Tag Archives: Nathaniel Dean

Gwen in Purgatory @ Roundhouse Theatre, Brisbane 30 Sept-24 Oct 2010

  “I’ve used the oven manual for the air conditioner and I’m roasting myself alive!”

Tommy Murphy is one of Australia’s most impressive playwrights: canny, dangerous and very funny. His plays include Holding the Man, one of the great success stories of recent Australian theatre with a very successful season in London’s West End earlier this year.

We’re thrilled to be co-producing his terrific new play with the legendary Company B Belvoir, directed by Australia’s finest director, Neil Armfield. Neil is fresh from his Broadway triumph with Exit the King, which starred Queensland’s Geoffrey Rush.

Gwen is 90. She woke up to discover that purgatory is sitting in a new house in a new subdivision, trying to work out if the remote in her hand operates the TV, the air-con or the fan-forced oven. As she muddles her way through the baffling technology, her family gathers around to battle over what’s going to happen next. Father Ezekiel is on his way to bless the house, so things are looking up…

“Full of laughs but also extremely emotional, Gwen In Purgatory is the best play to hit a Sydney stage this year.” The Daily Telegraph

“9/10…Melissa Jaffer is hilarious as Gwen, a feisty senior citizen with selective hearing and prone to misunderstandings, both real and deliberate. The comedy is truly Australian, pitched close to vintage ABC sitcom Mother and Son…Highly recommended” Sun-Herald

“Gwen is the story, I suspect, of every family. Or is it just mine?…Funny, very funny…I can’t think of another playwright who’s a keener, more insightful observer of Australian suburban life, let alone one who can document it so redolently…Gwen In Purgatory is a play for and about all of us. It is warm, funny, sad, tragic, poignant, moving and unsettling. Just like our lives. Life on the page, or stage, doesn’t get any better than this. This is the (very) real deal. A+” – Curtain Call

“Neil Armfield’s production is just about perfect, and exceptionally well cast. Melissa Jaffer combines radiance and dodderiness as Gwen. The bemused and homesick Nigerian priest Ezekiel (Pacharo Mzembe) and Gwen’s knockabout grandson, Daniel (Nathaniel Dean), are warmly drawn. Grant Dodwell is spot-on appalling as Gwen’s son, Laurie, and Sue Ingleton exhibits brilliant timing as the self-flagellating Peg.” Sydney Morning Herald

Production Credits
Director | Neil Armfield
Set Designer | Stephen Curtis
Costume Designer | Bruce McKinven
Lighting Designer | David Walters
Sound Designer | Paul Charlier
Assistant Director | Cristabel Sved

With | Grant Dodwell, Nathaniel Dean, Sue Ingleton, Melissa Jaffer and Pacharo Mzembe

Venue
Roundhouse Theatre, 6 – 8 Musk Avenue,
Kelvin Grove Urban Village

PERFORMANCE DATES
Preview 29 September
Opening Night 30 September
Season 30 September – 24 October
After Show Discussion Night 8 October

PERFORMANCE TIMES
Tuesday – Wednesday 6.30pm
Thursday – Saturday 7.30pm
Sunday 5pm
Matinees 11am 5, 12 & 19 October
2pm Saturday 23 October

DURATION
1 hour 45 mins, no interval

TICKETS
Preview $25
Opening Night $63 (includes VIP party)
Full Price $46
Concession $39
30 years and under $26
Group discounts $40 for 5+ (excludes group booking fee)

Phone bookings (07) 3007 8600

For Full details, visit La Boite Theatre Company