Independent Theatre Program

Thursday 4th December

Low Level Panic - play reading
Thursday 2.30PM :: Brisbane Powerhouse, Visy Theatre
Claire McIntyre's feminist classic, first performed at London's Royal Court Theatre in 1988, explores 'the constant fear that runs through women's lives like a cold underground stream; its source is male violence and is fed by tributaries of pornography.' Director Morgan Bingham and actors Rebekah Foord, Jacobie Gray and Kay Harrison present this scathingly funny piece at the Visy Theatre.
With: Rebekah Foord, Jacobie Gray, Kay Harrison and directed by Morgan Bingham.

The Low Rise Block - Four Stories in the Visy Theatre
6.00PM - 8:30PM ::Visy Theatre
Cost: $12.20
Featuring …
:: The John Doe Lesson ::
...For those who are a little behind the rest, this is a knife, someone was killed...
First there must be a murder, and afterwards, an audience. Except when it works the other way. From the branch of the Bertolt Brecht Academy that knows how to laugh at itself, Andrew James directs his own swift and funny murder mystery, this year's toast of the Cement Box Theatre's Brisbane Underground Festival. (40mins)
:: Smash the Slipper ::
...Sorry, I forgot - 'head', 'body' - two separate things...
A generous and funny excavation of the Cinderella myth, Kathleen Forrester's one-woman show (supported by a sheet that takes on a life of its own!) is seen here in full flight after its premiere at the Vena Cava Capillaries Festival. (30mins)
:: Forever, Mother ::
...and if you're not sure about getting married, we could maybe go see a movie or something...
F. Wolf Molitch's unsettling triangle spins the relationship between ailing mother and dutiful daughter in a fascinating direction, equal parts Hal Hartley and Tom Waits. Alien Voice Productions revive their hit indie from this year's Metro Arts Studio. (40mins)
:: Black Christmas ::
Theatre Activ8! comrades Joanne Loth and Christopher Totten join forces again, this time as performer and director, in a modern riff on European Christmas stories. Funny and haunting in adjacent breaths, Loth and cellist Ann Henningham make magic to remind us of those forgotten during the holidays, with design by acclaimed local artist Jonathan Oxlade. (30mins)

The Oracle - play reading
7.30PM :: Impro Space, under the Chinatown Mall Carpark
Straight Out Of Brisbane is pleased to present the first public reading of Osmosis Dance Theatre's new work-in-progress. The Oracle centres on the retelling of Greek myths via the stories of the Roman poet Ovid, with the Oracle of Delphi as the spine of the story. Writer/director Shane Jones and acting students from James Cook University, Townsville, will present the reading at the Impro Space in the Chinatown Mall.
With: James Cook University acting students, Shane Jones.

Bent Out Of Shape - theatre in the impro space
8:30PM - 9:50PM :: Impro Space, under the Chinatown Mall Carpark
Featuring …
:: Iron and Thirst ::
With three of Brisbane's finest young performers, Richard Stratton's beautiful slice of surrealism fuses suburban daydreams to the movement of the planets, with a delicate undercurrent of brutal homicide. (30 mins)
:: A fly epidemic ::
Josef Muller and Tom Browning reenact Saskia Levy's disturbing chronicle of a drifter, a recluse and a case full of memories. Physically bizarre, achingly poetic, and truly unforgettable. (30 mins)
:: I witness ::
… we wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families...
Emerging playwright Aedan Whyatt uses the stage to explore and pay tribute to the experience of United Nations personnel trying to address the horrifying aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. This project has been developed during a Youth Arts Queensland's SPARK mentorship with renowned Queensland playwright Sven Swenson. (20 mins)

Friday 5th December

Punchy Improv
1:00PM - 4:00PM :: The Indie Temple Workshop Space.
Local Brisbane actors take participants through context free scripts to learn skills of interpretation, performance and improvisation. Education prize from The Actors Workshop will be awarded to most enthusiastic participant.
With: Tanya Schnieder, Mungo McKay & Jack Kennedy.

Crazy Gary's Mobile Disco - theatre
2.30PM :: Visy Theatre
It's a Friday night in the smallest Welsh town to not be designated 'village'... and three lads, anything but friends, are about to try to break free of the gravitational pull of their birthplace - with the help (and hindrance) of girls, drugs, and the beat. Gary Owen's play, first produced by Paines Plough in London, 2001, will be presented by director Emily Tomlins with actors Patrick Drew and Marcel Dorney.
With: Patrick Drew, Marcel Dorney & Emily Tomlins (director).

