SILENT DISCO By Lachlan Philpott Comes to the New Theatre

Tamara is 15. Rejected by her mother, who's moved on to a new relationship, she's forced to live (and cope) with her embittered father, a man harbouring a secret that will deeply impact their lives.

Her very-new boyfriend's mother has also shot through, his older brother is in prison for drug-dealing, and he lives with his aunty.

For Tamara and Squid, being in love is their escape from the brutal reality of their lives. But it's hard for a teenager to make meaningful relationships when they've never seen them modeled by the adults in their lives.

Only their teacher, Mrs Petchell, seems to care about what happens to them, but it's a battle for her to keep another year of students from slipping through the cracks.

Philpott illuminates a world of disenfranchised Sydney teens, of absent mothers, missing fathers, and struggling teachers, and reveals a society that has seemingly lost its way in dealing with its troubled youth.

New Theatre is presenting a long-overdue revival of this award-winning contemporary Australian play. Says the writer, Lachlan Philpott "The New played a really important role in supporting me as an emerging writer and it's terrific to have my work on their stage in this fresh production, directed by Johann Walraven."

Philpott gives some background to the play. "I wrote Silent Disco in 2009 after working as a teacher in an inner city high school. It was a time when iPod's were very popular and of course teachers were battling to be heard over far more interesting soundtracks.

"The play is inspired by a moment when I witnessed two teenagers together in a silent disco*. They danced intimately and then something exploded between them and they fought while everyone else kept moving to their own beat.

"At the heart of the play is a story of first love and the struggles that young people have making meaningful relationships when they have never had them modeled."

A note regarding the casting of this production. In the original script (and the subsequent production at Griffin Theatre), Squid and his family were Indigenous. Despite an exhaustive search, New Theatre was unable to find Aboriginal actors for these roles. After discussions with Philpott, who agreed that the play's concerns are universal, we widened the search to include actors of any non-Anglo background. Our cast reflects the diversity of Sydney's community, with the role of Squid and his half-brother played by actors of Asian and Samoan descent, and Philpott is reworking the script to address this.

*Silent disco: an event at which people dance to music that is transmitted through wireless headphones rather than played over a speaker system.

CREATIVE TEAM
Director Johann Walraven
Set & Costume Designer Ester Karuso-Thurn
Lighting Designer Liam O'Keefe
Sound Designer Jessica Dunn
Assistant Director & Choreographer Charlene Blackshaw-Bennett
Production Manager/Stage Manager/Operator Kianah Nelson

CAST
Deborah Galanos, Badaidilaga Maftuh-Flynn, Natasha McNamara, Brendan Miles, Tom Misa, Gemma Scoble

SEASON
22 March - 14 April

PERFORMANCE TIMES
Preview Thu 22 March 7:30pm
Opening Night Sat 24 March 7:30pm
Thu - Sat 7:30pm, Sun 5pm
Sat 14 Apr 2pm only
(no performances Fri 23 & Fri 30 March)

TICKETS
$35 full,
$30 concessions & groups (6+)
$20 previews & Thrifty Thursdays

BOOKINGS
newtheatre.org.au

Photo Credit: Lisa A/Shutterstock

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