Blackbird
After sell-out seasons in London’s West End and New York, David Harrower’s controversial Olivier Award-winning Blackbird at last receives its Queensland premiere this April at La Boite’s Roundhouse Theatre. In a debris-filled factory lunchroom, one-time lovers Ray and Una are reunited. As they sort through secrets and selfdeceptions, it becomes clear that theirs was no ordinary love affair. Fifteen years ago when the 3-month relationship began, Una was just 12-years-old and Ray was her 40-year-old neighbour. Mark Conaghan (23rd Productions’ Closer) directs Kathryn Fray (Closer) and Daniel Murphy (QTC’s Hamlet, Away) in this devastating no-holds-barred drama.
“a riveting study in sexual obsession that leaves one both shaken and stirred”
- The Guardian
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Kathryn Fray - UNa
Kathryn Fray trained at one of Europe’s most prestigious Drama Schools and has worked with renowned British director Michael Winterbottom. After graduating, she worked in London, first in the premiere of the opera Brundibar, and as Bobbie Michelle in Last of the Red Hot Lovers. Kathryn then came to Australia and toured NSW in the award winning L’Amour est Bizarre, returning to the UK to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Following some TV and short film work, Kathryn moved back to Australia where she played Emma Goldman in Assassins (Warehaus Theatre, QPAC 2005); Lizzie Phagan/Sally Slaton in Parade (Warehaus Theatre, QPAC 2006), Georgie in The Full Monty (Lickety Split Productions, QPAC 2006), Lady Juanita in Much Ado About Nothing (The Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble, 2007). She also featured in a locally produced feature film. With a commitment to bringing powerful contemporary international theatre to the heart of Brisbane, Kathryn launched 23rd Productions in 2007 with their acclaimed production of Closer in which she played Alice. In recent years she has played Marley / Helen in Motortown; worked on various corporate and television productions, as well as producing the hugely successful The Pillowman, Metro Arts 2009, and My Night with Harold, Brisbane Festival Under the Radar 2009. Kathryn is a tutor at the Aboriginal Centre of the Performing Arts and is a proud member of MEAA.
Daniel Murphy - Ray
Daniel’s acting credits include My Night With Harold for 23rd Productions; Hamlet, The Works [Playreadings] (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007 & 2009), Away (20th Anniversary National Tour), Hitchcock Blonde, The Real Inspector Hound/Black comedy, The Forest, Taming of the Shrew and Three Sisters for the Queensland Theatre Company; Red Cap, The Dance of Jeremiah, The Final Bow, There Goes the Neighbourhood and The Tempest (La Boite Theatre Company); Micro-Trip 2 (Sean Dennehy & Jo Thomas); The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Oscar Theatre Company); Isn’t it Romantic? at QPAC; The Laramie Project for The Forward Movement; Yarnin’ Up (Kooemba Jdarra: National Tour & Keochang Festival Korea); Love’s Labour Lost (Harvest Rain); Cheapside, Jerusalem, The Misanthrope and Oleanna (green); Boadicea (QFF); The King and the Corpse (Matrix); Phantoad of the Opera and Sherwoodstock (Toadshow/QPAT); Tomfoolery (Stagebox Theatre Co) and many others. Film, television and voice credits include K9, the animated series Farmkids, Cool, Paperback Hero, Flipper, Pacific Drive, Fire II, The Tanker Incident, The Einstein Code, Time Trax, and several pilots, short films and instructional DVDs. Daniel was a founding member of the fondly remembered Lawless Murphys a cappella group and sang Mexican-accented lounge standards with The Kundelini Brothers for many years. In 2008 he directed Maxine Mellor’s Magda’s Fascination with Wax Cats for The Forward Movement. He has written scripts for ABC Television, Channel 10, La Boite Theatre Company, the QLD Arts Council and many independent projects. Outside Australia he is perhaps best known for co-writing the award-winning comic Platinum Grit (platniumgrit.com) which is now published by Image Comics in America. He received a Matilda Award in 1996 for Oleanna and There Goes the Neighbourhood, and another in 2005 for playing Alfred Hitchcock in Hitchcock Blonde.
