Join Black Swan This Winter For Conversation Two With ASSASSINS And THE EVENTS

Join BLACK SWAN State Theatre Company for Conversation Two as the company enlivens the winter months of June and July, with the multiple Tony Award-winning musical Assassins , music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by John Weidman, directed by Roger Hodgman (As You Like It, Twelfth Night) from 16 June to 1 July in the Heath Ledger Theatre.

A timely reminder that those in power ignore the marginalised in society at their peril. Assassins is paired with the contemporary British play The Events by David Greig, (21 June to 8 July), starring Catherine McClements (Water Rats, Rush), directed by BLACK SWAN's Artistic Director Clare Watson, and featuring a different Perth community choir at each performance in the Studio underground featuring an extraordinary blend of theatre and music. Extremism and gun violence are under the lens and the healing power of music is celebrated.

This multiple Tony Award-winning theatrical tour-de-force, opens in a fairground, a rogue's gallery where nine misfits gather. The Proprietor of the game entices them to play, promising that their problems will be solved by killing a President of the United States, with the song "Everybody's Got the Right". A revue-style portrayal follows of the many and varied ways that each of the men and women have committed (or attempted to commit) the ultimate crime. The work joins clever lyrics with multiple musical styles as it travels through the decades. All the while, the Assassins become more and more disenchanted with the America Dream.

Having directed the Australian premiere of Assassins in 1995, Roger Hodgman said he was delighted to be work with the thirteen-strong West Australian cast. Hodgman says "that Sondheim's works have a theatricality and daring - no two are similar, except in the brilliance and wit of his music and lyrics. Assassins is one of his most exciting works - the only one, he has said, that he would not want to rewrite. It's wonderfully funny, eccentric almost, in the daring of its subject and structure. The music is among his best - a kind of pastiche of American music from the mid nineteenth century up to the 1980s. It's a wonderful piece to work on."

Following the trend of theatre and music, the WA premiere of The Events written by David Greig, as a response to the 2011 massacre in Norway, celebrates community and hope. It was the sleeper hit of the 2013 Edinburgh Festival and mesmerised audiences in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne. Catherine McClements plays Claire, a vicar and leader of a community choir who searches for answers after a violent act threatens the ideals that sustain her beloved community.

Devastatingly, this story is still relevant today as it was then. In programming the 2018 season, over a year ago, BLACK SWAN looked at works that engaged in social issues that are of importance to our community.
The Events looks at how people find a pathway to heal in the aftermath of a community tragedy. The reality of gun violence coming to pass so close to home is shocking and a deep tragedy. All our hearts and thoughts here at BLACK SWAN go out to friends and family of those lost and their entire community.

Taking place around the season of Assassins and The Events are several special add on events.

This includes a pre-show panel discussion Music as Medicine on Thursday 28 June, a post-show Q&A hosted by Resident Artist Ian Michael and featuring actor Johnny Carr and Musical Director Luke Byrne on Tuesday 3 July; followed by a very special post-show Q&A with Dr Anne Aly MP, actor Catherine McClements and Artistic Director Clare Watson on Wed 4 July.

Assassins

Cast: Finn Alexander, Caitlin Beresford-Ord, Jacob Clayton, Mackenzie Dunn, Nick Eynaud, Oliver Halusz, Brendan Hanson, Luke Hewitt, Geoff Kelso, Will O'Mahony, Nathan Stark, Cameron Steens, Natasha Vickery

Creatives: Director: Roger Hodgman, Musical Director: Jangoo Chapkhana, Set Designer: Lawrie Cullen-Tait, Costume Designer: Lynn Ferguson, Lighting Designer: Mark Howett, Sound Designer: Brett Smith

Choreographer: Claudia Alessi, Video Designer: Michael Carmody, Vocal Coach: Julia Moody, Lighting Design Associate: Chloe Ogilvie

The Events

Cast: Johnny Carr, Catherine McClements

Perth community choirs include: Churchlands Choral Society, Indie Mix Pop Choir, Rhythmos, St Barnabas Community Choir, The Mighty Camelot Chorale, Voyces.

Creatives: Composer: John Browne, Director: Clare Watson, Set & Lighting Designer: Geoff Cobham, Musical Director: Luke Byrne, Lighting Design Associate: Chloe Ogilvie

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