The Work

August 2 - 24 2024

Empress theatre & seymour centre presents

Arlington

[Australian premiere]

written by enda walsh

directed by anna houston

RIVETING FEVER DREAM OF A PLAY … IMAGINE IF SAMUEL BECKETT WROTE ‘BLACK MIRROR:’ THAT'S 'ARLINGTON' - The New York Times

From the writer of Once, Enda Walsh’s Arlington is a performance that almost defies category: a wild fusion of story, physicality, and technical wizardry.

Isla waits out her days in a state-controlled tower block, trading her memories for a chance to live. Her only companion is the anonymous young man who records her stories from the other side of the wall. As he offers glimpses of the world beyond the tower, an unexpected love story takes hold, forcing an unthinkable fate. In the grip of a brutal regime, hope and tenderness splinter the edges of Enda Walsh’s dark fable of surveillance, isolation and captivity.

After premiering at the Galway International Arts Festival and transferring to New York for a smash-hit run at St Ann’s Warehouse, Enda Walsh’s dystopian drama Arlington makes its Australian premiere at the Seymour Centre in 2024.

★★★★★

BEAUTIFULLY STYLISED STUDY OF COMPASSION AND CONDITIONING IN THE MODERN WORLD.

The Stage

★★★★

DANCE, ART AND POETRY EXPLODE IN ENDA WALSH'S BRAVE NEW WORLD ... A STORY OF LOVE AND OPPRESSION THAT ECHOES ORWELL’S 1984.

The Guardian

Tickets on sale now at: https://www.seymourcentre.com/event/arlington/

Playwright: Enda Walsh

Director: Anna Houston

Cast: Phaedra Nicolaidis (as Isla), Jack Angwin (as Young Man), Georgina Sykes (as Supervisor), Emma Harrison (as Young Woman)

Seymour Centre Cnr City Rd and Cleveland St Chippendale NSW 2008

January - February 2024

Empress theatre presents…

The Lonesome West

Written by martin Mcdonagh

Directed by Anna Houston

“Getting your hairstyle insulted is no just cause to go murdering someone.”

From the writer of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, In Bruges, The Banshees of Inisherin and The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Lonesome West is Martin McDonagh’s savage, uproarious tale of two warring brothers.

In the aftermath of their father’s untimely death, the Connor brothers are at each other’s throats. In the wild west of Ireland, in a town plagued by murder and petty disputes, Coleman and Valene battle it out over unresolved childhood grievances. As the brothers teeter on the edge of brutal, bloody carnage, a young local priest attempts to bring about peace – with devastating consequences.

Twenty-five years after its smash-hit debut on Broadway, The Lonesome West storms into The Old Fitz Theatre this January, directed by Anna Houston (Cyprus Avenue). The final instalment of the acclaimed Leenane Trilogy, Martin McDonagh’s pitch-black comedy is sure to shock, thrill and delight.

★★★★ “Funny and grim ... a dark parody of a modern-day truth-and-reconciliation process.” - The Guardian

“Gleefully macabre ... an exhilaratingly original voice.” - New York Times

Tickets on sale now at: https://www.oldfitztheatre.com.au/the-lonesome-west

Playwright: Martin McDonagh

Director: Anna Houston

Cast: Ruby Henaway (as Girleen Kelleher), Abe Mitchell (as Father Welsh), Lee Beckhurst (as Coleman Connor), Andre de Vanny (as Valene Connor)

The Old Fitz Theatre 129 Dowling Street, Woolloomooloo NSW 2011

November 2023

Empress Theatre Presents…

Living

[creative development]

written & directed by Anna Houston | Dramaturgy by sean hall

Devised & Performed by emily brennan, sean hall, guy langford, phaedra nicolaidis & andre de Vanny

6 - 17 november, blue mountains theatre and community hub

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost

A young woman teeters on the cusp of adulthood. Ahead of her, a myriad of choices. Work, love, learning, the world - no matter which path she follows, she will leave behind a trail of possibilities, what ifs. Living is thrilling, terrifying, and brimming with bittersweet longing for the road not taken.

Generously supported by the Blue Mountains City of the Arts Trust Grant Program & Create NSW

April 2019

Empress Theatre Presents…

Cyprus Avenue

[Australian premiere]

Written by David Ireland | directed by anna houston

May 15 - June 8, Old fitz theatre, woolloomooloo

Tickets

“Gerry Adams has disguised himself as a new-born baby and successfully infiltrated my family home.”

Eric Miller is a Belfast Loyalist. Proudly, steadfastly British. He believes his five-week old granddaughter is Irish republican Gerry Adams.

His family keep telling him to stop living in the past and fighting old battles that nobody cares about anymore, but his cultural heritage is under siege. He must act.

Traumas of the past collide with a terrifying future in David Ireland's brilliant new play Cyprus Avenue.

“Without prejudice we’re nothing! If we don’t discriminate, we don’t survive!”

