About the show
Spring Awakening is perhaps the greatest play written about teenagers, before teenagers were even invented. Banned and censored for many years, this radical and brutally honest take on adolescent sexuality is a full-frontal collision against its 19th century setting – a world defined by moral strictures, rigidity, and rules.
This new adaptation from director Claudia Osborne centres around eight woefully uninformed young people trying to make sense of life, sex, and all of the bits in between.
Claudia Osborne is a director, writer and dramaturg. Claudia works in a devised, image-led capacity, drawing on her background in visual arts to create distinctive theatrical landscapes.
Her directing credits include Everybody (Actors Centre Australia), Scab (Australian Theatre for Young People), Unsanctified (Phoenix), BURN WITCH BURN (FERVOUR/Old Fitz), Picnic at Hanging Rock (NIDA), Destroy, She Said (FERVOUR/25A) and Delilah by The Hour (FERVOUR/Brand X Flying Nun).
As an assistant director in theatre, Tell Me I’m Here (Belvoir St Theatre, dir. Leticia Caceres), Love and Information (NIDA, dir. Anthea Williams), The Cherry Orchard (Belvoir St Theatre, dir. Eamon Flack), The Real Thing (Sydney Theatre Company, dir. Simon Phillips), and Titus Andronicus (Bell Shakespeare, dir. Adena Jacobs).
In 2024, Claudia wrote and directed her first short film, Rash.
Claudia is a 2022 Gloria Payten and Gloria Dawn Foundation Fellow. She holds a Bachelor of Arts/Fine Arts from UNSW and UNSW Art and Design (2017), and an MFA in Directing for Performance from NIDA (2019).
Written in 1891, Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening, subtitled ‘a children’s tragedy’ tells the story of a group of young people caught between their desires and the guidance of adults who insist on keeping them in ignorance, refusing to answer their very reasonable questions about sex, death, god, and life. The result is that these young people are forced to find their own answers, sometimes with disastrous results.
In this adaptation, we watch as eight young people inhabit an unfinished, rehearsal-like space, making sense of their lot in life through role play, games, and exploration.
Famously, the play culminates with the intrusion of a ‘Masked Man’ first performed by Wedekind himself (apparently, he forgot all his lines) who appears to Melchior. In this adaptation, we’ve introduced this figure earlier in dreamlike visions, representing the fears and desires of each of the young people, and shepherding them (often without consent) into adulthood.
At first glance, Wedekind’s thesis seems simple; a tragic, cautionary tale against the sexual hypocrisies at the turn of the century. But the tragedy here extends beyond the demise of Wendla, Melchior and Moritz. With the power of hindsight, Wedekind’s authoritarian fin-de-siecle play feels prophetic. Unlike some of the queries and questions around sex and life, the violence in this play cannot and should not be justified as ‘natural instinct’. This violence is a rupture of repression, and the result of a society that regulates its citizens through shame.
What a delight it has been to make something old new again with this fabulously talented cast and crew of artists. Like all new(ish) work, this production is the result of a highly collaborative and energetic melding of minds and talents. I hope you (like us) can find some of the beauty, joy and pleasure within this dark tale.
– Claudia Osborne
This performance contains theatrical haze, adult themes, depictions of masturbation, suicide and sexual violence, and references to abortion.
The Company
CAST (in order of appearance)
Wendla – Georgia-Paige Theodos
Martha, Mrs Bergman – Alex Travers
Melchior – Rhys Johnson
Hans, Professor Heapsdumb – Harrison Mills
Moritz – Braeden Caddy
Ernst, Sonnenstich, Mr Gabor, The Stork – Faisal Hamza
Thea, Mrs Gabor, Zungenschlag – Janita Barber
Ilse, Reverend, Doctor – Lilian Alejandra Valverde
The Stork, Understudy – Oli Edis
Understudies
Ruby Ballantyne
Anika Banerjee
Apsara Lindeman
Lucas Stace
Director – Claudia Osborne*
Costume Designer – Edison Heartly
Lighting Designer – Julianna Stankiewicz
Set/Props Designer – Angelina Daniel
Sound Designer – Sherydan Simson
Movement/Fight Consultant – Troy Honeysett*
Intimacy Coordinator – Shondelle Pratt*
Voice Coach – Patrick Klavins*
Assistant Director – Lucy Rossen
Assistant Director – Lou Quill
Production Stage Manager – Naomi O’Connor
Deputy Stage Manager – Archer Dametto
Assistant Stage Manager – Hayley Cantrill
Assistant Stage Manager – Darcy Duncan
Construction Manager – Hannah Garmen*
Costume Supervisor – Jaspa Frankish
Properties Supervisor – Georgia Raczkowski
Head Electrician – Amelie McCarthy
Leading Hand Set – Zoe Howard
Costume Maker – Emilia Lilischkis
Costume Design Assistant – Shay Dowley
Set/Props Design Assistant – Adithi Lyer
Costume Assistant/Dresser – Jackson Lorrigan
Properties Assistant – Nat Lawson
Set Assistant – Ingo Cottier
Set Assistant – Jonathan Hartley
Set Assistant – Luka Mark
Set Assistant – Jamie Sellar
Set Assistant – Emile Stuart
Floor Electrician/Board Operator – Lola Hunt
Microphone Technician – Otto Zagala
Key
*Guest Artist
** NIDA Staff
