La Boite 2013 Season Launch: We’re Not in Kansas Anymore
LA BOITE MAINSTAGE 2013
The red carpet was rolled out, the wine was flowing, the music was crooning, with Brisbane theatre community enjoying a relaxing early evening soiree on the lawn outside La Boite headquarters Roundhouse Theatre.
Then with the atmospherics of theatre smoke and lightning, we had to look up and over the rainbow to find David Berthold appearing out of an opening platform in the neighboring 2 story building wall (and yes he was wearing a harness) – and the show began, complete with i-generation multi-media projections on the building wall to welcome in each show of the season.
Not to be thought of as predictable in any way, La Boite have shaken things up by not including the trademark Shakespearean piece at the helm of the 2013 Season. However, the Classics do hold a place in the program, which includes five Mainstage and six La Boite Indie productions.
The La Boite Mainstage Season begins with a family friendly production set in a massive pool of green slime. Out Damn Snot is a co-production between La Boite and shake & stir, and is inspired by the classics – Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Out Damn Snot runs from 8 – 19 January.
Following in February, just after Valentine’s Day is the return season of a great love story in Holding the Man. Directed by David Berthold and adapted for the stage by Tommy Murphy from the book by Timothy Conigrave, this production has gained international recognition and will run from 16 February – 16 March.
In April, La Boite will present a Force Majeure & Belvoir co-production of a new Australian play, Food by Steve Rodgers. David Berthold likened Food to other physical theatre pieces such as Tender Napalm which was in their 2012 season, as “a piece in which dance and movement provide stunning new dimensions”.
Mr Berthold also commented that Kate Champion’s dance theatre work is “beautifully human, and her influence helps transform Steve Rodgers’ generous story into a delicious theatre experience.” Food will play at the Roundhouse Theatre from 16 – 27 April.
Under the direction of David Berthold, the great American Classic by Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie will be given a “dust it off in a way that will give it a surprising new glow,” Berthold said. The Glass Menagerie, will be presented from 3 – 31 August.
In September, somewhere over the rainbow, very far away from Kansas, will be a co-production between La Boite and the Danger Ensemble, of The Wizard of Oz. Maxine Mellor & The Danger Ensemble promises “a fantasy equal to, but disturbingly different from, the Oz we know and love”, and will be presented as part of the Brisbane Festival from 7 – 28 September.
LA BOITE INDIE 2013
Now in its fourth year, La Boite Indie continues its platform for independent theatre in Brisbane, helping emerging artists and independent companies by providing financial, production, marketing and artistic support.
In 2013 one of the six independent groups will move their production to QPAC, with additional support from the Brisbane Airport Corporation.
The first La Boite Indie production with Sandra Carluccio will be This is Capital City, a production created for an audience of one. Armed with a supplied mobile phone, a single audience member will go on an adventure in the urban surrounds of the Kelvin Grove Village. This is Capital City will be presented from 8 – 25 May.
Next La Boite Indie will present The Séance, co-produced with No Show, and created by Mark Pritchard & Bridget Balodis. After an acclaimed premiere season at the Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2012, this immersive experience will manifest with sixteen participants meeting in an undisclosed location near La Boite, bringing with them an open mind, a willing body, and the desire to believe. The Séance will be performed from 8 – 25 May.
2013 looks like the year of the multi-media experience with another production using the iphone as an integral part of the story. Blindscape uses a provided iPhone pre-loaded with the specially designed App to help the audience members enter into a 3D audio-virtual world as they enter the performance space. Blindscape is created by Skye Gellman & Kieran Law and will be presented from 8 – 25 May.
La Boite Indie & Natasha Budd will then present Joy Fear and Poetry, in which the protagonists are children aged 8-12 who share their perspectives on life and art in a playful integration of live performance, digital projection, video, animation and iPad play. Joy Fear and Poetry by Natasha Budd, which will be performed from 10 – 20 July.
La Boite Indie & Tamarama Rock Surfers will then present Show Me Yours, I’ll Show You Mine. In a conversation with Tim Spencer, a male sex worker (portrayed by Charles Purcell) tells us about his work, his family and his love life. This scripted interview is an alluring study of integrity and play acting, made volatile by the rules of theatre. Show Me Yours, I’ll Show You Mine by Tim Spencer will show from 10 – 27 July.
The last La Boite Indie co-production is with The Breadbeard Collective, who will present
><R&J. A group of young people gather in a room to experiment and remix Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, with bloody consequences. Helpmann Award nominee Lucas Stibbard leads a cast of Brisbane’s bravest emerging artists in this deconstruction & reconstruction of the greatest love story ever told. ><R&J will be performed from 13 – 30 November.
FULL PROGRAMME
LA BOITE MAINSTAGE 2013
A La Boite and shake & stir co-production
Out Damn Snot
Written by shake & stir
8 – 19 January
Holding the Man
By Tommy Murphy from the book by Timothy Conigrave
16 February – 16 March
La Boite presents a Force Majeure & Belvoir co-production
FOOD
By Steve Rodgers
16 – 27 April
The Glass Menagerie
By Tennessee Williams
3 – 31 August
A La Boite, The Danger Ensemble & Brisbane Festival co-production
The Wizard of Oz
By Maxine Mellor & The Danger Ensemble
7 – 28 September
LA BOITE INDIE 2013
La Boite Indie & Sandra Carluccio
This is Capital City
Created by Sandra Carluccio
8 – 25 May
La Boite Indie & No Show present
The Séance
Created by Mark Pritchard & Bridget Balodis
8 – 25 May
La Boite Indie & Skye Gellman present
Blindscape
Created by Skye Gellman & Kieran Law
8 – 25 May
La Boite Indie & Natasha Budd present
Joy Fear and Poetry
By Natasha Budd
10 – 20 July
La Boite Indie & Tamarama Rock Surfers present
Show Me Yours, I’ll Shw You Mine
By Tim Spencer
10 – 27 July
La Boite Indie & The Breadbeard Collective present
><R&J
By The Breadbeard Collective
13 – 30 November
For more information on La Boite’s 2013 Season: www.laboite.com.au
To view the 2013 Season brochure: La Boite 2013 Season Brochure