The Low Rise Block - Five stories in the Visy Theatre
6:00PM - 9:30PM :: Brisbane Powerhouse Visy Theatre
Cost: $12.20
Featuring …
:: The John Doe Lesson ::
...For those who are a little behind the rest, this is a knife, someone was killed...
First there must be a murder, and afterwards, an audience. Except when it works the other way. From the branch of the Bertolt Brecht Academy that knows how to laugh at itself, Andrew James directs his own swift and funny murder mystery, this year's toast of the Cement Box Theatre's Brisbane Underground Festival. (40mins)
:: Smash the Slipper ::
...Sorry, I forgot - 'head', 'body' - two separate things...
A generous and funny excavation of the Cinderella myth, Kathleen Forrester's one-woman show (supported by a sheet that takes on a life of its own!) is seen here in full flight after its premiere at the Vena Cava Capillaries Festival. (30mins)
:: Forever, Mother ::
...and if you're not sure about getting married, we could maybe go see a movie or something...
F. Wolf Molitch's unsettling triangle spins the relationship between ailing mother and dutiful daughter in a fascinating direction, equal parts Hal Hartley and Tom Waits. Alien Voice Productions revive their hit indie from this year's Metro Arts Studio. (30mins)
:: Black Christmas ::
Theatre Activ8! comrades Joanne Loth and Christopher Totten join forces again, this time as performer and director, in a modern riff on European Christmas stories. Funny and haunting in adjacent breaths, Loth and cellist Ann Henningham make magic to remind us of those forgotten during the holidays, with design by acclaimed local artist Jonathan Oxlade. (40mins)
:: Some Good Stories (Site Specific Narrative Works for Guitar) ::
Hear 'Usher Waltz' from a gloomy corridor within the House of Usher, listen to 'History of the Tango' from a dancer's dressing room and much more in this innovative showcase of narrative works for classical guitar. Through set design, visual art and performance, this Site Specific work evokes the atmosphere of the original texts these narrative pieces were based upon. Performed by Classical Guitarist Leo McFadden, Designed and Directed by Clare McFadden with special guests recorder virtuoso Barnaby Ralph. (1hr)

The Play It Again Sam Experience
8:00PM :: Impro Space, under the Chinatown Mall Carpark
Local Playback Theatre collective Play It Again Sam offer a dynamic improvised blend of physicality, light, sound and story in response to questions posed to the audience. One for true believers in the Genius That Lies With In, Brisbane's finest theatrical response team will honour your stories in a unique theatrical experience.
With: Local Playback Theatre

Pretty Piece of Flesh - theatre
Show 1 @ 10:00PM + Show 2 @ 12:00AM
:: Impro Space, under the Chinatown Mall Carpark
A show that could only come straight out of Brisbane's heart. Conceived by Steven Wright, PPoF is a group-devised look at the sex industry in Fortitude Valley and the complacent hypocrisy of its 'straight' citizens. It premieres on the festival's Friday night - a Friday night like most others in the Valley...
With: Steven Wright

Saturday 6th December

Some Good Stories (Site Specific Narrative Works for Guitar)
11:00AM - 12:00PM :: Brisbane Powerhouse Visy Theatre Foyer
Hear 'Usher Waltz' from a gloomy corridor within the House of Usher, listen to 'History of the Tango' from a dancer's dressing room and much more in this innovative showcase of narrative works for classical guitar. Through set design, visual art and performance, this Site Specific work evokes the atmosphere of the original texts these narrative pieces were based upon. Performed by Classical Guitarist Leo McFadden, Designed and Directed by Clare McFadden with special guests recorder TQO Concertmaster Warwick Adeney - this show is not to be missed!
With: Clare McFadden, Leo McFadden & Warwick Adeney

Match of the Decade
5:00PM - 6:00PM :: The Festival Club
History is made by those who turn up … Four leading lights of the Brisbane performing arts - Kooemba Jdarra Artistic Director Nadine McDonald, QTC Associate Director Leticia Caceres, La Boite Artistic Director Sean Mee, and local performer, clowning teacher and all-round theatrical explosion Andrew Cory will each have a little over ten minutes to answer one question:
What's your vision for the performing arts in Brisbane ten years from now?
And the best part is - when you come along, you get to vote for which one should come true! Hilarious, democratic and fully licensed, this is the one panel you can't afford to miss.
With: Nadine Mcdonald, Leticia Caceres, Sean Mee, Andrew Cory.

Bent Out Of Shape :: Theatre in the impro space
8:30PM - 9:50PM :: Impro Space, under the Chinatown Mall Carpark
:: Iron and Thirst ::
With three of Brisbane's finest young performers, Richard Stratton's beautiful slice of surrealism fuses suburban daydreams to the movement of the planets, with a delicate undercurrent of brutal homicide.
:: A Fly Epidemic ::
Josef Muller and Tom Browning reenact Saskia Levy's disturbing chronicle of a drifter, a recluse and a case full of memories. Physically bizarre, achingly poetic, and truly unforgettable. (30 mins)
:: I Witness ::
… we wish to inform you that tomorrow we we will be killed with our families...
Emerging playwright Aedan Whyatt uses the stage to explore and pay tribute to the experience of United Nations personnel trying to address the horrifying aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. This project has been developed during a Youth Arts Queensland's SPARK mentorship with renowned Queensland playwright Sven Swenson. (20 mins)