Following two sold-out seasons at the Galway Theatre Festival and an Irish national tour, Justin Martin's production of Clare McIntyre's award-winning play Low Level Panic is coming to the Old Fitz Theatre. Thread Entertainment, following on from the success of 80 Minutes No Interval, is proud to present this foul-mouthed, funny and unflinching exploration of the ways in which we view women's lives, their bodies, their safety and their sexuality.
In our society, where femininity is often sanitised and represented in the terms of male fantasy, Low Level Panic is a breath of fresh air. The play presents female sexuality and self-image through the eyes of three women; three housemates who bicker over bathroom time, fight over the significance of pornos, fantasize and party.
Director Justin Martin has spent the last two years directing on the new Netflix series The Crown under triple Oscar-nominated Stephen Daldry as well as working as Associate Director on Skylight (starring Carey Mulligan and Bill Nighy on Broadway and the West End), The Audience(starring Helen Mirren and Kristen Scott Thomas on Broadway and the West End), and international productions of Billy Elliott the Musical.
"Amidst the recent reaction to Rebecca Maddern's choice of dress on the Footy Show, or Cricketer Chris Gayle's propositioning of Channel 10 sports reporter Mel McLaughlin, Clare's play appears as resonant in an Australian context as it was in Ireland or the UK," Martin said.
"The rise of the internet has seen a change in our experiences of anonymity and voyeurism. Images of women, which twenty years ago would have graced the pages of soft-core magazines, now advertise everything from fizzy drinks to chocolate bars and are beamed directly to our phones. Porn may have changed in the last twenty years, but attitudes to women and female sexuality have not. Young girls are still instructed to dress in a way so as not to attract unwanted attention. Breast-feeding mothers are asked to cover up in some cafes to prevent offending patrons with the sight of pornography whilst they digest their corn fritters. Women worldwide continue to berate themselves for not having a thigh gap like the digitally enhanced models gracing our magazine covers. To this world, Claire McIntyre's Low Level Panic, is a big 'F**k you!'"
LOW LEVEL PANIC
Written by Clare McIntyre
Presented by Thread Entertainment in association with Red Line Productions at the Old Fitz Theatre Directed by Justin Martin
With Geraldine Hakewill, Amy Ingram and Kate Skinner
Production Design by Jonathan Hindmarsh
Lighting Design by Emma Lockhart-Wilson
Choreography by Tom Hodgson
Music Composition by Claire Healy
Venue: Old Fitz Theatre, 129 Dowling Street (Cnr Cathedral Street), Woolloomooloo
Season: 12 July - 12 August 2016
Times: Tues-Sat 7.30pm, Sunday 5pm
Price: $38 Adult, $33 Concession, $28 Previews and Cheap Tuesday
Bookings: www.oldfitztheatre.com/low-level-panic
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