The glorious play, Neighbourhood Watch by Lally Katz,is getting a long-overdue airing at the New Theatre in downtown Newtown.
“Many people will want to kill you. Better you is ready.”
Ana is a battle-hardened Hungarian-Australian veteran of the twentieth century. Catherine is her neighbour: a 20-something aspiring actress waiting for a better world. As their unlikely odd-couple friendship develops, Catherine’s life is transformed by Ana’s stories of the traumas of war, the desolation of the refugee experience, and the struggle of settling in a foreign land.
In turn, Ana is granted one last great friendship at a time when the journey to her life’s end was looking to be a lonely one. This glorious comedy about hope, death, and pets, takes on a sense of enormity in the midst of the ordinary, questioning whether we really know what’s out there in the ‘burbs.’
New Theatre’s Artistic Director, Louis Fischer, has taken over the directorial reins, and the set is being designed by New Theatre stalwart Tom Bannerman. Other members of the team include lighting designer Mehran Mortezaei (Pygmalion, My Night with Reg), costume designer Claudia Lafoy making her New Theatre debut, and sound designer Patrick Eades (The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Pygmalion).
Heading the cast as ‘Ana’ is Colleen Cook (Pygmalion, The Clean House) and opposite her as ‘Catherine’ is Kelly Robinson, most recently seen at New Theatre in The Angry Brigade last year. They are joined by a large ensemble cast of both New Theatre veterans and debutantes.
CREATIVE TEAM
Cast Cathy Bates, Colleen Cook, Joshua Horwitz, Susan Jordan,
Stephen Lloyd-Coombs, Eloise Martin-Jones, Kelly Robinson,
Harry Taylor, John Van Putten, Caitlin Williams, Tricia Youlden
Remount Director Louise Fischer
Remount Set Designer Tom Bannerman
Lighting Designer Mehran Mortezaei
Costume Designer Claudia Lafoy
Sound Designer Patrick Eades
Assistant Director Victoria Lewis
Production Manager Madeleine Picard
Stage Manager Rosane McNamara
Operators Ole Borch, Ricci Costa
Original Production Director Trudy Ritchie
Original Production Set Designers Sophie Lanigan and Max Volfneuk
SEASON
8 September – 3 October
PERFORMANCE TIMES
Thur – Sat 7:30pm
Sun 5pm
Final performance Sat 3 October 2pm
TICKET PRICES
Full $35
Concessions, Groups (6+) $30
Preview, Thrifty Thursdays $20
EVENT
https://newtheatre.org.au/neighbourhood-watch/
BOOKINGS
https://newtheatre.org.au/tickets/
Top photo: Colleen Cook as Ana + Kelly Robinson as Catherine
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