Cate Blanchett to Lead THE MAIDS at Sydney Theatre Company

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Andrew Upton and Cate Blanchett tonight announced their final season as Co Artistic Directors of Sydney Theatre Company which will include exceptional onstage partnerships directed by internationally lauded directors. Cate Blanchett and legendary French actor Isabelle Huppert will play murderous sisters directed by Benedict Andrews in a fresh exploration of Genet's The Maids by Andrew Upton and Benedict Andrews. Richard Roxburgh and Hugo Weaving are reunited with Uncle Vanya director Tamás Ascher to give their all for a cornerstone of 20th Century Theatre, Beckett's Waiting for Godot; and Tim Minchin and Toby Schmitz take on another of theatre's great double acts directed by Simon Phillips in Stoppard's comic masterpiece Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.

More renowned theatre makers directing new plays and classics at STC include: Neil Armfield with the world premiere of Andrew Bovell's adaptation of Kate Grenville's The Secret River with a cast including Trevor Jamieson and Jeremy Sims; Nicholas Hytner's West End and Broadway smash hit One Man, Two Guvnors; Gideon Obarzanek making his first foray into text-based theatre with Dance Better at Parties; Andrew Upton directing Robert Menzies in Joanna
Murray-Smith's scorching new play, Fury; Bruce Gladwin and the extraordinary Back to Back Theatre with the world premiere of Laser Beak Man; John Sheedy directing an adaptation by Tom Holloway of the adored children's classic, Storm Boy; and RoseMary Myers with her 2012 Adelaide Festival hit, School Dance, written by and featuring Matthew Whittet.

Exciting directors commanding bigger stages in 2013, having developed through STC in recent years are: Sarah Giles directing Helen Thomson in George Bernard Shaw's Mrs Warren's Profession; Sarah Goodes with John Doyle's new play Vere (Faith) featuring Paul Blackwell; Kip Williams with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet; and Imara Savage directing Sophie Treadwell's Machinal.ate and Andrew said: "Originally conceived as a sign-off season for both of us, our 2013 season has a lot of our passions and favourite artists and is brimming with some of the relationships and partnerships that have inspired us during the last five years.

"There are some classics of the 20th century - seminal works we've always wanted to do such as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Waiting For Godot and The Maids, alongside many
new Australian works including Laser Beak Man, Vere (Faith) and Storm Boy and the fabulous
new commissions Fury and The Secret River.

"A key ambition for us in terms of our international strategy has been to create opportunities and relationships that expose Australian artists to International Artists and audiences. We're
thrilled that as a result of exposure to the company's work, artists of the calibre of Isabelle
Huppert and Tamás Asher will be working with us in 2013.