The Audition
Dates
Hours
7.30 pm - 8.35 pm
Duration
Location
The stage is a country in itself. With its own rules and regulations. Or lack of them.
The Audition is a moving insight into the protocols and powers that permit or deny entry into our country and to our stages. The gatekeepers. The Audition examines the parallels between actors auditioning for work and refugees seeking asylum in Australia. A cohesive, multi-authored work by Iranian and Australian playwrights, The Audition honours those whose lives are spent awaiting entry. Contrasting yet cohesive, transformation of character, time and place hauntingly meld with metatheatre, verbatim, poetry and song.
By Outer Urban Projects
Written by Christos Tsiolkas, Melissa Reeves, Milad Norouzi, Patricia Cornelius, Sahra Davoudi, Tes Lyssiotis and Wahibe Moussa. Directed by Irine Vela.
The Audition features Kanun music and improvisations by Vahideh Eisaei and original songs by Milad Norouzi.
"POLITICAL THEATRE AT ITS ELECTRIFYING BEST" ★★★★½ THE AGE
“THE HUMOUR IS DOUBLE EDGED, THE EMOTIONS PIERCING.” STAGE WHISPERS
CREATIVE TEAM
Director and Concept: Irine Vela
Writers: Christos Tsiolkas, Melissa Reeves, Milad Norouzi, Patricia Cornelius, Sahra Davoudi, Tes Lyssiotis and Wahibe Moussa
Cast: Evangelos Arabatzis, Mary Sitarenos, Milad Norouzi, and Sahra Davoudi
Musician: Vahideh Eisaei and Arman Habibi
Dramaturgs: Maryanne Lynch and Irine Vela
Associate Director: Tariro Mavondo
Lighting Designer: Gina Gascoigne
Designer: Adrienne Chisholm
Photos: Darren Gill and Miguel Rios
THE AUDITION BOOKS
Outer Urban Projects will have copies of THE AUDITION - Edited by Tania Cañas and Caroline Wake and Staging Asylum, Again - Edited by Tania Cañas and Caroline Wake available for purchase in Bunjil Place foyer.
THE AUDITION - Edited by Tania Cañas and Caroline Wake - $15.00 + GST
“The work shimmers, mirage-like, between asylum seekers claiming protection and actors preparing to audition, with cognate politics and piercing resonance.”
-CAMERON WOODHEAD | THE AGE
The Audition is a moving insight into the protocols and powers that permit or deny entry into our country and to our stages. The gatekeepers. The Audition examines the parallels between actors auditioning for work and refugees seeking asylum in Australia. A cohesive, multi-authored work by Australian-Iranian artists and immigrants and acclaimed Australian playwrights, The Audition honours those whose lives are spent awaiting entry. Contrasting yet cohesive, transformation of character, time and place hauntingly meld with metatheatre, verbatim, poetry and song. Glowing in the warmth of a low light, a solitary swing hanging over a mound of red sand suggests the landscape of Woomera Detention Centre, symbolising Australia’s harshness. The fourth wall and actor-audience relationship shifts throughout the performance.
Staging Asylum, Again - Edited by Tania Cañas and Caroline Wake $34.99
Introducing Staging Asylum, Again, an anthology that exposes Australia’s mistreatment of people seeking refuge. Building on the success of its predecessor, this collection presents a timely and powerful exploration archive of artistic resistance to one of Australia’s most enduring and unjust policies.
The anthology showcases a diverse range of plays that delve into different facets of seeking asylum. Tribunal, devised and performed by Kaz Therese, Joe Tan, Aunty Rhonda Dixon-Grovenor, Mahdi Mohammadi, Katie Green, Paul Dwyer, and Jawad Yaqoubi, immerses readers in a truth and reconciliation commission, where newly arrived refugees and a First Nations Elder share poignant testimonies. We All Know What’s Happening, conceived by Samara Hersch and Lara Thoms, involves seven young Australians devising a show about the incarceration of refugee children their age. Finally, The Audition, written by Patricia Cornelius, Sahra Davoudi, Tes Lyssiotis, Wahibe Moussa, Milad Norouzi, Melissa Reeves, and Christos Tsiolkas, is a metatheatrical play that draws parallels between an actor’s audition and an asylum seeker’s application for protection. The volume also includes three one-act plays showcased at the 2015 Asylum festival. Noëlle Janaczewska’s Going for Gold, Tania Cañas’ Three Angry Australians, and Georgia Symon’s A Puppet Show for All Ages.
Editors Tania Cañas and Caroline Wake provide an introduction to the volume, along with individual essays about each play. Staging Asylum, Again is a testament to the power of theatre to shed light on injustice and spark dialogue, making it an essential read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Australia’s border policies and their impacts.
Dates
Thursday 6 June 2024
11.00 am - 12.05 pm + Q&A (20 min)
7.30 pm - 8.35 pm
Tickets
Pensioner/Senior/Student FT $26.00
Schools/Community Groups $18.00
Suitable for ages 15+. Any children under the age of 15 years old should be accompanied by an adult.
Content Warning: This work explores the repercussions of war, inferring the violence and trauma experienced by individuals, including children, due to displacement and conflict.
Please note: A Service fee of $3.00 applies to bookings made online and by phone (unless tickets are free of charge). Delivery Fees may also apply.
For general ticketing and box office information (including conditions of sale) see our Ticketing services information page.
For accessibility bookings or other box office inquiries please email [email protected] or phone 03 9709 9700.
Presented in association with Outer Urban Projects
