A hilarious and heart-breaking new play, Occasional Combustible Disaster will lead an explosive UpStage Season at Newcastle’s Civic Theatre Playhouse as a red hot team of creatives come together to examine the fallout inevitable in all nuclear families.
Developed with assistance from Riverside’s National Theatre of Parramatta and having an initial presentation as part of QTOPIA’s inaugural season, Occasional Combustible Disaster, is a debut outing for Medowie born and bred playwright and producer Daniel Cottier (they/them) who has spent the majority of their career behind the curtain.
Cottier has penned a touching look at the perfect small town family and what happens when mental health and gender diversity grow into a new generation. “I wrote this play for folks who feel out of place in the spaces that they grew up in. It’s about returning to a place that formed you and attempting to do your part to make it a little better,” said Cottier.
The story follows Freddy Ambit, who has been told over and over that he has his whole life ahead of him. In two days he finishes his HSC and turns 18, but before that he needs to make a choice: turn himself over to the police to be tried as a minor or live with the guilt of a deadly secret for the rest of his life.
The surprise return of his non-binary sibling and the constant bickering of his mother and father about schoolies, bananas and Lapland can’t distract Freddy from the searing hot fuse burning down in his mind.
Up and coming star Nicholas Cradock (he/him) returns to the role of Freddy off the back of starring in the Emmy award winning ABC series Hardball.
Cradock is no stranger to the theatre lights having been in mainstage productions of Les Misérables and Dream Lover. It is truly exciting to have such a talented young person leading the show, he really is one of a kind and audiences will no doubt be blown away.
After an impressive turn as Scorpius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Nyx Calder (they/them) makes their Newcastle debut in the role of Liv, Freddy’s non-binary sibling.
The cast is rounded out by Novocastrian Richard Hilliar and Hester van der Vyver as Jim and Beth, Freddy’s parents who are about to embark on a new adventure once their nest is empty after 25 years of marriage.
This production marks the directorial debut of Sydney Theatre Award winner BROCKMAN (they/them) who will be leading an exciting creative team of queer and non-binary artists and technicians.
“… a wonderfully ambitious debut work from work from talented emerging playwright Daniel Cottier” – Australian Arts Review
Occasional Combustible Disaster
The Playhouse – Civic Theatre, The Playhouse, Newcastle
Season: 12 – 21 March 2026
Information and Bookings: www.civictheatrenewcastle.com.au
Image: Nicholas Cradock and Nyx Calder in Occasional Combustible Disaster – photo by Phil Erbacher