Cirrus@Austlit

'“...cause Cupid is Venus' son and arrows fucking hurt...”

'Venus and Adonis, a brand-new work written and directed by Damien Ryan, tells the story of Will Shakespeare’s rival - a poet hidden in history - hers is an extraordinary story.

'The Bard told that story in secret, borrowed her life, her love, and even her words. Her name is Aemilia Lanyer. It’s time for her to speak for herself!

'Unlock one of the greatest mysteries of Shakespearean literature.

'Venus and Adonis – funny, dirty, dazzling– with a superb ensemble cast and a brilliant script. Released as a feature film in 2020 and finally making its world premiere in the theatre, this play hurls us into history's most influential masterpiece of love, copiousness, and copulation.

'Written and Directed by Damien Ryan whose previous two adaptations Cyrano de Bergerac and Antigone both won Sydney Theatre Awards for best production and were published to acclaim by Currency Press. It’s a passionate howl on behalf of storytellers everywhere, Venus and Adonis is Sport for Jove at its best. 

'If you loved Shakespeare in Love, you won’t want to miss this experience.

'It is about the need to love, the right to speak, and the power of the printed word.' (Production summary)

'SFJ’s winter season brings an exciting venture for the many thousands who heard or read about, but haven’t yet seen our acclaimed production of Cyrano de Bergerac, winner of the 2013 Sydney Theatre Award for Best Independent Production. One of the world’s most original and finely crafted romantic comedies; the tale of the beautiful Roxane and the man who would love her, but for his outrageous nose – the play that brought the word ‘panache’ into the English language! Cyrano is a complete theatrical masterpiece.
 

'We are thrilled to announce that off the back of the huge success of Antigone and Of Mice of Men, Canberra Theatre Centre and Illawarra Performing Arts Centre have bought Cyrano for their 2017 seasons and we will bring this exceptional show back for a 2 week run on the big York Theatre stage at the Seymour Centre in June before going on the road. Damien Ryan’s new adaptation of the play won enormous acclaim in 2013 and we are thrilled to bring it to new Australian audiences.
 

CYRANO:
You see it, but you’ll never have this plume,
It soars above the battle’s mud and ash,
It stays with me, one thing…
ROXANE: (kissing him)
            …this!
CYRANO:
                MY PANACHE!

'Cyrano’s ideas and concerns are simply and profoundly human – what does individualism mean and how do we remain faithful to what we believe in? What is love and how do we get past its clichés and false ideals? How does self-esteem define us all our lives? What is beauty? What drives male aggression? What is courage? And for Rostand, it was a passionate condemnation and plea for a France that he felt was losing its soul, its romance and its creativity to return to a more enlightened, brave and individual sense of its identity – its panache.' (Production summary)

'HOW DO THE UNWRITTEN LAWS OF PERSONAL CONSCIENCE SURVIVE WHEN SET AGAINST THE LAWS OF A SOCIETY AND A NATION?

'Antigone is a child of war, like too many in our world. She asked a simple question thousands of years ago that remains too difficult for us to answer even to this day, as so many recent events have demonstrated. What do we do with the body of a terrorist, a murderer, who has brought destruction, death and horror to our community when that terrorist is our brother. Our own flesh and blood?

'Like Hamlet, Joan of Arc, Galileo and Sir Thomas More, Antigone inspires us with her courage, fortitude and impenetrable strength of conscience. But her excess of feeling and fundamentalist zeal are hard to reconcile in a world crying out for unity, order and the rule of law in a time of chaos. Her uncle, Creon, selflessly places his state above the welfare of his family, pursuing a principle with the sort of consistency of will that we cry out for in politicians who so often stand for nothing. Where is justice between these extremes? Antigone stands against the monolith and brings her society to a reckoning it sorely needs.' (Production summary)

'Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, is a child of war. Thousands of years ago she asked a question: What do we do with the body of the enemy, when this enemy is our brother? Damien Ryan’s new adaptation of Sophocles’ classic takes the conflicts of ancient Thebes and wrenches them passionately into the present. This story of war and its aftermath is a powerful yet vulnerable allegory about one of history’s most famous families. Sport for Jove’s production of Antigone won seven Sydney Theatre Awards in 2016.'

'Cyrano de Bergerac is convinced that his outrageously-sized nose will forever stop him from being loved by Roxane, his intellectual and beautiful friend. But Roxane is in love—with Christian, a handsome yet inarticulate soldier in Cyrano’s regiment. Together, Christian and Cyrano make a flawless human. Edmond Rostand’s original 1890s tragicomic French masterpiece is the unique romance that brought the word ‘panache’ into the English language. This new adaptation by Damien Ryan brings the action forward to WWI, where Cyrano is a war poet like no other. Sport for Jove’s production of Cyrano de Bergerac won three Sydney Theatre Awards in 2013.' (Publication summaries)