Exploring an hour in the lives of members of one family, four generations apart, Pentimento Productions present two of award-winning Sven Swenson’s best loved works, Heavenly Bodies & Beautiful Souls at the Brisbane Powerhouse from 18 November 2015.
Heavenly Bodies brings us Cutty Cutler who is deeply in love with his wife, Ruby. His arrival at a bordello in Singapore, 1942, has nothing to do with being untrue to her. He simply wants some female company in a life expected to be cut short. Laidie, who he meets there, turns out to be the most surprising person he’s ever met.
Cutty Cutler is arguably the most beloved character of the Sundial Plays; he embodies the best qualities of Australian masculinity his entire life, with his impact revealed over seven powerful works.
“In Tiptoe we actually witness Cutty Cutler’s conception,” says Sven Swenson. “In 1942 he is a young, expectant father himself, a soldier like his much-mourned uncle who haunted the stage in Tiptoe. Cutty’s daughter Rose becomes an unorthodox mother to her teenage son Kevin in The Bitterling [Matilda Award – Best New Australian Work, La Boite Indie, 2010.] Beautiful Souls tells us the story of Kevin’s two sons, David and Justin Cutler.”
David Cutler’s primary job during his trip to Asia was to take good care of his intellectually disabled brother, Justin. Bethany is a dare-devil. She has always looked for and found ways to subvert the middle-class sensibilities of her conservative up-bringing. She challenges herself to show courage and strength and never to shrink from a truth or dare.
Now, as the three fellow-travellers await execution in a Thai prison for drug-smuggling, their need to come to terms with one another and themselves, is a race against time. In a time where both drugs and war bring crucial challenges to our unfolding identity as a nation, these two works will live long in the memory, asking us to remember the humanity and the importance of those closest to us.
Dubbed ‘The Bard of Brisbane’, Sven Swenson’s work has garnered seven Matilda Awards and has been performed throughout Australia as well as seasons of Beautiful Souls in New York and Los Angeles. His epic play Road to the She-Devil’s Salon won the inaugural Queensland Premier’s Drama Award and The Bitterling was a finalist for the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards. He is currently writing three new Sundial Plays titled Billy Daylight, Hellfire Pass and The Living Legend of Chaing Mai.
Directors: James Trigg & Sven Swenson Cast: Regan Lynch, Sam Ryan, Peter Norton, Casey Woods, Zachary Boulton Design: Ray Milner Lighting Design: Matt Milne Sound Design: Ryan Mahony Music: Peter Crees & Sven Swenson Producer: Ro Taylor
Heavenly Bodies / Beautiful Souls
Visy Theatre – Brisbane Powerhouse, 119 Lamington Street, New Farm
Season: 18 – 28 November 2015
Bookings: (07) 3358 8600 or online at: www.brisbanepowerhouse.org
For more information, visit: www.pentimento.org.au for details.
Image: by Sean Dowling