In The Club by Patricia Cornelius.
Directed by Geordie Brookman. State Theatre of South Australia. Odeon Theatre. Queen Street. Norwood. February 23rd – March 18. Bookings: BASS 131 246
Preview by Peter Wilkins
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| Sense and Sensibility cast. StateTheatre of South Australia |
In recent years, the State Theatre
of South Australia has been a regular visitor to Canberra to present work as
part of the Canberra Theatre’s Collected Works season. Theatre-goers may recall
excellent productions including Andrew Bovell’s When the Rain Stops Falling in association with Brink Theatre,
Andrew Bovell’s Things I Know To Be True
in association with the London-based physical theatre company Frantic Assembly,
Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being
Ernest and most recently the stunning production of George Orwell’s 1984, in association with The Headlong,
the Nottingham Playhouse and London’s Almeida Theatre.
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| Playwright Kate Hamill |
This year, State Theatre
of South Australia will again visit Canberra to present Kate Hamill’s sparkling
adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and
Sensibility, under the direction of State Theatre’s Artistic Director,
Geordie Brookman. It has been hailed as a “night not to be missed.”
Currently in rehearsal in
preparation for its Adelaide Festival premiere opening on February 23rd.
is Patricia Cornelius’s riveting and provocative play about sexual violence
within the football fraternity. In The
Club comes as a timely warning to expose the unspoken rules of partying
with sporting heroes. The current circumstance of Olympian gymnastics coach and
sexual predator, Canadian, Michel Arsenault
brings this issue into sharp focus.
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| Playwright Patricia Cornelius |
Cornelius is a co-founder of
Melbourne’s Worker’s theatre and is recognized as Australia’s most unapologetic
playwright. Her earlier, confronting and award-winning plays include Slut for Platform Youth Theatre, The Call for Griffin Theatre Company, Love for Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne
and Hog’s Hairs and Leeches, also for
Malthouse. Uncompromising in her mission to uncover injustices, Cornelius could
well be called Australia’s Sarah Kane,
In The Club is told from the
perspective of three women and delves into the dark, off-field culture,
investigating the conditions that create “pack behaviour” and the damaging
consequences that can occur for women. Cornelius says “Australian love our
footy rules. We’re mad for it. We love “our boys. We love the way they rise up
to mark the ball. We love how they go in hard…We forgive them for almost
anything. They’re our champions. In The
Club examines how we allow our champions …to take whatever risks come their
way, and, worst of all, how they can behave in brutal and lawless ways.”
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| Director Geordie Brookman |
Director Geordie Brookman regards
Cornelius as “one of the bravest and most exciting writers in the country.” He
is excited by the prospect of directing such a powerful play that will
challenge and stretch his ensemble of fine actors. Set and lighting designers
Geoff Cobham and Chris Petridis have taken inspiration from contemporary video
Artist Bill Viola, whose iconic imagery has featured in galleries and
exhibitions that stretch public imagination and intellect. Brookman promises a
production that will be almost cinematic in its speed and transition in keeping
with Cornelius’s “kind of rough poetry that isn’t quite naturalistic and yet
contains a massive emotional overload”
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| Rachel Burke in IN THE CLUB |
In The Club is hardly Sense
and Sensibility, but it is an important, in fact crucial contemporary
voice in support of all women and victims of sexual violence in the sporting
world. Canberra audiences will need to travel to Adelaide during the Adelaide
Festival to see this remarkable production. That is unless State Theatre of
South Australia and the Canberra Theatre continue their outstanding tradition
of bringing the company’s finest productions to Canberra. Let’s hope so. In the
meantime, don’t miss the opportunity to see this important production and other
Adelaide Festival highlights during Adelaide’s festival month of March.
CONTENT WARNING; In The Club contains coarse language and adult themes, including explicit retelling of sexual violence. Below are some support services for those affected by any themes of this production:
1800 respect/ 1800 737 732 or 1800respect.org.au
No to Violence\ 1300 766 491 or ntv.org.au