Mark Conaghan - Director
Mark has been a regular of the Australian theatre industry over the past decade. In 2007, he directed 23rd Productions’ inaugural production of Closer. He was an Emerging Artist at Queensland Theatre Company in 2003 and has appeared in their productions of Absurd Person Singular, Road to the She-Devil’s Salon, We Were Dancing, The Orphanage Project and The Venetian Twins. In 2008 he received a Green Room Award nomination for his performance in the Australian premiere production of Monty Python’s Spamalot. His other theatre credits include Zigzag Street, Perfect Skin (La Boite), Monkey, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and various Shakespeare touring for Grin & Tonic, The Misanthrope (green), 1347 (Matrix), Bitin’ Back (Kooemba Jdarra), Guys and Dolls, The Importance of Being Earnest, Into the Woods (Harvest Rain) and Singin’ in the Rain (Ocean Theatre). Mark has worked extensively as a workshop leader and directed productions of The Taming of the Shrew, The Dumb Waiter and Way Out West. He received a 4MBS award for his roles in Singin’ in the Rain and Guys and Dolls and was nominated for a Matilda Award for Zigzag Street.
Kade Sproule - Set Design
After graduating from Griffith University with a Bachelor of Creative Arts in Theatre and Visual Arts, Kade has since formed a close working relationship with several independent theatre companies in South-East Queensland, including Soapbox Theatre Productions, Zeal Theatre, Woodford Theatre Company, Griffith University and Backbone Youth Arts. His work with these companies has seen him being employed as an actor, designer, graphic artist, builder and tutor including several major productions through to festival performances and touring shows. With his fascination and admiration combined for the creative potential in both the theatre and the arts, Kade is constantly seeking new and innovative modes and mediums of work that he can explore and learn from.
Jason Glenwright - lighting design
Since graduating from QUT with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Technical Production, Jason has practiced as a freelance lighting designer, advisor and mentor. His most recent theatre highlights as a Lighting Designer include: The Little Dog Laughed and Thom Pain (Based on Nothing) (Queensland Theatre Company), The Kursk (La Boite/Matrix Theatre), The Tempest (Zen Zen Zo), The Shining Path and Cake (JUTE), Chasing the Lollyman, Snagged and Popping Lead Balloons (Brisbane seasons) (deBASE), Cinderella, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Peter Pan, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Sound of Music (Harvest Rain/QPAC), Lazarus Won’t get Out of Bed (AS Theatre), The Truth about Kookaburras (Metro Arts/Pentimento), The Passion (aSpire Theatre), Dead Cats Don’t Bounce (HotTin Roof/QPAC), The Pillowman and My Night with Harold (23rd/Metro Arts), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (THAT Production Company). Jason has worked as Assistant Lighting Designer on The School of Arts for the Queensland Theatre Company. Jason has also designed lighting for production companies including QPAC, Oscar Theatre Company, Backbone Youth Arts, Three Sisters, CIRCA, Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble, Dianne Gough, Creative Regions, …And Moor, MadCat, Metro Independents and QUT. In 2009, Jason was a Matilda Award nominee for his lighting design of Harvest Rain’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 2010 Jason is a Queensland Theatre Company Emerging Artist.
Chris Perren - Composer
Chris Perren is a music maker from Brisbane. He is primarily involved in producing music for theatre and film, and writing for his post-rock band, Mr. Maps. Chris holds a First Class Honours Degree in Music Composition from Queensland University of Technology. In his undergraduate years, he was involved in a number of bands and ensembles as a musician and composer, and also collaborated with dance and drama students. He then spent a few years creating atmospheric music and sound design for the theatre industry in Brisbane, working with some of the state’s top directors. His most noteworthy contributions include Live Acts on Stage, directed by Michael Gow, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, directed by Sean Mee, and The Oracle directed by Shane Jones. During this time, he also established the independent animation house Blackbrow with talented animator and designer Pete Foley. From 2005-06 Chris spent 16 months in Tokyo, writing music and performing around the city, while still working on short film and theatre projects. During his time in Japan Chris collaborated with and worked on remixes for Japanese bands, achieved fluency in the Japanese language, and nurtured strong ties in the Tokyo music scene. Since his return Chris has released a solo EP, “Wooden Logic,” completed an Honours degree at QUT, composed music for Motortown and The Pillowman for 23rd Productions, Mayer & Bettle 2 for Blackbrow, and Zen Zen Zo’s War of the Worlds, mounted in Rennaissance College, Hong Kong, and Dead Cats Don’t Bounce for Hot Tin Roof Productions. In 2007 Chris started the post-rock band Mr. Maps, which has received critical acclaim for its debut release Mimicry of Lines and Light. Two of Chris’s compositions for Mr. Maps were selected as finalists in the prestigious Qsong awards. Chris currently teaches Music Production and various related subjects at QUT and helps to run the Brisbane-based independent music label, “Lofly” and its associated live music event, “Hangar”. In 2010 Chris will spend one month in Hong Kong on a composing residency, work on a number of theatre projects in Brisbane, and Mr. Maps will release their debut full-length album.
