Sydney Theatre Company and State Theatre Company of South Australia present
Machu Picchu
By Sue Smith
3 March to 9 April 2016. Opening Night: Tuesday 8 March 2016 at 8.00pm
Wharf 1 Theatre, The Wharf, Pier 4/5 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
One of Australia’s most popular screen and theatre actors, Lisa McCune, returns to Sydney Theatre Company for the first time in a decade, in Machu Picchu, a new play by Australian playwright Sue Smith. Directed by Geordie Brookman, with design by Jonathan Oxlade, the cast also features Darren Gilshenan, Elena Carapetis and Annabel Matheson. STC's co-production with State Theatre Company of South Australia begins a Sydney run on 8 March, followed by a season in Adelaide beginning on 13 April.
The theatrically rich, bluntly human and wickedly humorous Machu Picchu follows Paul (Gilshenan) and Gabby (McCune), two mid-life civil engineers who seem to have it all. After a deeply shocking event, they must re-learn how to approach the way they live their lives. Both are forced to reassess priorities and re-evaluate long held dreams. Exploring mindfulness, altruism and the challenge of staying true to oneself, Machu Picchu slips back and forth over the history of an ordinary – and extraordinary – love story. It’s a celebration of courage that explodes the belief that bad things only happen to other people.
In a career spanning 30 years, Sue Smith has written everything from The Young Doctors and Sons and Daughters to The Leaving of Liverpool and Brides of Christ (both co-written with John Alsop). She has won AWGIE awards for The Road from Coorain and Mabo, which also won the 2012 Queensland Literary Award. Aside from her numerous television credits she also penned the feature film Peaches starring Hugo Weaving and Jacqueline McKenzie. Smith's play Kryptonite premiered in STC's Wharf 1 Theatre in 2014, another co-production with State Theatre Company of South Australia.
Cast: Elena Carapetis, Darren Gilshenan, Luke Joslin, Annabel Matheson, Lisa McCune, Renato Musolino
Director: Geordie Brookman. Designer: Jonathon Oxlade. Lighting Designer: Nigel Levings. Composer: Alan John. Sound Designer: Andrew Howard
Box Office: 02 9250 1777. www.sydneytheatre.com.au. Tickets from $64 (fees apply)
Suncorp Twenties (tickets for just $20 for every performance by STC) become available for Machu Picchu from Tuesday 23 February. Suncorp Twenties are released for sale every Tuesday at 9am for the following week’s performances (Monday to Saturday).
Insight Events:
Pre-season Briefing: Monday 29 Feb, 6.15pm, Wharf 2 Theatre
Audi Night with the Actors: Monday 14 March and Monday 28 March post-show.
For further information: Katherine Stevenson (02 9250 1705 kstevenson@sydneytheatre.com.au) or Tim McKeough (02 9250 1703 tmckeough@sydneytheatre.com.au)
#stcmachupicchu