Following acclaimed productions at the Royal Court Theatre in London and the Public Theatre in New York, the award-winning Cyprus Avenue comes to Australia for the first time. Written by playwright and actor David Ireland and staged by Empress Theatre in association with Redline Productions at the Old Fitz Theatre, Cyprus Avenue unravels the threads of sectarian violence against a darkly comic – and shocking – background.

Actor and playwright Anna Houston (Belvoir, Griffin, Bell Shakespeare) directs Roy Barker, Amanda McGregor, Branden Christine, Lloyd Allison-Young and Jude Gibson in a play that speaks to the heart of political and cultural anxieties about who and what we are in a rapidly shifting world. Wonderfully imaginative and savagely funny, Cyprus Avenue throws a grenade at the politics of identity and the madness of bigotry.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
“David Ireland’s new play combines horror and humour in bone-shaking proportions.”
The Observer (UK)

 ★ ★ ★ ★
“Compulsive viewing... unmissable.”
The Daily Telegraph (UK)

★ ★ ★ ★
“The most shocking play on the London stage... a subversive drama that has never been more relevant.”
The Guardian (UK)

News

April, 2019
We are extremely excited to announce the stunning cast for Empress Theatre’s production of Cyprus Avenue by David Ireland. Our wonderful cast includes (pictured here from L-R) Amanda McGregor (Belvoir's The Maids, MTC's The Crucible), Branden Christine (Dance Academy: The Movie, Remembering Agatha) Jude Gibson (Angels in America, The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant), Lloyd Allison-Young (New Theatre’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Nell Gwynn & Stupid F*cking Bird ) and Roy Barker (The Dressmaker, Utopia, PopUp Globe).

January, 2019
Empress Theatre is thrilled to be a 2019 recipient of MATCH Lab. MATCH Lab supports artists to build fundraising skills, increase knowledge of philanthropy and arts partnerships, develop broader arts business knowledge and create sustainable sources of revenue for their work into the future.

Creative Partnerships Australia received 118 applications and we are thrilled to be recipients of this wonderful initiative. We are developing a fundraising campaign to raise money for our production of Cyprus Avenue at the Old Fitz Theatre. Money raised during the campaign will be matched dollar for dollar, by Creative Partnerships.

The Team

ANNA HOUSTON
Anna is an actor, playwright and director deeply invested in the process and mechanics of storytelling for live performance.

In 2004 she graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) with a Bachelor of Dramatic Arts in Acting. Prior to that, she completed a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Cultural Studies at Perth's Curtin University, where she majored in Theatre Arts and Gender Studies.

As a professional actor, she has performed for the Sydney Theatre Company, Bell Shakespeare Company, Belvoir St Theatre, Griffin Theatre Company, Darlinghurst Theatre Company, Perth Theatre Company, and Sport for Jove. Her work as an actor has taken her around Australia on five national tours, and internationally to Europe and Asia for commercial theatre productions that include the National Theatre of UK's production of War Horse.

In 2009 she wrote her first full length play In The Garden, which was long listed for the 2010 Patrick White Award, presented by the Sydney Theatre Company. In 2010, In The Garden was produced by Deckchair Theatre Company in Fremantle, Western Australia. Her second full length play Vanessa Darling was selected by Play Writing Australia for a National Script Workshop in 2015.

In 2015 Anna directed Ella Hickson's full length play Eight for the Sydney Fringe Festival. Produced by Edgeware Forum, the play was performed over five sold out nights at the Erskineville Town Hall.

SEAN HALL

After graduating from NIDA with a Bachelor of Acting, Sean has performed in theatre, film, and television. His screen credits include The Illusionist, Australia, The Road from Coorain, Pulse, Drop Dead Weird.

For the stage, Sean has performed in productions with the Sydney Theatre Company, Ensemble Theatre, Pinchgut Opera, Hayes Theatre Company, The Old Fitz, The Australian Shakespeare Company and has appeared in festival productions for UNESCO, Spectrum Now and Sydney Festival.

Sean has also written and directed for stage and screen with his short film Hollow Hands receiving official selection at international film festivals.

In 2023 Sean joined Empress Theatre as an artistic associate, working on the development of the new work Living and as a publicist and understudy for the critically acclaimed production Martin McDonagh’s, The Lonesome West in 2024.

Sean will be appearing in the upcoming Stan Original series Critical Incident.

Support

We are completely overjoyed to announce that we smashed our recent Pozible target. Thank you so much to all those who supported our efforts. Our Australian Cultural Fund campaign is still open and receiving donations. All support is welcome and very much appreciated.

Every generous donation is to be matched dollar for dollar by Creative Partnerships Australia through their MATCH Lab program. The hours spent creating theatre are precious and every dollar we fundraise will contribute to paying artist fees for our wonderful cast and creative team of nine. We are committed to providing financial remuneration to our extraordinary team and we hope you will support us in our belief that our city's artists deserve a living wage.

Contact

Anna Houston [Producer & Director] anna@empresstheatre.com.au

Sean Hall [Artistic Associate & Marketing Manager] seanlutherhall@gmail.com

Empress Theatre acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land and waters on which the we gather. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and we extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with whom we work and with whom we share stories.