AFTER DINNER
To kick off what is to be a dynamic season of theatre, Sydney Theatre Company (STC) presents Australian playwright Andrew Bovell’s (Strictly Ballroom, Lantana) After Dinner, as it’s opening production for 2015.
Written and set in 1980s Australia, After Dinner depicts typical Friday after-work drinks at the local pub, where the banal banter about the sufferings of single life that seem to thrive around bar tables are comically played out between a group of work friends and a couple of blokes they encounter.
With a lively cast including Glenn Hazeldine, Anita Hegh, Rebecca Massey, Josh McConville and Helen Thomson, and former STC Richard Wherrett Fellow Imara Savage as director, Bovell says how delighted he is “to see a whole new generation discover this play”.
“It’s always fantastic to have a play in a theatre company season but Sydney Theatre Company carries a lot of weight in this city so it’s pretty special to have a show,” says Bovell.
“It’s[the play] a comedy and it’s a really gorgeous, talented cast so I hope people have a really a good time and a good laugh.
Describing the play as “a black comedy”, Bovell’s past plays The Secret River and When the Rain Stops Falling were deeply enjoyed by STC audiences for their insightful look into everyday moments of humanness, and it is After Dinner’s nostalgic elements that Bovell is hoping audiences find connection with.
“I’m hoping the audience sort of recognise their own past years and get a few laughs out of it,” he says.
On the play’s proven timeless quality after many successful seasons spanning 30 years, Bovell says that it’s “hard to crack what plays will endure and what ones won’t, but I think this play is about very recognisable people who have all got a lot of heart”. (KR)
Jan 15-Mar 7, 2015, Sydney Theatre Company, Wharf 1, Pier 4/5 Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay, $50-85, 9250 1777, sydneytheatre.com.au
Written by Katie Rorison
