PLAYLAB'S WA SYLLABUS SUGGESTIONS 2022

UNIT 3: YEAR 12 PART 1 (REINTERPRETATION OF DRAMA FOR CONTEMPORARY AUDIENCE)

The following list of plays has been curated by Playlab Theatre staff in order to provide an extended list of plays suitable for study in Unit 3: Year 12 Part 1 (Reinterpretation of Drama for contemporary audience). Each of the following titles is a re-imaging, adaptation, or transformation of a classical piece of theatre that has been re-contextualised for a contemporary audience. The following titles have been adapted from a range of theatrical traditions and challenge meaning by reshaping the work though different modern performance styles and practices.


From Darkness

by Steven Oliver

THEMES: Spirituality, Family, Grieving
LENGTH: 70 minutes
CAST SIZE: 5

CHARACTER AGES: 16–50+
SUITABLE FOR:
Senior Years & Adults

Steven Oliver's From Darkness is a gripping, darkly funny drama about a spiritual force and a family's need to connect with it.
SYNOPSIS
It’... Read more

The Holidays

by David Megarrity

THEMES: Family, Memory, Intergenerational Relationships
LENGTH: 80 minutes
CAST SIZE: 3

CHARACTER AGES: 10–40s+
SUITABLE FOR:
Middle Years

David Megarrity's The Holidays is a touching portrait of memory and connection.
SYNOPSIS
The Holidays are on holiday: 12-year-old Oliver has been pulled out of school ... Read more

Magpie

by Elise Greig

LANGUAGE: English and Romani
THEMES:
Cultural heritage, Intergenerational trauma, Immigration
LENGTH: 1.5 Hours
CAST SIZE: 4
SUITABLE FOR:
Senior Years & Adults

Elise Greig's Magpie is a coming-of-age story that charts its way through generations of sorrow and blame, to ultimately reconnect with the past and embrace cultural upbringing and ... 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: Senior Years & 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

A Doll’s House

by Henrik Ibsen in a new version by Lally Katz

THEMES: Women’s Liberation, Misogyny, Freedom
CHARACTER AGES: 18+
LENGTH: 150 Minutes
CAST SIZE: 5 – 6 Cast Members
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years


Lally Katz' new version of A Doll's House rises to the occasion to tell a story that's still ... Read more

Cinderella

by Matthew Whittet

THIS IS A DIGITAL PUBLICATION


THEMES: Love, Identity, Comedy
LENGTH: 90 Minutes
CHARACTER AGES: 30s
CAST SIZE: 2
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years & Adults


Matthew Whittet's Cinderella is a heartfelt fairy tale for adults about ... Read more

Medea

by Kate Mulvany and Anne-Louise Sarks after Euripides

THEMES: Childhood, Innocence, Motherhood
CHARACTER AGES: 10 – 13 & 30+
LENGTH: 1.5 Hours
SUITABLE FOR: Adult
CAST SIZE: 3 – 4 Cast Members

SYNOPSIS: Two young children play games to distract themselves whilst their parents have a very famous showdown. As the dispute escalates the children are drawn away from their ... Read more

Medea

by Suzie Miller

THEMES: Love, Passion and Revenge
LENGTH: 120 Minutes
CHARACTER AGES: 18+
CAST SIZE: 4
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years & Adult


Suzie Miller's Medea takes on Euripides infamous tale of a woman ... Read more

Lysa and the Freeborn Dames

by Claire Christian

THIS IS A DIGITAL PUBLICATION


THEMES: Feminism, Politics, Activism
LENGTH: 90 Minutes
CHARACTER AGES: 18+
CAST SIZE: 10
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years & Adults


Claire Christian's Lysa and the Freeborn Dames addresses ideas of legacy, ... Read more

A Re-imagining of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler

by Melissa Bubnic

THIS IS A DIGITAL PUBLICATION


THEMES: Love, Passion and Revenge
LENGTH: 90 Minutes
CHARACTER AGES: 30s
CAST SIZE: 7
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years


Hedda Gabler is railing against her life. She didn’t marry bogan drug slinger George Tesman so she could play housewife in a monstrous Gold Coast mansion ... Read more

Antigone

by Merlynn Tong after Sophocles

THEMES: Power, Family, Activism 
LENGTH:
70 minutes
CAST SIZE: 5
CHARACTER AGES: 16–50
SUITABLE FOR:
Senior Years & Adults


Merlynn Tong's Antigone is a lyrical adaptation of Sophocles' timeless tragedy, with a modern twist.
SYNOPSIS
... Read more

The Fledglings

by Maxine Mellor

THEMES: Dreams and Desires, Disappointment, Generational Battles
LENGTH: 1 Hour
CAST SIZE: Large cast without doubling
CHARACTER AGES:
≤50
SUITABLE FOR: 
Middle & Senior Years

The Fledglings by Maxine Mellor is published alongside Good Grief by Merlynn Tong in a collection. SYNOPSIS: The Fledglings ... Read more

Awakening

by Daniel Lammin

THIS IS A DIGITAL PUBLICATION


THEMES: Youth, Mental Illness, LGBTQIA+, Sexuality, Violence
LENGTH: 90 Minutes
CHARACTER AGES: 13–50s
CAST SIZE: 6–10
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years and Adults

Daniel Lammin'Awakening honours the legacy of Frank Wedekind’s masterpiece Spring ... Read more