Black Swan State Theatre Company Of WA (BSSTC) present their 2020 season 'Stories From Here'.
Artists from Western Australia and beyond will tell stories that aim to be the catalyst for conversation, delivering three shows in the Heath Ledger Theatre, three shows in the Studio Underground, and for the first time Black Swan will host the inaugural Maali Festival which celebrates First Nations art and culture.The 2020 season will see one musical, two world premieres, three adaptations, two productions presented with Malthouse Theatre and a collaboration with WA Youth Theatre Company.
“Black Swan's 2020 season looks at power, progress and place,” BSSTC Artistic Director Clare Watson says. “The places we will visit together hold stories that seep into the people that inhabit them. Those that hold power will try to cling to it, while others seek it and succeed, only to discover that it's perhaps not the prize they were hoping for.”
It all begins in a co-production with Malthouse Theatre for Perth Festival: Tim Winton's masterpiece 'Cloudstreet'. Set in post-war Perth and directed by Matthew Lutton, 'Cloudstreet' is the biggest show of the year, runnin from late February to mid March, and Black Swan is thrilled to be bringing the Lambs and the Pickles home.
In May, Adriane Daff and Katherine Tonkin's adaptation of 'The Cherry Orchard' overflows with charm, a touch of the '80s, and a self-absorbed ensemble of 'Kath & Kim'-esque characters, directed by Clare Watson.
'The Cherry Orchard' - Image © Sam Harris
The 'Unsung Heroes' will arrive in June. It's a collection of six stories told by six exciting local writers, celebrating everyday Western Australians who have achieved extraordinary things. The world premiere of alternating programmes will be directed by Emily McLean and Joe Paradise Lui.
Black Swan will host the inaugural Maali Festival, a First Nations takeover of the State Theatre Centre held during NAIDOC week and curated by BSSTC's Resident Artists Chloe Ogilvie and Ian Michael.
A ghost story will delight and terrify in equal measure from August to early September. Inspired by 200 years of real accounts, 'York' is a collaboration with WA Youth Theatre Company written by Ian Michael and Chris Isaacs, in a world premiere directed by Clare Watson.
As a prelude to the 2020 US elections, George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' is adapted by political powerhouse Van Badham and features a high-octane three-hander cast of stellar comedians, improvisers, and storytellers in September.
Malthouse Theatre's stage adaptation of 'Wake In Fright' comes next. It's inspired by the cult Australian outback thriller of the same name and adapted from Kenneth Cook's novel by Declan Greene with Zahra Newman. It also features Western Australian actor Alexandria Steffensen. 'Wake In Fright' is on from mid October to early November.
The final production of the year gathers everyone in the Heath Ledger Theatre from late November to late December for the classic Rodgers and Hammersterin show 'Oklahoma!'. It's a Wild West musical in the round – intimate, daring, electric, and directed by Richard Carroll.
