Archived

Radiance

By Louis Nowra
Director Leah Purcell

  • Venue Upstairs Theatre
  • Dates 3 January – 8 February

    Louis Nowra’s Radiance is an exuberant black sabbath for three great Indigenous dames. It begins conventionally enough: Mae, Nona and Cressy gather at the old Queenslander in the tropics for Mum’s funeral. But these three sisters are forces of nature, and they haven’t been in the same room for years, and years. It isn’t long before that old house can’t contain the joy and pain of them all being together again…

    Radiance began its life at Belvoir in 1993. After 22 years, Nowra’s feat of playwriting – almost Shakespearean, a Tempest-like packet of lust, rage, grief and high-flying foolery – is ready to be unleashed again. Leah Purcell (Brothers Wreck) is the woman for the job.

    Purcell is a powerhouse. She burst onto the national stage nearly two decades ago and is as full of fight and life as she ever was. What better idea than for this all-round theatre elder to direct herself in this mighty little classic? Here she is joined by a new generation: The Sapphires’ Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell.

    Indigenous Theatre at Belvoir supported by The Balnaves Foundation.

    Team

    By Louis Nowra
    Director Leah Purcell
    Set & Costume Designer Dale Ferguson
    Lighting Designer Damien Cooper
    Composer & Sound Designer Brendan O’Brien
    Associate Sound Designer Steve Toulmin
    Fight Director Scott Witt
    Cressy Stand-in Sharni McDermott
    Lighting Design Secondment Kelsey Lee
    Stage Manager Luke McGettigan
    Assistant Stage Manager Keiren Smith

    Cast

    Leah Purcell
    Shari Sebbens
    Miranda Tapsell

    Videos

    Rehearsal images by Brett Boardman
    Production images by Mark Rogers

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