| The Importance of Being Earnest | Ridiculusmus |
|
|
|
|
As we hurtle towards the end of the year, Company B is leading the festive charge. For two four-week seasons from 30 October, the highly awarded, heavily applauded, side-splittingly funny UK comedy duo, Ridiculusmus, will be taking over the Upstairs stage – with two plays, two actors…and 11 characters between them.
From 1 – 30 November, David Woods, last seen at Belvoir St Theatre as the deadpan guard in Exit the King, and Jon Haynes will be performing their acclaimed production The Importance of Being Earnest in which the two actors play Jack and Algernon, Gwendolen, Cecily, not to mention Lady Bracknell, Miss Prism – and all the other characters as well.
Directed by Jude Kelly, this production has been a bust-out hit everywhere it goes. Wilde’s play gleams amidst the Ridiculusmus mayhem of virtuoso character turns and high-flying theatrical invention. It packed out Sydney Opera House for a brief season in 2006 and we’re delighted to welcome them to Belvoir St Theatre.
Then from 2 – 21 December, in the last Upstairs play for the year, the silver tea-set delivery of Wilde gives way to the drivelling banter of a pair of German sex tourists…
Tough time, nice time is set entirely in a jacuzzi in Bangkok. What begins as idle chat becomes a jaw-dropping assault on good taste and notions of theatrical decorum. Sex and loneliness muddle with celebrity gossip and global politics. This is a sadistically funny and darkly fascinating peek into the idiotic corners of the human brain and the murky shadows of the liver.
Tough time, nice time is Ridiculusmus’ newest show and it comes to Belvoir St Theatre for its Australian premiere, fresh from the inaugural season at London’s Barbican. About the show, Time Out London said, “It’s Ridiculusmus’ fantastic ear – and eye – for dialogue that makes this such an acutely and hilariously observed snapshot of a world going rapidly down the plughole.”
Celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, Ridiculusmus produces unconventional, innovative and accessible theatre. Work is written, created and performed by David Woods and Jon Haynes. The two, immensely over-educated with PhDs in Comedy Theatre, met at university and started out busking in the London Underground.
Ridiculusmus makes deadly serious theatre that is seriously funny, earning them a reputation as one of the most exciting theatre partnerships in the world today. Over their 15 years together, the company’s work has been called physical, political, avante garde, comedy, tragedy, dadaist, realist, anarchic, depressing, a failure and a success. And indeed, it aspires to all these things.
Their other shows include Ideas Men, Say Nothing, How To Be Funny, The Third Policeman, The Exhibitionists and Yes, Yes, Yes.
This is one of the most brilliantly sophisticated and hilarious productions I have seen…Jude Kelly’s direction is flawlessly and cunningly precise. The Sunday Times
Jon Haynes and David Woods offer a jaw dropping portrayal of the entire cast...The logistics of the mise en scene are breathtaking The Australian
Absurd, nonsensical, puerile and brilliant – everything you would expect from the award-winning duo Ridiculusmus. A meandering medley of madness…brilliant. Time Out, London
Seriously funny, enormously intelligent, wonderfully performed…a theatrical tour de force. The Age
I wasn’t the only one guffawing and rolling around in my seat, with tears of laughter streaming down my face…for those of us who know and love the play … and for the many Wilde virgins in the audience, the jokes were new and fresh, proving that the best humour can retain its vitality even after a century of interpretation and reinterpretation. Stagediary.com
**Buy a ticket to both plays before 30 October and receive your second ticket for the student price of $25!
(That’s a fantastic saving of $29 on the price of an adult ticket)**
Company B presents Australia’s first
FESTIVAL OF RIDICULUSMUS
The Importance of Being Earnest
Season dates 1 – 30 November
Previews Thursday 30 October at 8pm. All preview tickets $33
Opening night Friday 31 October
Times Tuesday 6.30pm, Wednesday to Friday 8pm, Saturday 2pm & 8pm, Sunday 5pm.
Tickets Full $54. Seniors (excluding Fri/Sat evenings) and Groups 10+ $45. Concession $33.
Student Rush $25 for Tuesday 6.30pm and Saturday 2pm, available from 10am on the day (subject to availability)
Venue Belvoir St Theatre, 25 Belvoir St, Surry Hills
TICKETS BOOKINGS 9699 3444 or www.belvoir.com.au
Tough time, nice time
Season dates 4 – 21 December
Previews Tuesday 2 December at 8pm. All preview tickets $33
Opening night Wednesday 3 December
Times Tuesday 6.30pm, Wednesday to Friday 8pm, Saturday 2pm & 8pm, Sunday 5pm.
Tickets Full $54. Seniors (excluding Fri/Sat evenings) and Groups 10+ $45. Concession $33.
Student Rush $25 for Tuesday 6.30pm and Saturday 2pm, available from 10am on the day (subject to availability)
Venue Belvoir St Theatre, 25 Belvoir St, Surry Hills
TICKETS BOOKINGS 9699 3444 or www.belvoir.com.au
|
|
Contact: |
Back
|
|
|
Saturday, 10 January 2009
|
