Archived

The Great
Fire

By Kit Brookman
Director Eamon Flack

  • Venue Upstairs Theatre
  • Dates 2 April – 8 May 2016

    A comedy, a family, ten actors, a landscape (view of the Adelaide Hills), a great deal of conversation about politics and life, Christmas, large hopes, five tons of love.* The Great Fire is a big new play about us – middle Australia in 2016.

    Many years ago, in the 1970s, in pursuit of a good life and a sustainable future, Judith and Patrick built a house in the Adelaide Hills. They raised the kids here. As time wore on, bit by bit, the family drifted both from the house and the dream it was born from. Now it’s Christmas, the first grandchild is on the way and all three generations have gathered again. In the tinderbox heat of summer, Judith is at a crossroads: can the life they pursued in the first place come good again?

    Warm, funny, deeply felt, The Great Fire is the work of a brilliant new writing talent, Kit Brookman, with a brilliant ensemble cast. We present it here as a kind of companion to The Blind Giant is Dancing – a pair of plays a generation apart about family, about holding your course, about what will survive of the fading triumph of Australian social democracy.

    *With apologies to Anton Chekhov, whose own description of his play The Seagull we have adapted here.

    The Great Fire was originally commissioned by Belvoir in association with ArtsNSW through the NSW Philip Parsons Fellowship for Emerging Playwrights (previously the Young Playwright’s Award) .

    The Great Fire is supported by Belvoir’s program for young philanthropists, The Hive, and has received matching support from the Macquarie Group Foundation for donations made by Macquarie employees.

     Macquarie-Black-no-background

    Team

    By Kit Brookman
    Director Eamon Flack
    Set Designer Michael Hankin
    Costume Designer Jennifer Irwin
    Lighting Designer Damien Cooper
    Composer & Sound Designer Steve Francis
    Associate Sound Designer Michael Toisuta
    Assistant Set Designer Charles Davis
    Stage Manager (rehearsals) Mel Dyer
    Stage Manager Luke McGettigan
    Assistant Stage Manager Gina Bianco

    Cast

    Sarah Armanious
    Peter Carroll
    Lynette Curran
    Eden Falk
    Sandy Gore

    Shelly Lauman
    Marcus McKenzie
    Geoff Morrell
    Yalin Ozucelik
    Genevieve Picot

    Videos

    Rehearsal images by Brett Boardman
    Production images by Brett Boardman

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