From 24 October�1 November, the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) will present five full-scale productions as part of the Paradice Family Foundation Season of student productions, featuring the future talent of Australia’s theatre and screen industries, cutting-edge directors and immersive 3D sound technology from Sennheiser.
From 24 October�1 November, the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) will present five full-scale productions as part of the Paradice Family Foundation Season of student productions, featuring the future talent of Australia’s theatre and screen industries, cutting-edge directors and immersive 3D sound technology from Sennheiser.
Acclaimed Australian playwright and Belvoir Artistic Associate, Tom Wright, directs the centrepiece performance of the annual showcase season, The Country Wife. Written by English dramatist William Wycherley in the restoration era, the play represents a crucial period in performing arts history, when women were first allowed to act on stage.
‘The Country Wife reflects a time when a society was leaving a puritanical religious age behind, and enjoying new-found freedoms. All the young women in the play refuse to have their love lives managed for them, or to be bound by old patriarchal values. Some do this secretly, and some do it overtly,’ commented Wright.
‘Restoration theatre requires strong technique so it’s a really good test for a student,’ he added.
NIDA’s undergraduate and Master of Fine Arts (Design for Performance) students have worked with expert directors for the October season. The result is three British plays � a tragedy, comedy and a re-contextualised piece � a popular musical that this year launched as a film adaptation, and an original play written and directed by NIDA graduates.
Resident Artist at the Sydney Theatre Company and NIDA graduate, Jessica Arthur (Directing, 2015), directs the production, Realism. Anthony Neilson’s play sees the main protagonist explore his deepest fears and desires, with NIDA and Sennheiser creating a new level of audience engagement using a range of Sennheiser microphones and speakers to deliver a 3D sound experience to audience members.
NIDA Director of Acting, John Bashford (Directing, 1985), brings his substantial directing and teaching experience to the Jacobean play The Changeling. With a comic sub-plot that counterpoints the central narrative of obsession and revulsion, the play follows a wife-to-be as she falls in love with another man and attempts to have her fiancé killed.
In the same year as its film release, accomplished Australian director, Tyran Parke, directs a NIDA production of Hello Again. The much-loved musical has graced stages across globe to tell the story of human desire for connection and love.
Two talented NIDA graduates team up for Fraternal. Written and directed by Jake Stewart (Writing for Performance, 2016) and Ben Sheen (Directing, 2016), the play explores the bond between two brothers and follows a family seemingly prone to tragedy.
This is one NIDA production season you do not want to miss! To purchase tickets, please visit nida.edu.au/student-productions.
