CARRY ME Comes to Sydney

Produced by Bontom, CARRY ME is a hilarious new comedy by Thomas De Angelis which premieres at The Old 505 on 15 April 2020. Following on from their success producing original Australian work in 2019, Bontom opens 2020 with an uproariously funny original Australian comedy about sperm donation, theatre-making and friendship.

CARRY ME tells the story of Rachel and Chris, who have been friends for ages. They met at drama school, and pretty well haven't gone a day without seeing each other since. They're everything young creatives aspire to be: artistically satisfied, moderately well-known and ready to be commissioned for a follow-up. And how do they do it? Well, it has a lot to do with their perfectly platonic friendship - although Chris likes to joke that it's because there was never any chance of them falling in love. You see, Rachel is a lesbian and Chris is well...not. Just as all their dreams seem to be coming true, Rachel decides that she wants to have a child. When she asks Chris to donate his sperm for her pregnancy he agrees, but this request changes the way they think of each other. Suddenly their new "creative" project cracks open a gulf between them.

Directed by Sarah Hadley (director of Safe and You Got Mail), CARRY ME is a play that deals with the breakdown of a friendship between a theatre director and a playwright. "It sometimes feels a little close to home, because at its heart, the play is about trying to create a life within the very precarious existence of a theatre-maker," said Hadley. "It's rare to see a play that so incisively skewers contemporary life and relationships, while being funny in a surprising and unconventional way. Just when I thought I'd heard all of the possible sperm-related gags that existed, De Angelis has proven me wrong!"

Writer Thomas De Angelis (The House At Boundary Road, Liverpool) says, "The central issue in this play - which is whether or not a friendship can survive a pregnancy - is one that preoccupies me on a daily basis, as I'm sure it does many other young artists thinking of having children. I was also really interested in exploring the break-up of a best-friendship, which is something we see comparatively little of, in favour of romantic break-ups."

The production features some of Sydney's most exciting talent, including Rowan Davie, who was recently seen in the SBS television miniseries Cloudy River. Speaking about his character in CARRY ME, Rowan commented, "There are a lot of reasons to be a bit gloomy at the moment - and this play doesn't blissfully ignore the current situation - but it does give us a few reasons to be optimistic and happy."

CARRY ME is the first production in Bontom's 2020 season of works, all original Australian stories developed specifically for the stage.

Bookings: Tickets now on sale: https://old505theatre.com/shows/carry-me-1575343555.html

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