| Hitchcock Blonde | Factory Space Theatre Company |
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Behind Alfred Hitchcock's obsession with beautiful blondes in jeopardy lay a deep, dark secret, finally revealed in Hitchcock Blonde; Terry Johnson's fascinating play about sex, desire and the famous film director. The show was first performed at London's Royal Court Theatre in 2003, where it attracted rave reviews. Now, Factory Space Theatre Company brings this witty drama to the Sydney stage for the first time. Directed by Roz Riley, Hitchcock Blonde opens at Manly's Star of the Sea Theatre on Saturday April 12th for a two-week season.
The play shifts between three time zones, each contributing its own clues to the mystery. In the present, a film professor and his female student are in Greece, sifting through some badly deteriorated film footage from 1919. We watch the action with them as they unravel the story of an unknown Hitchcock film and the mysterious blonde it features. We also see the impact of these early events on Hitchcock himself and on his later work in flashbacks to 1959, where a sassy, beautiful blonde auditions for the role of Janet Leigh's body double for the shower scene in Psycho.
For Roz, the fascination of the play revolves around the gradual solving of the puzzle as clues emerge from all three time zones. "It is like a jigsaw," Roz says. "The final pieces fit together as the secrets from each era are revealed. We find out why the 1959 actress needs the job in Psycho and what she must to do to get it; we discover deep secrets about the film professor and his student; and we see the moment with the 1919 blonde that had a significant and lasting effect on Alfred Hitchcock. More is revealed about each character than they originally planned.”
In the present, Geoff Cartwright plays the film professor with Eleni Schumacher as his student, while in 1959 Stephen McGrath plays Alfred Hitchcock, Belinda Marques the blonde he auditions and David Sutton the blonde’s husband. The 1919 film featuring Amelia Foxton as the blonde was shot and edited by cinematographer David Tucker and still photos by Stephanie Foxton. Lighting design by Jon Tidswell, sound design by Simeon Barlow and media design by Amelia Foxton.
Reviews from the Royal Court Theatre production
“It’s finely written and it constantly teases and surprises. Prepare yourself for plenty of educated fun” The Times
“A big, bold adventure of a play, which, with witty eloquence, portrays the great filmmaker as an impotent, misogynistic, broken-hearted voyeur for whom film was akin to sexual revenge” Evening Standard
“Perceptive and funny” The Guardian
“Dazzlingly clever and often wonderfully funny” Time Out Magazine
Factory Space Theatre Company presents
Hitchcock Blonde
by Terry Johnson
Venue: Star of the Sea Theatre, Corner of Collingwood Street and Iluka Avenue, Manly
Dates/Times: 7:30pm – Sat 12th, Thu 17th; Fri 18th; Sat 19th;
Thu 24th; Fri 25th; Sat 26th April
Matinees: 3:00pm - Sun 13th; Sun 20th & Sat 26th
Tickets: $30 / $25. Group discounts and School parties by arrangement
Bookings: 02 9439 1906
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