2009 Theatre News

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Chat-line girls with dusters, attitude and a seniors concession!

Starring three of Australia’s favourite actresses, Maggie King, A Country Practice’s ‘Logie Winner’ Joan Sydney and Anne Phelan, Dirty Dusting is a hilarious look at sex and the over 70s! Playing at QUT Gardens Theatre from Monday 29 March, this must-see comedy broke box office records when it was first performed in the United Kingdom.

Dirty Dusting is the story of a trio of hard-working cleaners who are working part-time to supplement their pension. Their boss warns that they’re facing the axe but these determined ladies won’t take threats of redundancy lying down.

The fun begins when these game ‘girls’ set up a phone sex service when the office is closed on weekends, known as ‘The Telephone Belles’. Their bosses don’t know about it, their families would never guess and their very willing customers are none the wiser.

Best known for her seven year role as Matron Maggie Sloan on A Country Practice, Joan Sydney plays Gladys, a timid pom who dearly loves her husband, Billy. She isn’t keen on setting up ‘The Telephone Belles’, however it doesn’t take long for friend Elsie, played by Maggie King and Girl Guide leader, Olive, played by Anne Phelan to convince Gladys otherwise.

After working in the business for 53 years and making numerous appearances in Australian TV shows, Something in the Air, E Street, Mother and Son, Tracks of Glory, Mother and Son, All Saints and Neighbours, Sydney says that live comedy productions like Dirty Dusting are her favourite performances to be cast in.

“It’s lovely to work a live audience, to take them on a journey and leave them laughing,” Sydney said.

This trio might be past their best, beyond their sell-by date and over the hill but these cleaners show that age gets in the way of nothing. Dirty Dusting promises a night of scandal, friendship and light entertainment that will appeal to a broad range of audiences, regardless of their age and sex.

Dirty Dusting is presented by Ellis Productions and directed by Helen Ellis.

Pennies from Kevin: How K. Rudd saved us

The Wharf Revue team are celebrating their tenth year and once again bravely go to the pointy end of the comic schtick. This toe-tapping production, Pennies from Kevin is sure to impress Brisbane audiences at QUT Gardens Theatre on 4-5 March. Fresh from its NSW tour, where the season was extended due to popular demand, Pennies from Kevin delivers generously with wit, pace and punchiness which makes for a rude, vicious and deliciously funny performance.

Audience members will be impressed with this year’s revue, including 13 skits ranging from topics such as climate change, Indian students, the d-d-deficit and the Middle East troubles.

The Wharf Revue team have embraced the Rudd leadership and its comic potential, kick-starting the show with ‘Kevin Potter and the Lower Chamber of Secrets’, featuring Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard fighting the forces of the evil deficit at Hogwards. This sequence reminds us of the recent 2009 global financial crash, the one us Australians apparently didn’t have, because we got our Pennies From Kevin instead.

Other highlights from the show include;
• Canberra’s Got Talent
• The Democrats in Heaven
• Amanda Vanstone on her Roman Holiday - La Dolce Big-Eater
• Penny “K.D.” Wong sings Constant Cave-In
• Michelle sings why her guy Obama is the new black!

Written and created by Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott, and under Scott’s brilliant musical direction and piano work, Pennies From Kevin is a light hearted summary of a year of politics and current affairs through catchy tunes, political satire and spot on impersonations. Audiences will enjoy the Wharf Revue’s offensive, witty, and inane performance.

This tour is presented by the Sydney Theatre Company.

Gardens Theatre releases 2010 season

Gardens Theatre followed up this year’s bumper season with the release of their 2010 season shows, which were announced last night at the annual ‘Gardens ’, attended by 400 Brisbane theatre lovers.

The 2010 season is the biggest season yet and is sure to please with a mix of comedy, music, drama and some favourite classics. The announcement of the
2010 shows proved popular with the audience who queued out the door to buy subscription packages.

Gardens Theatre subscription prices remained the same and subscribers enjoyed VIP benefits such as discounted offers on pre-show dining at Merlo Kitchen, complimentary parking (for evening and weekend matinee performances) and access to booking the best seats in the house.

2010’s season begins with Sydney Theatre Company’s Wharf Revue: Pennies from Kevin, a must-see for your own stimulus package.

The season continues with comedy production Dirty Dusting, starring Maggie King and Joan Sydney, the story of a trio of hard-working cleaners who are facing the axe but refuse to take threats of redundancy lying down.

Craign Ilott directs the insightful and beautifully crafted Shakespeare’s R&J, a new interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy. In 2001 this production was acclaimed in its premiere season at the Sydney Opera House Studio and set records on Broadway as the longest run of any production of Romeo and Juliet.

For intriguing entertainment it is hard to go past the autobiographical Lying Cheating Bastard, the story of infamous con-man and master magician James Galea, who is drawn into the seedy underbelly of Sydney and how he became the most successful con-man in Australia by the age of 27.

The award winning play Inside Out is the story of a mother and her struggle to understand her son, a story that any parent will empathise with.

Halpern & Johnson reunites Garry McDonald and Henri Szeps in a virtuoso piece about loyalty and betrayal that you mustn’t miss.

We celebrate the music and life of Cat Stephens in Peace Train with the extraordinary talent of Darren Coggan and a full band and the season concludes with the much-loved Driving Miss Daisy.

The eight shows on offer from next March to October during Gardens Theatre’s professional season are:

Pennies from Kevin: Wharf Revue | 4-5 March

Dirty Dusting | 29-31 March

Shakespeare’s R&J | 12-17 July

Lying Cheating Bastard | 20-21 July

Inside Out | 21-23 August

Halpern & Johnson | 9-11 September

Peace Train | 17-18 September

Driving Miss Daisy | 14-16 October

Subscribers will receive complimentary tickets to see QUT’s graduating dancers and actors in Dance 10 and Blood Wedding (from Company 10).

QUT Gardens Theatre’s affordable 2010 subscriptions are available in standard and matinee-only packages comprising all shows or a choice of four or more shows and range from $68 to $224.

To subscribe online click here or call GardensTix on 07 3138 4455