Dusseldorp. As a professionally trained dancer, Ngali has learned tap, ballet, hip-hop, classical, modern contemporary and Capoeira. He was selected for the NSW Public Schools Aboriginal Dance Company and invited to participate in a one-week training camp with Bangarra Dance Company. Under dance teacher and Ngemba and Yuwalayaay Custodian Doug Gordon, Ngali has trained in Aboriginal/Indigenous dance since 2017. As a musician, he has self-produced two albums and is a professional Yidariki/Didgeridoo player. Ngali is very proud of his culture and identity and wishes to inspire the next generation to dance and keep our stories alive.

Current as of February 2024. 

Artwork for Tibian Wyles

Tibian Wyles

Sonny

Tibin Wyles is a proud Warrgamay, Girramay and Kalkadoon man from North Queensland. He graduated with an Advanced Diploma from The Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts. His writing credits include Dear Brother (Queensland Theatre), premiering at the Brisbane Festival in 2024. Acting credits include Big Name No Blankets (ILBIJERRI Theatre Company); The Sunshine Club (HIT Productions); Hide The Dog (Performing Lines); The Sapphires (HIT Productions); Queens City (Blak Social); Country Song (Queensland Theatre); Black Diggers (Queensland Theatre). Tibian is also a member of DJUKI MALA, a dance company based in Arnhem Land. DJUKI MALA toured throughout Australia and worldwide in Guangzhou, Toronto, Madrid, Barcelona, Cairo, Tel Aviv, Cyprus and Innsbruck.

Current as of February 2024. 

Artwork for Nathan Maynard

Nathan Maynard

Writer

Nathan is a Trawlwoolway man and multidisciplinary artist from Larapuna country, Lutrawita/Tasmania. His began his theatre career in 2013, starring in Shadow Dreams (Terrapin Puppet Theatre). Since then, Nathan has written seven plays that have been performed across Australia, including Sydney Opera House’s Drama Theatre. His writing credits include The Season, At What Cost, A Not So Traditional Story and Hide the Dog, which he co-wrote with Jamie Macaskill. His directing credits include Back on Track (JUTE Theatre); Crumbs (Yirramboi/Melbourne ArtPlay); Journey of the Free Words (Junction Festival). He was also assistant director for Belvoir’s production his play At What Cost. Nathan is a two-time Tasmanian Aboriginal Artist of the Year, and his writing has earned him a Green Room Award and an Errol Award. In 2019, he awarded both a Churchill Fellowship and the Balnaves Aboriginal and Torres Strait Fellowship.

Current as of February 2024. 

Artwork for Isaac Drandic

Isaac Drandic

Director & Co-Choreographer

Isaac Drandic is a Noongar man from the southwest of Western Australia. He is an award-winning playwright, director and dramaturg. 37 is Isaac’s directorial debut with Melbourne Theatre Company. He has collaborated with Nathan Maynard over the past eight years making 37 their fourth collaborative instalment. Isaac has held several positions within the theatre industry including Associate Director of ILBIJERRI Theatre Company, Resident Artist at Playwriting Australia and Resident Dramaturg at Queensland Theatre among others. He is a member of Australian Plays Transforms National Advisory Panel and is currently Associate Artistic Director of Queensland Theatre. His productions have earned numerous Green Room Awards including Most Outstanding Independent Theatre Production for Blood on the Dance Floor, as well as Best New Writing, Best Direction and the coveted award for Best Production in the theatre companies’ category for The Season.

Current as of February 2024.

Dale Ferguson

Dale Ferguson

Set & Costume Designer

Dale Ferguson’s most recent credits for Melbourne Theatre Company include Come Rain or Come Shine, Emerald City, Cosi, An Ideal Husband, Born Yesterday, The Weir, The Speechmaker, The Crucible and Top Girls. Other recent credits include Death of a Salesman (GWB Entertainment); Julius Caesar (Melbourne Shakespeare Company); A German Life (STSA/Adelaide Festival); L’Appartement (Queensland Theatre); The Jungle and the Sea, Counting and Cracking (Edinburgh and Adelaide Festivals), Sami in Paradise, The Blind Giant is Dancing and The Judas Kiss, the latter of which transferred to West End (Belvoir); Because the Night, Away, Brothers Wreck, Night on Bald Mountain, Dance of Death (Malthouse Theatre); Exit the King (Broadway); Les Liasions Dangereues (Sydney Theatre Company). Dale received Helpmann Awards for August: Osage County and Counting and Cracking. He has also received six Green Room Awards, most recently in 2022 for Because the Night, as well as Tony and Drama Desk nominations for Exit the King on Broadway.

Current as of February 2024.

