Accomplice at Javeenbah Theatre Company

Low level sex scenes, partial nudity, mature adult themes, smoking, drinking, and loud noises …

No, it’s not a usual Friday night out at The Normanby, but the warning notification for Javeenbah Theatre Company’s first production for 2015.

Part murder mystery, part sex farce, Accomplice is an award winning comedy-thriller set in an English country house in the 1970’s. A murder doesn’t quite go to plan when a wife and her lover kill her husband… but then reappears – oops.

Director Nathan Schulz says the play is full of intrigue, mayhem and everything that you would expect from an English murder mystery, but there are so many twists in the plot, it will keep the audience guessing till the very end. Schulz added, “the audience should expect the unexpected and not believe everything that they see. To quote the author Rupert Holmes ‘if I was to tell you the truth, I would be lying’.”

This is Schulz’ seventh play as a director. When asked about his process, Schulz said, “As a director I’ve learnt that team work in a production, especially one like Accomplice, is quite important. Everyone from the actors to the production team working together with the director’s vision makes the experience more fun and enjoyable.”

When asked about the partial nudity scene, Schulz said, “The partial nudity scene was easy to block because Tahlia Jade, the actress who performs the scene, was so professional and helpful during the blocking of the sequence. Not many actresses are willing to undress onstage in front of their cast members, let alone stand in front of the audience in sexy underwear, but Tahlia is a very talented and confident actress with great comic timing that made blocking that sequence a lot of fun.”

The other cast members joining Jade onstage are Kit Sivyer, Sarah Cooke, and David Fraser.

Accomplice was first performed in 1990, starring Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) and Michael McKean (This is Spinal Tap), and the play has been awarded the Edgar Award (the ‘Oscar’ of Crime) from the Mystery Writers of America and the Dramalogue Award for Best Play.

Accomplice will be on at the Javeenbah Theatre in Beenleigh from 16-31 January. For more information, visit their website: www.javeenbah.org.au