Ash Flanders’ END OF. to premiere at Darebin Speakeasy

END OF. will have you in stitches as Ash Flanders follows his turbulent river of poor choices back to its source – his heavy-drinking, chain-smoking mother. No singing, no dancing, just a hell of a funny story. End of.

After taking a job as a legal transcriptionist, writer and performer Ash Flanders begins unpicking the transcript of his own life.  What emerges is a decidedly personal monologue that examines creation, death and what makes us who we are.

Ash Flanders is a multi award-winning writer and performer. In 2006, he and Declan Greene created queer independent theatre company Sisters Grimm and together have written countless shows including Little Mercy (STC), The Sovereign Wife (MTC Neon), Calpurnia Descending (Malthouse Theatre/STC), Lilith: The Jungle Girl (MTC), and an adaptation of Verdi’s La Traviata (Belvoir), all of which Ash also performed in.

His solo work includes the critically acclaimed cabaret works Playing to Win, Ash Flanders is Nothing, Special Victim, Meme Girls and Negative Energy Inc. As an actor he has been seen in Blackie Blackie Brown: The Traditional Owner of Death (STC / Malthouse), the solo show Buyer & Cellar (MTC), Adena Jacobs’ Hedda (Belvoir), The Temple (Malthouse), The Golden Dragon (MTC), and Psycho Beach Party (Little Ones Theatre). He can also be found online in the web series he created with Peter Paltos and David Morris, FRIENDLY. 

Later this year Sisters Grimm will present their new musical adaptation of The Sovereign Wife at Sydney’s Hayes Theatre with music and lyrics by Australian icon Casey Bennetto.

Stephen Nicolazzo is a Melbourne based theatre director and the founder of Little Ones Theatre, an independent company focused on innovative queer theatre-making.

He is a Green Room Award winner for Best Direction (The Happy Prince, 2017) and has been nominated for three Green Room Awards for Best Direction in the Major Companies and Independent categories (The Moors, 2017, Dracula, 2015 and Psycho Beach Party, 2013). His works have won 9 Green Room Awards, a Sydney Theatre Award and been nominated for 30 Green Room Awards and 6 Sydney Theatre Awards.

In addition to END OF., in 2020 Stephen will be directing his second collaboration with Christos Tsiolkas and Dan Giovannoni based on Tsiolkas’ debut novel Loaded, which will premiere at Malthouse Theatre as part of their 2020 season. His production of Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince will also feature as part of La Boite Theatre Company’s 2020 season in Brisbane and he will also be directing Virginia Woolf’s Orlando by Sarah Ruhl at Red Stitch.

In 2019, Stephen’s multi award-winning production of Merciless Gods returned at Arts Centre Melbourne as part of Midsumma Festival and the multi award-winning The Happy Prince toured to Sydney at Griffin Theatre Company. He also directed choreographer Joel Bray’s new work for Yirramboi Festival, Daddy, which toured to Brisbane Festival and Live Works for Performance Space at Carriageworks. Stephen also became a member of the 2019 Lincoln Center Theater Director’s Lab in New York City.

Following on from the highly successful seasons – the 2018 season was nominated for a total of 28 Green Room Awards – the 2020 Darebin Arts Speakeasy program features a program of premieres and performances bigger than ever before. The season, which begins in February, features contemporary and unexpected performances by leading creatives including Susie Dee, Rawcus Ensemble, Melissa Reeves, Anna Seymour, Marc Brew, Circus Trick Tease and more.

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END OF. by Ash Flanders and directed by Stephen Nicolazzo

Presented by Darebin Arts Speakeasy

11 – 22 March

Tickets at www.darebinarts.com.au