PLAYLAB'S NSW SYLLABUS SUGGESTIONS 2022

TOPIC 6: BLACK COMEDY

The following list has been assembled by Playlab Theatre 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.

Squad Goals

by Alexander Bayliss

THEMES: Competition, Ambition, Trust
LENGTH: 60 Minutes
CHARACTER AGES: 16–17
CAST SIZE: 5
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years, Adult

Squad Goals by Alexander Bayliss.
SYNOPSIS
Something's wrong with Lily. ... Read more

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

Working out of a small shack in the isolated wilds of south-western Tasmania, George, an environmental scientist, is trying to save the world one Tassie Devil at a time. Since ... Read more

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

What if Oedipus lived next door? What if the whole street knew what he’d been up to with his own mother, because of the word daubed in fluorescent letters ... Read more

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 Robis and the House of Dogs Images 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

Girl Who Cried Wolf is a haunting and darkly humorous play for young people aged 10 years and above. Written by AWGIE - Award - winning writer Angela Betzien, this play ... 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

(Lazarus Won’t Get Out of Bed was first presented by ASTheatre and Metro Arts as part of Metro Art Allies 2009.) Lazarus has been in bed for three ... Read more

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

All she ever wanted was to be crowned the Glasshouse District's Pineapple Queen — wearing a magnificent dress, riding on a float down the main street of Nambour, waving at an ... Read more

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

by Side Pony Productions

THEMES: Inter-generational Tension, Human Behaviour
LENGTH: 60 Minutes
CHARACTER AGES: Various
SUITABLE FOR: Adult
CAST SIZE: 3

The Pride by Side Pony Productions takes a long hard look at lions.
SYNOPSIS
Bruce ... Read more
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