FINAL WEEK - COUP D'ETAT

AUG 21 - 25

CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE BOOKINGS

This week is the last week of the Storylines Festival, and we're finishing in style with our superb production of Coup d'Etat taking us down to the wire. It's a terrific show, and has received embarrassingly good reviews:

"This is a riveting political thriller that had the audience listening intently on the edge of their seat. It is an explosively powerful play...under the scintillating direction of Suzanne Millar...this gripping enthralling work forces us to question and examine the very fabric of contemporary society" Lynne Lancaster, Sydney Arts Guide

"Coup d'Etat is one of the year's most pleasant surprises, turning what could have been a dry history lesson into an evening of deeply compelling human drama and electrifying philosophical debate...the entire cast does a superb job of navigating this complex patchwork of history and philosophy in a way that's both informative and continually engaging..." Christian Baines, samesame

"This fine production, directed by Suzanne Millar, is textured, rich and immediate. It is bright, fast-paced and colourful, conveying the beauty of Malaysia through effective staging and a beautifully simple set design...Coup d'Etat is a very important play" Benjamin Neutze, Aussie Theatre

11  |  Cat Martin

Juliet Elms Morton in Coup d'Etat

As Juliet Elms Morton, who is also the narrator of the play, Cat Martin is magnificant. Elegant in a severe pantsuit she reveals underneath an incisive mind with a warmth and understanding and longing to know more about Malaysia and its people. - Lynne Lancaster

Cat Martin is an actor, writer, teacher, musician and producer. She has tutored in Linguistics and Drama at Maquarie University, NIDA, and Marian Street theatre. She has worked as a script writer for Hi-5 and Toybox. Stage roles include work with Sport for Jove, Shakespeare on the Green, Apocalypse Theatre Company and Factory space theatre Company. This is Cat's second production with bAKEHOUSE Theatre, having previously featured in their 2008 season of her holiness (Seymour Centre & Riverside theatre) 

I love the chance to step into a different person's shoes, to experience the world through their eyes (without taking any consequences for their actions!!); I love the electricity between audience and actors in live theatre, its such a buzz!

Storylines: I hope people will come and see the wealth of talent and diversity of the actors in the festival; I hope they enjoy the richness of the stories represented and performed by actors from different cultures; and I hope they enjoy this opportunity to appreciate the genius of Australia playwright Justin Fleming's work. 

CAT MARTIN IN THE MEDIA

Above all, I hope people will be intrigued by the perspectives of different characters in the shows...

and want to find out more!

CLICK HERE TO BOOK FOR THE FINAL WEEK OF COUP D'ETAT

as we say GOODBYE to A Land Beyond the River & Junction, and HELLO to Coup d'Etat, lets take a moment to reflect on the last three weeks:

July 22 Public Forum @ NIDA 'Living in a White Man's World' hosted by James Valentine & opening of the art exhibition; July 31st Festival launch at NIDA with Sibo Bangourra, Joshua from EmilyMax, Josh McElroy & Elijah Williams, Chris Edwards-Haines, dance team 'the saints' & a performance of A Land Beyond the River & Junction; August 2nd 5 shows perfomed: all three shows play to 130 school students during the day & an evening performance of our double bill; August 5 all shows and art exhibition bump out of NIDA and transfer to Bondi Pavilion theatre as part of the Tamarama Rock Surfers season; August 7 A Land Beyond the River plays to 210 school students; August 8 opening night with Coup d'Etat playing to a packed house; August 9 A Land Beyond the River & Junction play to 90 students, with Uncle Ces Bowden & Uncle Ray Minniecon meeting and spending time with the girls from Kincoppal Rose Bay; August 9 Indigenous fundraiser for Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation, with Special Guest Her Excellency Marie Bashir; August 15 A Land Beyond the River & Junction play to 120 students; August 16 African fundraiser with special guests from SSEG (South Sudan Educates Girls), includes a showing of Ella Rubeli's short film 'Continental Drift' and the final performance of 'the saints'; August 17 A Land Beyond the River & Junction close; August 18 Coup d'Etat takes over...

I just need to write to say congratulations once again on an amazing accomplishment

thank you so much for such a wonderful night, the drumming, the dancing and the play.

It was a delight. I am still filled with the joy of being there. Every hearty congratulations to you and John and Justin and everyone who made it happen

one of the most political and raw plays I have seen performed in the Sydney theatre scene...hugely exciting

has its heart in the right place and is matched with performances that won't disappoint

Andrew Cutcliffe, Kir Deng, Cheyne Fynn, Aileen Huynh, Alex Jalloh, Joshua McElroy, Jasmin Simmons, Guy Simon and Elijah Williams are almost inseperably and insuperably good in their respective roles

an ever timely reminder to underscore our similarities and celebrate our differences

Storylines Festival is a beautiful gift...

10  |  STACEY DUCKWORTH

JULIE IN JUNCTION

I love telling other people's stories - mine never seem so interesting - seeing something from a different point of view, working out what makes someone tick - why they think the way they do...act the way they do...

