“German theatre has always occupied a central role in the cultural life of the country, but now contemporary theatre is experiencing something of a renaissance and von Mayenburg is having a large influence on a generation of 20-something writers who have been inspired by his courage and success in exploring new territory.” The Age
“von Mayenburg’s collaborator (for Eldorado) is Benedict Andrews, an extraordinarily imaginative director. The productions I’ve seen of his, so far, have been unforgettable.” Herald Sun
World Premiere
Germany/Australia
By Marius von Mayenburg
Translated by Maja Zade
Directed by Benedict Andrews
Coming ready or not!
Six people wait in a non-descript room: dirty walls, an old carpet, a sofa, a small table, a few chairs, a sleeping bag. Without warning, someone walks to the corner and counts to 100. The room is ripped apart and turned inside out as the others desperately try to disappear.
Hide and seek, like theatre, is concerned with appearance and disappearance, with becoming strange for a time, with metamorphosis. It taps into archaic terrors of being found or forgotten, of being hunted, or trying to escape.
Amid the anarchy of these obsessively replayed games, the people in the room report on unnerving behaviour of prepubescent children in their community. The local ‘tweenies’ are developing terrifying powers. Lamps are flickering, strange stains are appearing, mysterious green packages are being planted in shopping centres. Questions are being asked:
Should the parents call the hotline?
Is it ok to torture a child for information?
Could a ten year-old plot mass murder?
Or could an entire generation of children kill?
Hilarious and horrific, this world premiere production of Moving Target has been created by playwright Marius von Mayenburg (Fireface, Parasites, Eldorado) and director Benedict Andrews (Eldorado, Julius Caesar, The Season At Sarsaparilla, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf) in collaboration with an exceptional Australian cast. Andrews and von Mayenburg work together at the Schaubühne theatre in Berlin where they created productions of Sarah Kane’s Cleansed and von Mayenburg’s The Ugly One together. Spawning from this distinctive creative friendship Moving Target will mark von Mayenburg’s first premiere outside of a European theatre.
Set Design
Robert Cousins
Costume Design
Fiona Crombie
Lighting Design
Paul Jackson
Sound Design
Hamish Michael
Assistant Director
Haille Shellam
Stage Manager
Millie Mullinar
Performed By
Alison Bell, Julie Forsyth, Rita Kalnejais, Robert Menzies, Hamish Michael, Matthew Whittet
Presented by Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts, Malthouse Theatre and Sydney Opera House. A Malthouse Theatre and Sydney Opera House commission.
This project has been assisted by the Goethe Institute and the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
Image: Garth Oriander, pictured Hamish Michael
Links:
Malthouse Theatre
Sydney Opera House
Biography
