Examining love, family dysfunction and making the best of shitty situations, New Theatre presents Suzie Miller’s Sunset Strip for a limited season from 9 July 2024.
How far will you go in the name of family? Sisters Caroline and Phoebe have charted very different courses in their lives. While one escaped their hometown, the struggling holiday hamlet of Sunset Strip, for a high-lying legal career, the other has stayed, caring for their aging father and battling her own demons.
Now Caroline has returned, recovering from chemotherapy, to find the ever-optimistic Phoebe newly in love and determined to make life fabulous, despite dad’s decline into dementia.
From Olivier Award-winning Australian playwright Suzie Miller (Prima Facie, RBG: Of Many, One) comes this heart-warming examination of family love, and surviving the worst that life dishes up up with humour and resilience. In the end, there’s always hope!
New Theatre is delighted to welcome director Annette van Roden to helm her first production here, and also making their New Theatre debuts are the cast of four: Shane Davidson, Molly Haddon, Vincent Melton and Erica Nelson, lighting designer Casey Moon-Watton, sound designer Jay Murrin and stage manager Radhika Lal.
“As soon as I began to read the script, I wanted to breathe life into Suzie Miller’s beautiful world and immerse myself and the actors in each character’s life,” said director Annette van Roden. “I love the way all of the characters show strength through vulnerability.
“People cope with life’s traumas in different ways, and this play explores those differences without judgement. While the themes canvassed may seem ‘heavy’ – addiction, cancer, dementia, grief – the way they are handled is delicate and humane and often very funny.”
“These are issues that will have touched most people’s lives but we often find hard to talk about. This play creates a touchstone to start thinking about having the difficult conversations.”
“I’m excited to bring this play to New Theatre’s stage because it’s an intimate space that allows for great flexibility in staging and the team is wonderfully supportive,” said Annette.
“Tenderly gripping and frequently funny” – Sydney Morning Herald
Director & Set Designer: Annette van Roden | Featuring: Shane Davidson, Molly Haddon, Vincent Melton, Erica Nelson | Lighting Designer: Casey Moon-Watton | Sound Designer: Jay Murrin | Assistant Director: Martin Kelly | Stage Manager: Radhika Lal
Sunset Strip
New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown
Season: 10 July – 3 August 2024 (preview: 9 July)
Information and Bookings: www.newtheatre.org.au
Image: Seleznov Oleksandr | Shutterstock