Red Line Productions Announces Expansion and Landmark New Works In Development

Red Line Productions, recently honoured with the Hayes Gordon Memorial Award for significant contribution to Australian Theatre, and featured in Timeout New York & The Chicago Tribune, today announce that Alexander Berlage (American Psycho, Cry Baby,) Catherine Van-Davies (Hungry Ghosts, No Pay, No Way) & Constantine Costi (Opera Australia's La Traviata on Sydney Harbour, Bittersweet Obsessions for the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra,) will join the company as part of the new artistic directorate of the Old Fitz Theatre.

In a joint statement from the three artistic directors: "We are incredibly thrilled to be joining Andrew, Vanessa and the rest of the Red Line Productions team as Artistic Directors of the Old Fitz Theatre. For over the past 25 years the Old Fitz Theatre has become a vital part of the fabric of Sydney's theatre scene with such a deep and rich history of supporting the careers of some of Australia's most exciting and beloved theatre artists. Since Red Line Productions took the helm in late 2014 it has continued to grow and evolve from strength to strength and we cannot wait to join in the next part of this theatre's artistic conversation." - Full statement at www.redlineproductions.com.au

Adaptive, innovative and progressive, Red Line Productions has been at the forefront of professional independent theatre in Sydney. Despite the immense challenges presented by COVID-19, Red Line has been committed to navigating this brave new world to continue presenting groundbreaking and thrilling productions, and an innovative custodianship of the Old Fitz Theatre. For the executive team of Andrew Henry and Vanessa Wright, these artistic appointments mark and important and necessary expansion of the company, a small team currently working beyond capacity. With a group of highly esteemed artists programming the Old Fitz Theatre, the Red Line team can both continue the custodianship of one of Sydney's most vital performance spaces in an annual season of curated theatre, and continue to develop works for national tour.

For Henry and Wright, "Cat, Alex & Con are simply world-class artists, and we went to them individually as we saw the immense potential for a combined a creative force that inspired us as our company expands. This is the vital next step for the Old Fitz Theatre and whilst we are currently unable to open the Fitz at our ususal 60ish capacity, we are able to plan for a future when we will all be able to be together again. Cat, Alex and Con are a beautiful part of that future. "

In a further announcement, Henry & Wright also announce a slate of new projects outside of the Old Fitz Theatre, ranging from work for children to adaptions of iconic Australian stories. As the two Executive team describe: "We we have commissioned a new children's show based on Andy Griffiths JUST series that will be touring nationally through 2021 & 2022, and thanks to a brand new partnership with the Balnaves Foundation, we are developing two major new Australian works slated for the national stage: the first is a theatrical adaptation of John Marsden's iconic series Tomorrow When The War Began and the second a brand new musical based on the memoir Dreamtime Alice by Mandy Sayer, with book by Louis Nowra and music by Don Walker. There are some other gems in the pipeline too, which we will be announcing shortly."

Catherine Van-Davies is an award-winning actor, performance artist and theatre maker and continues her practice in both the independent and subsidised sectors. She specialises in devised, queer and new Australian work and has created multi-award winning and nationally touring independent shows with companies such as Little Ones Theatre (Stephan Nicolazzo) and Arthur (Paige Rattray). Catherine has performed nationally and internationally, and with companies such as: Griffin Theatre, Belvoir, Sydney Theatre Company, Bell Shakespeare, Malthouse Theatre, Chunky Move and in establishments such as Sydney Opera House, Art Gallery of NSW and Museum of Contemporary Art. Catherine has worked as an actor and facilitator with Playwriting Australia since 2008 and was a facilitator for the Lotus program, in collaboration with Contemporary Asian Australian Performance. She was also an associate artist with Milk Crate Theatre. Catherine has dedicated much of her career to the advancement and visibility of marginalised and underrepresented voices, feeling very passionately about the agency and self-determination of these voices. She is interested in the industry as an ecology and diversifying the narrative of what Australian work looks like.

Alexander Berlage is a multi-award-winning director and lighting designer working across theatre, opera, musicals & dance. His recent productions of Cry-Baby and American Psycho over the past two consecutive years won both the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Direction & Production of a Musical with American Psycho taking out a total of 9 Sydney Theatre Awards on the night. As a lighting designer, Alexander has worked for companies including Sydney Theatre Company, State Theatre Company SA, Belvoir, Opera Queensland, Circa, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Sydney Chamber Opera, Sydney Dance Company, Griffin Theatre, Ensemble Theatre and ATYP. Over the past five years, Alexander has worked on more than 15 productions as lighting designer for Red Line Productions, as well as directing there will be a climax at the Old Fitz Theatre in 2018. Alexander has a Bachelor of Dramatic Art (Production) and a Master of Fine Art (Directing) from NIDA and in 2019 was awarded a Mike Walsh Fellowship.

Constantine Costi is a writer and director based in Sydney. His projects for 2020 have included the directing of a feature film for Pinchgut Opera based on the madrigals of Barbara Strozzi, Opera Australia's La Traviata on Sydney Harbour, and a libretto commission for Victorian Opera. For the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Constantine has directed Karakorum (starring David Wenham), the award-winning production Bittersweet Obsessions, and Messiah, which played to standing ovations and sell-out seasons in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. For Opera Australia he was co-director of Werther with Elijah Moshinsky, revival director for John Bell's Carmen, and was assistant director of Wozzeck, directed by William Kentridge. In 2018, he co-created and directed the jazz musical The Overcoat for Belvoir's 25A. In 2017, he directed Suor Angelica for Opera Projects Sydney, co-wrote the immersive theatre experience Visiting Hours for Sydney's Vivid Festival, and directed Puccini's Il Tabarro at Alfie's Sydney.

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