DIRECTOR
Presented by Centre for Theatre and Performance, Monash University
in association with Malthouse Theatre
Malthouse Theatre, September 2018
Two heroes are on a quest – for understanding, for identity, maybe even just for the hell of it. But what makes someone a hero? What does that word mean? When you don’t fit a definition that has existed for millennia, what do you even call yourself?
Playwrights Jean Tong and Jessica Bellamy, alongside Green Room-nominated director Daniel Lammin and a team of young theatre-makers, excavate the mythological and historical tales we tell ourselves about who gets to be a hero, and who doesn’t.
Cultures clash and traditions unravel as the tried-and-true storytelling we grew up with is pulled apart with irreverence, daring and a healthy dash of the absurd.
Act One by Jean Tong
Act Two by Jessica Bellamy
Act Three by Jessica Bellamy and Jean Tong
Act Two by Jessica Bellamy
Act Three by Jessica Bellamy and Jean Tong
Featuring
Laura Aldous, Courtney Beaumont, Alfred Kouris, Wolfie Sun, Olivia Staaf and Talia Zipper
Set Design: Nicholas Sheridan
Costume Designer: Paris Balla
Lighting Designer: Caitlin Duff
Sound Designer: Ashleigh Baxter
Design Mentor: Jason Lehane
Stage Manager: Kelly Wilson
Production Manager: Lisa Nichols
Assistant Director: Sinead Brown
Assistant Production Manager: Emily Vitiello
"Tong’s piece is performed with briskly choreographed physical theatre and a kind of rapid-fire Greek chorus that ruptures into modern sexual politics; Bellamy’s moves away from ensemble work to the individuality of high camp, and the actors go to town."
Cameron Woodhead, The Age
Photography: Sarah Walker
Directors Notes
The work of students is vital to the ecology of our industry. It’s where the next generation is formed and cultivated, provided a framework in which they can begin to engage critically with theatre and apply those observations to their own work in an environment designed to help them explore and grow. It’s the deep breath before the plunge, before the politics and machinations of the professional world get in the way. And it is vital that those of us who have taken that plunge not only remember this, but support this important period in the development of our art form.
When I work with students at Monash University, the place that introduced me to what being a director meant and made me fall madly in love with it, those who haven’t worked with students remark on what a challenge it must be, because they don’t have the formal training or discipline of professionals. Not only is it in no way a challenge (and those assumptions utterly false), I take it as a privilege. These young people are finding their artistic voices, asking questions and pushing personal, thematic and creative boundaries, and I’ve been able of witness this and support them in that process. In fact, they challenge me, to have justification for my choices, to think outside the box, to connect with the deep and cosmic why that must fuel all work. I’ve walked out of every student project a better director, and After Hero is no different. Their dedication and passion, and the work they create, always leaves me breathless and hopeful for the future. They don’t have ego or preconceptions. They just love theatre and the art of making it, and the gift they give you back is a reminder of just why you fell in love with it too.
Poster image by Sarah Walker
Poster design by Daniel Lammin
Photo: Aleks Corke