Nicole bilson - Production manager
Nicole is predominantly an actor but is passionate about all aspects of the theatre. Her introduction to production management came through 23rd Productions in last year’s My Night With Harold for Under the Radar. Following Blackbird, Nicole is Production Manager for Tender produced by ….and Moor Theatre as part of Metro Arts Independents. Later this year Nicole will produce her first show, a new adaptation of Chekov’s Three Sisters by a local Brisbane playwright. In 2009, for the inaugural Short and Sweet Brisbane, Nicole directed Chit Chat (finalist), acted in Perfect Stillness and was nominated for ‘Best New Talent’.
As an actor, Nicole has trained extensively in a variety of techniques including: Voice (Melissa Agnew), Practical aesthetics (Andrea Moor), Grotowski-based movement labs ‘Conversations in Movement’ and ‘Embodying a Character’ (Brenda Monaghan), process acting (Margi Brown Ash), and Acting for film (Tom McSweeney). She has also done workshops with Ruth Zaporah (Improvisation intensive), Head North Physical Theatre, Prima Spada (Spanish rapier) and Aimee Blesing (Lessac voice and body training). Theatre credits include: Disturbia (Woodford folk festival); Romeo and Juliet (4MBS Classic FM Shakespeare in the park); Playboy of the Western World, The Bear, Over the Top with Jim (Villanova Players); Romeo and Juliet (Nash Theatre); Witches of Eastwick (Turkish Delight Theatre Box/Starlight Theatre). Nicole is a proud Equity member.
gabriella zsolnai - stage manager
In 2006 Gabriella Zsolnai moved to Brisbane to gained a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Theatre from Griffith University. Originating from Canberra Gabriella dabbles in all things theatrical and has worked on various productions both on and off stage. Some of her achievements include work on such productions as the stage adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s “The little Prince”, Mark Ravenhill’s “pool no water”, Ayre in Louis Nowra’s “ The Golden Age” Deborah in Harold Pinter’s “A kind of Alaska”, Nina in Noelle Janaczewska’s “Mrs Petrov’s Shoe”, Martin Mcdonagh’s “The Pillow Man” Maurice Sendak’s “Where The Wild Things Are”, Frank Wedekind’s Spring’s Awakening, Freidrich Durrenmatt’s “The Visit” and Rolad Dahl’s “Matilda” .Gabriella is also involved in the The Acting Against Bullying program as a Drama Facilitator at Sommerville House in Brisbane. Gabriella is also a proud member of Equity.
David Harrower- PLaywright
Playwright David Harrower was born in Edinburgh in 1966. His first play, Knives in Hens (1997), was first produced at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in 1995. He is also the author of the plays Kill the Old Torture Their Young (1998), and The Chrysalids (1999), adapted from John Wyndham's novel, for the National Theatre's Connections project. Presence (2001), his third original play, was first performed at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs in April 2001.
David Harrower has also adapted versions of Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author (Six Characters Looking for an Author (2000)), first staged at the Young Vic in 2000; Chekhov's Ivanov (2002), performed at the National Theatre in autumn 2002; and Buchner's Woyzeck, performedat the Edinburgh Lyceum in 2002. He has also translated The Girl on the Sofa (2002), a new play by Jon Fosse, presented in a joint production by the Edinburgh International Festival and the Schaubuhne, Berlin.
His play, Dark Earth (2003), premiered at the Traverse in August 2003. He has also recently written a new version of Odon von Horvath's Tales from the Vienna Woods (2003) for the National Theatre, London, which opened in October 2003. His latest plays are an adaptation of Schiller's Mary Stuart (2006) and a new translation of Brecht's The Good Soul of Szechuan (2008).
His most recent work is 365, presented at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2008, directed by Vicky Featherstone. This recounts the stories of 14 young people who have been in care are now living on their own in 'practice flats'. It was subsequently performed in London at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith.
from: British Council / Contemporary Writers.
