| The Pain and the Itch | Red Stitch Actors Theatre |
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Kelly and Clay are a modern couple of irreproachable liberal intent. Clay stays at home to raise their daughter Kayla, while Kelly makes good money as a lawyer. We meet them giving sympathetic audience to an inscrutable, sobbing Muslim man, Hadid. But who is he and why does he repeatedly enquire as to the price of the couple’s fixtures and fittings? Juxtaposed with this intriguing, potentially alarming exchange is a past family thanksgiving dinner of Edward Albee proportions. Here we meet Clay’s successful, sardonic brother, Cash, his friendly, gleefully non-politically-correct Eastern European girlfriend, Kalina; and the brothers’ sweetly condescending mother, Carol.
But something is rotten in this strenuously PC household. Kayla has developed a mysterious rash, their cleaner appears to be stealing their bread, and someone or something is attacking their avocados.
Norris’ takes devastating aim at everything from liberal views on parenting, politically correct attitudes to culture to relativist acceptance of pornography. A wittily ingenious high-energy satire, The Pain and the Itch is a withering look at the truth behind our carefully constructed masks and bitter familial rivalry.
The Pain and the Itch premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago before a sold-out run off-Broadway and at London’s Royal Court.
"(A) cunningly crafted comedy of political bad manners and disastrous good intentions...Playgoers hungering for smart, vicious drama will feel like an itch has been scratched." – Time Out
"...a fiendishly clever story and a dangerously taboo-scratching account of intimate relationships" - The Stage
Red Stitch is delighted to welcome director Görkem Acaroglu (The Habib Show, Fool for Love) for the first time. The Pain and the Itch features ensemble members Erin Dewar (Kalina), Sarah Sutherland (Kelly), Brett Cousins (Cash) and Daniel Frederiksen (Clay) alongside special guest actors Andrea Swifte (Carol), Terry Yeboah (Mr Hadid), Oregen Guilloux-Cooke and Fantine Banulski (both Kayla).
Red Stitch Actors Theatre presents
The Pain and the Itch
by Bruce Norris
Venue: Red Stitch Actors Theatre, rear 2 Chapel St, St Kilda East (opp Astor)
Dates/Times: Fri May 2 – Sat May 31. Wed – Sat 8pm, Sun 6.30pm
Previews: $18 - Wed 30 April and Thurs 1 May
Running Time: 2 hours 15 mins (inc interval)
Bookings: www.redstitch.net (discounted tix) or on 03 9533 8083 @ $30/20
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