B Sharp season

The second instalment in B Sharp's inaugural two-part annual season is again an exciting amalgamation of classic and contemporary theatre. From August–December B Sharp will showcase work produced by some of the theatre industry’s hottest talent, including Sibylla Budd, Toby Schmitz, Simon Stone, Matt Whittet, Shannon Murphy and, in his theatre debut, film director Peter Carstairs. B Sharp are also delighted to be showcasing one work that has been plucked straight from this year’s Creative Development Program – confirmation that the two-part season has achieved what it was designed to do.

Opening 31 July is Will Eno’s Thom Pain (based on nothing). Smart, poignant and menacingly funny this is Eno’s cult-hit and Pulitzer prize-nominated one-man show. Part stand-up comedy, part-existential meditation and part elegy for a lost love affair, this contemporary masterpiece, written by the “Samuel Beckett for the Jon Stewart generation”, will star Luke Mullins and will be directed by Company B’s Literary Associate, Sam Strong.

The third work in Martin McDonagh’s Leenane Trilogy, The Lonesome West, is a classic black comedy about two brothers who have been fighting since before they could walk, and is opening on 21 August. Coleman and Valene’s father dies in a suspicious shotgun ‘accident’ after insulting Coleman’s hairstyle. Their friend, the bumbling parish priest, takes it upon himself to teach the pair the true meaning of love and forgiveness. Dark, disturbing and wildly funny, this will be film director Peter Carstairs’ (September) theatre directing debut. He will be working with a remarkable cast that includes Sibylla Budd, Travis Cotton and Toby Schmitz.

On 18 September, Spring Awakening’s Simon Stone and The Hayloft Project return with a new work inspired by Henrik Ibsen's 1894 play Little Eyolf – The Only Child. Alfred and Rita have a disabled son and are filled with guilt over the incident that injured him. Then, he goes missing. Set over one painful night as the pair sits waiting, they attempt to make sense of their crumbling relationship. The Only Child is a fascinating examination of a modern couple's attempts to overcome a shared trauma.

On the back of his stellar performance in The Wonderful World of Dissocia, and immediately before he heads Upstairs for Neil Armfield’s The Book of Everything, Matt Whitett performs solo in his next work, Silver, opening 15 October. Part-fable, part-mystery, Silver tells the strange and beautiful tale of a young girl’s search for stillness lost. An enchanting piece of raw storytelling, which Matt also wrote, this is the first work to emerge from B Sharp’s Creative Development Program. Silver will be directed by Ben Winspear, who played Salim in Baghdad Wedding on the Upstairs stage earlier this year.

At the end of October, we are pleased to welcome the Best Director-nominated Shannon Murphy back to the Downstairs Theatre following her Sydney Theatre Award-winning My Name is Rachel Corrie in 2008. Shannon will be directing Bliss – a wild exploration of the cult of celebrity. Written by Québécois playwright Olivier Choinière, translated by Caryl Churchill and starring Krew Boylan, Bliss intertwines the lives of three very different women – the pop-goddess Celine (Dion), the despairing Isabel and a check-out girl – and mixes reality and fantasy in an outrageous fusion of comedy and horror.

Finally, with the twinkly lights of Christmas in sight, from November 27 Company B’s very own Eamon Flack will be showcasing his production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The seasons have gone awry, the grownups are in denial and the young are randy with hope and despair. Shakespeare purists beware: prepare yourselves for glittering karaoke of love ballads and curses, wedding songs and bestiality, culminating in a special nuptial performance by the acclaimed Rude Mechanicals of Peter Quince’s tragic masterpiece, Pyramus and Thisbe.

Artists still have time to pick up a B Sharp Artist Card. Designed to encourage discussion, debate and networking through seeing the work of other independent artists, registered artists will have access to a limited number of discounted tickets to the first three performances of each production in the season.

The popular Sharp Card is also still available. Card holders simply purchase a Sharp Card through the Company B Box Office for $10, which entitles them to $23 tickets for themselves and their guest for all productions in the 2009 B Sharp Season. Sharp Card holders will also receive year-round discounts at Berkelouw Books and Palace Cinemas.

The Macquarie Group Foundation – the philanthropic arm of Macquarie Group – is the principal supporter of B Sharp until 2010.

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