Seymour Centre 09 Season

This year, the University of Sydney's Seymour Centre launched its first subscription season and reportedly has been delighted with the response. Its 2009 season promises to build on the tradition of diversity, affordability and quality with a wide range of productions across three venues.

The York Theatre will play host to enduring comedy/drama Steel Magnolias, 20 years after hosting the Australian premiere production of this much loved classic.

The Everest Theatre will house the premiere season of the new Australian musical Breast Wishes, as well as two other new Australian works — the sensitive and moving Inside Out, and Bang, the urban fairytale from Seymour Arts Bunker Resident, White Box.

The more intimate Downstairs Theatre also plays a big role in 2009, with three Australian premieres — the Off-Broadway smash hit Gutenberg the Musical, the gripping thriller Address Unknown, and a new piece, Shafana and Aunt Sarrinah by Alana Valentine which will partner Alex Buzo’s classic Norm and Ahmed.

In 1450, Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press. In 2008, Bud and Doug wrote a show about it. In this hilarious two-man musical spoof, a pair of aspiring playwrights perform a backers' audition for their new project — a big, splashy musical about printing press inventor Johann Gutenberg. With an unending supply of enthusiasm, Bud and Doug sing all the songs and play all the parts in their silly historical epic, with the hope that one of the producers in attendance will give them a Broadway contract — fulfilling their ill-advised dreams. 17-21 Feb; 14–25 Jul.

In the remote Irish village of Leenane rain is as common as Catholics and the most exciting pasttime is watching cows pass by. Lonely spinster, Maureen, is trapped taking care of her elderly, cantankerous mother, Mag. When Maureen finally discovers romance, things get horribly out of hand. 19 Mar–4 Apr.

§ Breast Wishes, by Merridy Eastman, Jonathan Gavin, Richard Glover, Wendy Harmer, Sheridan Jobbins, James Millar, Debra Oswald

A small musical about big issues. Breast Wishes is a new Australian musical about love, loss, life and silicon; a witty and heart-warming journey of courage and determination through laughter to triumph. 16 Apr–3 May.

Sex, dating, marriage, infidelity... these are just some of the issues that are hilariously skewered in Joe DiPietro’s hugely successful musical comedy. 21 Apr–24 May.

Inside Out is a ground breaking new drama exploring the impact of mental illness on the relationship between a mother and her son. 13–30 May.

The quintessential story of friendship, Steel Magnolias serves up a slice of life in Louisiana that’s as warm and comforting as sweet potato pie. In the haven of Truvy’s beauty salon, six very different women come together to share their secrets and bare their souls, facing their lives with grace, determination, and perfectly coifed hair. When tragedy strikes, it is in the familiar comfort of Truvy’s salon where they seek the solace and support that carries them through. 5–28 Jun.

An urban fairy tale in a world gone mad. On the platform of a suburban railway station stands a young woman with a mission. It’s a mission that will take more lives than her own. Some will find it glorious. Others will brand it the work of pure evil. Her brother will simply try to live with what his sister has done. 23 Jun–18 Jul.

Ashanti presents his autobiographical one-man show, Basic Training, chronicling his time in the military where he learned to serve his country using his talent as his weapon. 23 Jun–4 Jul.

§ Norm & Ahmed, by Alex Buzo, plus Ahafana & Aunt Sarrinah, by Alana Valentine

Buzo’s acclaimed 1968 classic Norm & Ahmed was a watershed Australian play with its timeless premise “never underestimate the power of difference.” Forty years after its premiere, a new play by awardwinning playwright Alana Valentine (Parramatta Girls) responds to Buzo’s enduring themes of racism and generational tension through Shafana & Aunt Sarrinah. 6–29 Aug.

Take your grandchildren on a playful and vivid journey — told through dance, live music and digital animation. 26 Sep–17 Oct.

Set in 1932, Address Unknown chronicles the friendship between two business partners in a successful San Francisco gallery. Martin Schulse, a German-born Aryan, has returned to Germany with his wife and children and reestablished ties to his homeland, becoming active with the National Socialists; Max Eisenstein, a German Jew, has remained to run the gallery in San Francisco. 14 Oct–7 Nov.

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