PLAYLAB'S NSW SYLLABUS SUGGESTIONS 2021
TOPIC 6: BLACK COMEDY
The following list has been assembled by Playlab in order to provide an extended list of plays suitable for study in Topic 6: Black Comedy. In order to assist educators and students explore modern comic plays that deal with what is often uncomfortable or suppressed. The following list of plays uses humour to explore topics that are often considered controversial or taboo. Each of the titles employ humour and other comedic conventions, techniques, forms and styles in different ways in order to delve into various subjects often suppressed such as; mental illness, grief and tragedy, domestic abuse, and systematic suppression of facts.
New addition to the current curriculum suggestions: SQUAD GOALS by Alexander Bayliss
Squad Goals
by Alexander Bayliss
THEMES: Competition, Ambition, Trust
CHARACTER AGES: 16–17
CAST SIZE: 5 – 6 Cast Members
LENGTH: 1 Hour
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years, Adult
The Dead Devils of Cockle Creek
by Kathryn Marquet
THEMES: Environmentalism, Ideology, Compromise
LENGTH: 1.5 Hours
CAST SIZE: 3 – 4 Cast Members
TARGET AUDIENCE: Adult
Oedipus Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
by Daniel Evans
THEMES: Family, Community, Tragedy, Loss
CHARACTER AGES: 18-40
LENGTH: 1.5 Hours
CAST SIZE: 5 – 6 Cast Members
TARGET AUDIENCE: Adult
Anna Robi And The House Of Dogs
by Maxine Mellor
THEMES: Domestic Australia, Sex, Gender
CAST: 1M, 2F
CHARACTER AGES: 16+
CAST SIZE: 3 – 4 Cast Members
LENGTH: 45 Minutes
SUITABLE FOR: Adults
Anna Robi & the ... Read more 
Girl Who Cried Wolf
by Angela Betzien
THEMES: Difference, Popularity, Celebrity
CHARACTER AGES: 12+
Length: 1 Hour
TARGET AUDIENCE:Middle Years
CAST SIZE: 9+ Cast Members
Behind the Cane
by Michael and Margery Forde
THEMES: Blackbirding, White Australia Policy, Australian South-Sea Islander History and Culture
CHARACTER AGES: 10+
LENGTH: 120 Minutes
CAST SIZE: 9+ Cast Members
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years
In the late 1800s, Australian ships arrived in the South ... Read more 
Lazarus Won`t Get Out of Bed
by David Burton
THEMES: Depression, Relationships, Truth
CHARACTER AGES: 3 Early Twenties, 1 Any Age
LENGTH: 1.5 Hours
TARGET AUDIENCE: Senior Years
CAST SIZE: 3 – 4 Cast Members
The Pineapple Queen
by Norman Price
THEMES: fantasy, Escapism
CHARACTER AGES: 20 – 50
LENGTH: 1.5 Hours
CAST SIZE: 1 – 2 Cast Members
Playlab Indie
TARGET AUDIENCE: Adult
A Tribute of Sorts
by Benjamin Schostakowski
THEMES: Performance, Awkwardness and The Macabre
LENGTH: 90 Minutes
CAST SIZE: 1 – 2 Cast Members
SUITABLE FOR: Adults
Benjamin Schostakowski's A Tribute of Sorts is an artful, dark and funny celebration of theatre itself. Synopsis:Read more
The Pride takes a long hard look at lions. Bruce ...