I love the idea of taking an audience to somewhere they've never been before - whether its purely for entertainment or if its to challenge their way of thinking or understanding of things. I think it can be a very powerful way to speak to people on a human level - a way of holding up a mirror to an audience and asking them if they like what they see.

Storylines is a really important platform for stories to be told that dont often get the chance. I think Storylines celebrates wonderful and sometimes unheard voices of our society and is a place where they can all come together. I hope that people are able to take away something a little bit different, that they wouldn't have come across anywhere else, whether its art, theatre, dance or music. 

  

9  |  JOSHUA MCELROY

What do you love about acting?

I can't really explain it, its almost like meditation for me. It's just so cool to be able to leave everything I am behind, my emotions, thoughts, ideas, memories, worries...and just exist in the moment as someone/something completely new, being able to look at the world through someone else's eyes. 

being able to shape the world around me or create a character is just awesome and leaves you with endless possibilities. Getting lost in a script gives me a feeling that I know I won't ever be able to recreate.

                 

what are your hopes for the Storylines festival?

I would like the festival to really make people think. Each of the plays provokes its own sort of revelation, or reveals its own message, and I really hope that the audience are affected by this. 

 

8  |  ALEX JALLOH

in the Storylines festival, Alex acts, sings, and dances. 

 head over to Bondi to check out this versatile and talented performer. 

a Land Beyond the River plays on Aug 10, 14 - 17

Book for August 16 to experience a full African treat 

with drumming, and traditional and contemporary dance and singing.

As a young boy Alex and his family were forced to leave their home in Sierra Leone when war broke out, and he arrived in Australia with no English, no possessions, and a firm conviction that he was in America. 

In 2009 playwright Justin Fleming interviewed Alex Jalloh, Elijah Williams and Kir Deng. 

A Land Beyond the River was written in response to these interviews.

Now, three years on, and two seasons of the play later, Alex is a seasoned performer! 

"What I like about performing is the people you meet, the friends you make...

I want to keep acting! 

I LOVE IT!"

7  |  MEET JAS

Mayella/Calpurnia (yes Calpurnia!) 

in A Land Beyond the River

Since I was seven years old I have always known what I have wanted to do for the rest of my life. 

I love that I love acting. 

I love that my love of acting reassures me that as long as I keep doing it, I will be happy.

I act beacuse when I do it is the time I feel most comfortable. For me the most beautiful thing

about acting is vulnerability - like Rosalind Russell said 

"Acting is standing up naked and turning around very slowly"

For that moment on that stage, in front of an audience, you can completely give into the character and the circumstances, this gives me permission to be truthful, say and do things that in any other situation would not be acceptable for me to say or do.
Acting gives me the opportunity to really look in to another person, find the differences between that person and me, and find the similarities within the differences - and I love that. 

STORYLINES
is an opportunity for us, as artists, to bring people together regardless of their age or background -
through dance, song, theatre, music and artwork.
And I hope it does just that. 

we're jumping for joy...only a couple of days to go!

6 |  CHEYNE FYNN

Atticus in A Land Beyond the River

I have always wanted to be an actor and yet acting is one of those things I still cannot explain, like breathing I do it because it keeps me going. There is something that compels all actors to step into the shoes of the person next door, the evils of society, or the heroic icon, this intangible quality allows an actor to even just momentarily immerse themselves into something new and exciting and take an audience on that ride with them. for me that is what I love about acting...that for as much as you put into it you get out something that is elusive, unique and ultimately fulfilling. 

Storylines allows the audience to look with fresh eyes at issues which they thought they knew. I would hope that it will perhaps give an audience a chance to re-evaluate those views in a way which is not confrontational, but entertaining...

5 |  ANDREW CUTCLIFFE

A Land Beyond the River - Gilmer/Tom Robinson

My relationship with acting constantly evolves. Everyday something new comes along that sends my emotions on a massive roller coaster, whether it be nerves, excitement, adrenaline, moments of great insight (which occasionally border on what feels like an epiphany) to incredible lows, heartbreak and helplessness - and that is all off the stage and behind the camera! It's like a Russian love novel! When its good, its the best job in the world; when its bad, its the worst and I couldn't think of anything I'd rather do less. Thankfully the strength of the positives outweighs the negatives. 

I'm not sure why but I have always loved exploring other peoples psychology. I love sitting in public places and making up stories for the people I can see. Deciding what their life stories are, or simply what they are thinking. Obviously acting allows me to do this everyday but then bring my interpretation to life. For whatever reason, I find it incredibly rewarding. Having the ability to shape the way other people think by doing this, however insignificant of minor those changes may be, is incredibly powerful. And I love it. 

To put this in context with Storylines, we as a company and festival have the ability to move, inspire and provoke our audience. So my hope for the festival is to have people leaving the theatre having decided that they might lead their life in a slightly more positive way. Whether it's as simple as a smile on the street to a stranger or as profound as making their own decisions about asylum policy instead of letting the media shape their views. If one person leaves the theatre a little more away, if there is one more smile on the street, it will have been worth it.