The Ash Girl

So I have a few friends in an upcoming Harbour Theatre production called 

The Ash Girl. 

First, there's Nicole Miller, she portrays the Ash Girl or Ashie. Nicole is a very talented make-up artist but this time she's not standing behind stage, making sure people look old when they're supposed to and not shiny when they're not supposed to. No! Nicole is putting all her charm and vulnerability on the stage. I can't wait to see her awesome performance as The Ash Girl! Everyone who's seen a preview is seriously impressed!

Then we meet Teigan Isobel (credited as Teigan Downing, just to confuse you, Harbour likes to disregard actors' stage names) as Gluttontoad. I can assure you that Teigan is anything but gluttonous or toad-like. I met Teigan on a set shooting a party scene for a feature film. Unlike the complaining and sour-faced Molly Kerr, Teigan was jolly and enthusiastic and friendly through the entire shoot. I'm sure that the Harbour cast and crew have had just as much of a hoot working with her on stage!

And speaking of a 'hoot'... the man playing Owl is the one and only Trevor Dhu! I played alongside Trevor in Jane Eyre and Trevor directed me in The 39 Steps and I got to watch two of his wonderful perfomances. One was as Bondi Bitch in Ladies Down Under, directed by Peter Kirkwood and the other was at the Melville, Life After George, where he played the title character's best friend and the confidante of the lovely ladies he left behind. This is something that carries into reality, as Trevor always has everyone's back.

If these local legends fail to whet your appetite for theatre, maybe this media release will... :D

THE ASH GIRL

By TIMBERLAKE WERTENBAKER 

Directed by Nicola Bond and Peter Kirkwood

Enter a world of mythical proportions with a Fairy in the Mirror, a handsome Prince, brave field mice, and a stepmother with only the best of intentions. Olivier and New York drama Critic’s Award winner, British playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker has written an expansive adaptation of the Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella. This exciting Australian Premiere production that is Harbour Theatre’s final season for 2012, is being brought to life by the award winning directorial team of Peter Kirkwood and Nicola Bond whose previous directing credits include the Harbour Theatre smash hits Ladies Day & Ladies Down Under, Oliver Twist, Sleeping Beauty, Dracula, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights to name but a few.

The story of Cinderella has never been so strongly conceived! The Ash Girl is a rich folk tale with hints of allegory, myth and fantasy. There’s still a slipper, a Prince and a wish-granting Fairy, but the journey to the Royal Ball is fraught with danger. Only when she finds the strength to confront the monsters lurking in the forest—and in her heart—will Ash Girl regain her missing happiness.

Best director award winner Kirkwood and Bond say “The monsters that The Ash Girl must confront in order to find happiness are those which lurk inside all of us and these days particularly young people making this story a fable for our times.” 

Nicole Miller (from South Fremantle) is delighted to have been chosen to play the part of The Ash Girl from over 40 auditionees and states “The Ash Girl is a complex character with many of the challenges that Ashie has faced in the past and continues to face, so applicable to young people of today. This role is very different to the Good Fairy that I portrayed in Sleeping Beauty for Harbour Theatre in 2008 and is very exciting for me. Over the past few years I have qualified as a Make-up artist and have therefore been behind the scenes for a lot of Harbour’s productions. This time I can put away my greasepaint and brushes and enjoy being on stage.”

Bond and Kirkwood add “The cast of over twenty people that we have selected have embraced all facets of this complex production with enthusiasm and commitment. They bring to life the humour and the dark realities of this rich fairy story with huge amounts of talent and energy. This is a show not to be missed”.

The Ash Girl plays at Harbour Theatre on November 30th, December 1st, 5th, 7th, 8th, 12th, 14th & 15th @ 8.00pm with matinees on Sunday December 2nd and 9th @ 2.00pm.

Bookings through Ticketek – www.ticketek.com.au $24.50 full, $22.50 concession and $19.50 f./T Student and child < 15. Members bookings 9433 6260 or email tickets@harbourtheatre.org.au

For further information on this and other Harbour Theatre productions as well as membership enquiries visit www.harbourtheatre.org.au

2013 in Harbour Theatre’s 50th anniversary of entertaining the community – if you want to find out how to be a part of this important milestone visit our website.

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Bronte's classic story of love and betrayal, adapted by Robert Johanson. Directed by Nicola Bond and choreography by Peter Kirkwood.

SHOW DATES:
December 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 9th, 10th, 14th, 16th, 17th @ 7:30pm
December 4th & 11th @ 1:30pm

You should know the synopsis, if not: pick up a book (or google it) but this is a taste of what to expect in our production.

Madelaine Page plays a passionate and rebellious young Jane Eyre while Kathryn Riordan plays the measured but restless older Jane Eyre. Although both the actresses are roughly the same age, their height difference and Madelaine's fantastic ability to make herself seem juvenile, creates the illusion of the one young lady at different times of her life. So far these beautiful (good luck finding a genuine plain Jane in our cast) and talented women have demonstrated a lot more dexterity in their accents than me! Despite their very different characters they are still able to give the impression of continuity through their performances, which is very important for this type of production. They have so so so very many lines to learn and have them almost all down, with no complaint or excuses! I have been amazed at the dedication to this production that they have shown, among all their other commitments!

The rest of the cast is HUGE and there are so many characters that I will be up till morning introducing them all but some of the names you might be looking out for are below, including the tall, dark and perfectly sardonic Mr. Rochester, portrayed by the tall, fair and perfectly amicable Mr. Kenworthy! Just wait for him to say "boite!" It's actually my favourite word in the whole play because he says it so scornfully! Vickie Billingham plays Mrs. Reed and Mrs. Fairfax and she has no issue with distinguishing between her characters. She is such a beautiful woman to look at any way but when she is performing it is impossible to look away. Carmen Miles plays a deliciously nasty and haughty Blanche Ingram. Carmen Giadresco portrays Lady Ingram and, like mother, like daughter! Their disdainful and pompous presentation is delightful to watch! Mr. Brocklehurst is made properly unlikeable by Sam Holland who is actually very likeable and by the way, a very talented opera singer! When he is giving his scathing lecture to the Lowood schoolgirls, you can tell! Miss Temple and Rosamund Oliver are both played by Jessica Rawnsley. While they are both sweet and very likeable characters, Jessica has been able to separate them by their character motivations and interpersonal relationships. St. John has the honour of being portrayed by the great and very talented Christopher Lucani! That's right! The man that brought you the faithless and fumbling Bill in Perfect Wedding is now bringing you the fastidious and faithful St. John! He does a lovely Northern accent and somehow makes being a puritanical Christian missionary an admirable ambition. However, expect to laugh out loud at his attempts to woo the object of his... er... well, not desire, exactly. And hiding in the wings, ready to create a bloodbath or set fire to the auditorium in one fell swoop, is the crazy and sickly Bertha Rochester nee Mason, portrayed gleefully by Jo Sterkenburg!

Bookings are through BOCS 9484 1133
or through the members booking line 9433 6260
or through the Harbour Theatre email address, find it on the website (google it)!

The address (the physical one that is part of the Fremantle landscape, not the virtual one on the web) is:
70 Adelaide Street,
FREMANTLE