Ben Hughes

Ben Hughes

Lighting Designer

Ben Hughes’s lighting design spans theatre, dance, opera, concerts and events. He returns to Melbourne Theatre Company following Black is the New White (with Sydney Theatre Company), Noises Off (with Queensland Theatre) and Let the Sunshine (with Queensland Theatre). Other lighting design credits include Othello, The Almighty Sometimes, The Sunshine Club, Return To The Dirt, Boy Swallows Universe, Triple X (with Sydney Theatre Company), Mouthpiece, Antigone, L’Appartement, Twelfth Night, Good Muslim Boy (with Malthouse Theatre), Scenes From A Marriage, An Octoroon (Queensland Theatre); Poison Of Polygamy (with La Boite Theatre), The Effect (Sydney Theatre Company); Singin’ In The Rain (Queensland Performing Arts Centre/Prospero Arts), Breaking The Castle (Queensland Performing Arts Centre/Oombarra Productions); Bananaland, Salamander (Brisbane Festival); IRL, The Last Five Years, Away, The Time Is Now, Naked & Screaming, The Neighbourhood, From Darkness (La Boite Theatre); Celebrating Li, Strictly Gershwin, The Little Mermaid (Queensland Ballet). Ben lectures in lighting design at Queensland University of Technology.

Current as of February 2024.

Artwork for James Henry

James Henry

Composer & Sound Designer

James Henry has worked as a composer and sound designer on various productions, including Admissions, Jacky (Melbourne Theatre Company); and An Octaroon (Queensland Theatre). His versatile skill set extends to composing for renowned ensembles, such as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and others. As a cultural advocate, he plays a vital role in revitalising indigenous languages through music. His recent fellowship deepened his understanding of traditional Aboriginal music, enabling seamless integration into contemporary contexts. James received a Green Room Award in 2023 for Sound Design of Heart is a Wasteland (ILBIJERRI Theatre), in collaboration with Gary Watling and Lidia Fairhall, as well as a nomination for Best Documentary Score at the 2022 AACTA Awards. His contributions extend beyond the stage, making him a significant figure in the cultural tapestry, bridging traditions and contemporary expressions.

Current as of February 2024. 

Artwork for Waangenga Blanco

Waangenga Blanco

Co-Choreographer

Waangenga Blanco is a proud Indigenous man who descends from the Pajinka Wik in Cape York and Meriam Mer, the furthest eastern island in the Torres Strait. He is an award-winning, globally touring performing artist, specialising in contemporary dance, choreography and acting. Waangenga began his professional career in 2005 with Bangarra Dance Theatre and became a senior foundational influencer to a new generation of traditionally informed contemporary dance, where he remained until 2018. He is now a freelance artist. Waangenga's unwavering passion for his craft lead him to choreograph the award nominated I.B.I.S for Bangarra's 2015 national tour. In the same year he won the Australian Dance Awards prize for Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer. He also took home a Green Room Award for Outstanding Male Dancer for his work in Bangarra's 2014 production Patyegarang. In 2019 he won a Helpman Award for Australia's Best Male Dancer.

Current as of February 2024.

Matt Furlani

Matt Furlani

Voice & Text Coach

Matt Furlani is a voice & dialect coach and actor, holding a Postgraduate Diploma in Voice Studies and Bachelor of Dramatic Art from the Victorian College of the Arts. Matt has worked as voice and dialect coach on productions including A Very Jewish Christmas Carol, My Sister Jill, Bloom, Jacky, Come Rain or Come Shine, Admissions, The Truth and Home, I’m Darling (Melbourne Theatre Company); &Juliet (Michael Cassel Group); Looking for Alibrandi (Malthouse); Wolf Play, Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Iphigenia in Splott, The Cane, Pomona and Ulster American (Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre); Burn This (16th St Actors Studio); Death of a Salesman (Hearth Theatre). In 2016 he was a recipient of the Mike Walsh Fellowship, enabling him to travel to Scotland and work with renowned voice teacher – and author of Freeing the Natural Voice – Kristin Linklater. He has taught voice and dialect at 16th St Actors Studio and TAFTA since 2017.

Current as of February 2024.

Artwork for Kamarra Bell-Wykes

Kamarra Bell-Wykes

Assistant Director

Kamarra Bell-Wykes (Yagera/Butchulla) is a playwright, director, dramaturg, devisor, facilitator, performer, creative curator, community developer and education consultant. Kamarra served as ILBIJERRI Theatre’s education manager and creative director from 2014-2019 and Malthouse Resident Artist 2020-2022. Writing and directing credits include Because the Night (Malthouse Theatre), The Score, Scar Trees, Viral, North West of Nowhere, Body Armour, Chopped Liver, Shrunken Iris (ILBIJERRI), Crying Shame (Next Wave) and Mother’s Tongue (Yirra Yaakin). In 2020 Kamarra and Carly Sheppard became co-artistic directors of A Daylight Connection, a motley crew of independent theatre-makers dedicated to smashing performance binaries. Their credits include Chase (Malthouse Theatre/Hot House) and A Nightime Travesty (Yirramboi). In 2023 Kamarra directed A Daylight Connection double-bill featuring Whose Gonna Love Em? I am that I AM and Chase at Malthouse Theatre. She was awarded the Patrick White Award for Whose Gonna Love ‘Em? I am that i AM (Footscray Community Arts Centre/ILBIJERRI) in 2021.

Current as of February 2024.

Artwork for Lyndall Grant

Lyndall Grant

Fight Choreographer

Artwork for Isabella Vadiveloo

Isabella Vadiveloo

Intimacy Coordinator

Learn more about 37

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The Sumner

140 Southbank Boulevard

Southbank, Victoria 3006