From the Artistic Director
As I write this, Black Swan State Theatre Company has been resident in its wonderful new home at the State Theatre Centre for nine months.
We have championed new work and celebrated the classics, and we have kept the desire to ignite discussion and inspire the imagination at the core of our work. At Black Swan, we take delight in seeing the Heath Ledger foyer filled with people engaged with the shared experience of transformation, exploring ideas, debating art and politics, giving voice to hopes and dreams or sharing a belly laugh with a friend.
2012 is Black Swan’s 21st anniversary season, and we have chosen to celebrate our coming of age. The season reflects on fundamental questions of identity. It looks into our past for clues and guesses at our future. It asks where we are going, and what clothes we should wear when we get there?
Since coming to Western Australia, I have been inspired by the treasure trove of stories waiting to be told. Thanks to Rio Tinto, we are able to bring Australian stories to life, and what better place to start than the fascinating multicultural hotbed that was Broome in 1912. Inspired by John Bailey’s prize-winning book, internationally acclaimed playwright, Hilary Bell, takes us on an epic journey with The White Divers of Broome, when Broome’s pearling industry was the last bastion against the White Australia Policy. Stirring, provocative, and visually stunning, this timely play resonates powerfully today.
Our next offering is Tom Stoppard’s contemporary masterpiece, Arcadia. Written by the co-author of Shakespeare in Love, Arcadia is a brilliant, witty, play. Set in a lovely English country mansion inhabited by a brilliant cast of eccentrics, and surrounded by an ever-changing garden, the play spans two centuries. You will delight in the unfolding love story that lies at the heart of the play.
Aidan Fennessy, brings his auteur skills to the fore when he directs the world premiere of his own play, National Interest. Inspired by true events, Aidan’s play is a potent exposé of the impact the coronial inquest into the murder of his cousin, one of the Balibo Five, had on members of his family. Fennessy cuts through the politics of both this country and his own family to ask potent questions about the importance of truth in the face of tragedy. Can we ever move on from trauma if we are met with silence when we seek to understand what has happened? Can speaking the truth really alleviate tragedy?
Following on from his great success with Rising Water, Tim Winton’s second play, Signs of Life is entirely different, and starkly beautiful. Set in the not too distant future, in the Central West coastal region of WA, Signs of Life reveals what happens to Georgie Jutland and Lou Fox years after Dirt Music. The hopeful play explores what happens when a woman who has abandoned her past is visited by two people who have been robbed of theirs.
Boy Gets Girl is a thriller with a touch of comedy about a woman who goes on a date from hell and picks up a stalker. Adam Mitchell, whose work has had such a powerful impact, directs this contemporary American play about hanging onto a sense of self even when you have to surrender all the trappings of your identity. This fascinating play will make you laugh, but above all will surprise and terrify you as it exposes the horror of being stalked in the electronic age.
Finally, we end the year with Managing Carmen, a hilarious new comedy by the master of one-liners, David Williamson. Wesley Enoch, the new Artistic Director of QTC, who recently brought us those magnificent divas, The Sapphires, will direct. Williamson masterfully pokes fun at the stereotypes in football, and celebrates finding our hidden diva in the most surprising places.
I look forward to sharing our 2012 coming of age season with you!
Kate Cherry
Artistic Director
