Sydney Theatre Company Announces Power Plays Events

A quintet of Australia's finest playwrights have been commissioned by Sydney Theatre Company to create a collection of five short plays themed around 'power'. The result is Power Plays, a theatrical smorgasbord of flavours cooked up by Melissa Bubnic, Michele Lee, Nakkiah Lui, HAnnie Rayson and Debra Thomas. The degustation is served up at STC's Wharf 2 from 17 September to 15 October 2016.

Directed by STC's Richard Wherrett Fellow Paige Rattray (Boys will be boys), in different ways each chapter explores who really has clout and asks how does authority affect identity, survival, love, hate and sex? Actors Ursula Yovich (The Golden Age) Vanessa Downing (Pygmalion) Steve Rodgers (Dance Better at Parties), Anthony Gee (Wolverine) and Michelle Lim Davidson (ABC TV's Utopia) bring this writers' showcase to life.

Melissa Bubnic's instalment is an epic free-form exploration of consumerism today and where our 'stuff' comes from. It gives voice to the internal conflict of a woman whose insatiable desire for a designer handbag, cannot be quenched.

Set in the very small waiting area for a current affairs panel show, The Green Room by Nakkiah Lui is a satire bordering on farce, examining the toxic relationship between the media and our political leaders. When the host has a crisis of identity and the top billing guest has gone missing, the producer is forced to go to extreme lengths to ensure that the show goes on.

Michele Lee's play dramatises the plight of a single mother on minimum wage who has incurred a crippling $35K debt to Centrelink. Her only chance to avoid jail is to convince the Minister for Social Services to waive it. Big hearted and gently funny, this is a play about female connection bridging class and power imbalance.

HAnnie Rayson's micro social satire is an exploration of legacy and entitlement, which takes place at a glittering occasion where three adult children discover their inheritance has been blown on six wind turbines.

Debra Thomas' piece is viciously funny in its exploration of the power of social media and using your words as weapons. When Clarke Statham, the Minister for Women, attempts to seduce an innocent young fan, he underestimates her interest in him.

Cast: Vanessa Downing, Anthony Gee, Michelle Lim Davidson, Steve Rodgers, Ursula Yovich

Director: Paige Rattray. Designer: David Fleischer. Lighting Designer: Ross Graham. Composer & Sound Designer: Steve Toulmin.

Box Office: 02 9250 1777. www.sydneytheatre.com.au.

Single Tickets:
A Reserve $39, B Reserve $30, Previews $35. Transaction fees may apply.

Suncorp Twenties (tickets for just $20 for every performance by STC) become available for The Wharf Revue from Thursday 8 September. Suncorp Twenties are released for sale every Thursday for the following week's performances (Monday to Saturday).

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