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y separately published work icon Switzerland single work   drama  
Issue Details: First known date: 2014... 2014 Switzerland
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Following the success of 'Fury' in 2013, playwright Joanna Murray-Smith, director Andrew Upton and actor Sarah Peirse join forces again for a suspenseful new thriller; a fictional postulation of an episode in the life of Patricia Highsmith. The spiky novelist, best known for her creation of the very talented con artist Tom Ripley, receives an unexpected visitor at her home in Switzerland - a young man sent by her publisher with the purpose of extracting one last Ripley novel from her before she dies. Switzerland cunningly explores what happens when the spark of life that a writer puts into a character has the potential to set off a fire and destroy more than it creates.' (Source: http://www.theatrepeople.com.au/newsflash/andrew-upton-announces-sydney-theatre-company%E2%80%99s-2014-season )

Production Details

  • Performed 3 November to 20 December 2014, Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House. Opening: Friday 7 November 2014.

    Director: Andrew Upton.

    Cast including Sarah Peirse.


    Produced by the Queensland Theatre Company, 21 May to 26 June 2016.

    Director: Paige Rattray.

    Cast including Andrea Moor.


    Produced by Melbourne Theatre Company at the Sumner, Southbank Theatre, 28 September to 29 October 2016.

    Director: Sarah Goodes.

    Set and Costume Designer: Michael Scott-Mitchell.

    Lighting Designer: Nick Schlieper.

    Composer and Sound Designer: Steve Francis.

    Cast: Eamon Farren and Sarah Peirse.


    Produced by Black Swan Theatre Company at the Heath Ledger Theatre, 19 August to 3 September 2017.

    Director: Lawrie Cullen-Tait.

    Sound Designer: Ash Gibson Greig.

    Cast includes Jenny Davis (Patricia Highsmith).


    Produced by the State Theatre Company of South Australia at the Dunstan Playhouse, 20 October to 5 November 2017.

    Director: Nescha Jelk.

    Designer: Ailsa Paterson.

    Composer: Jason Sweeney.

    Cast includes Sandy Gore.


    Presented by Ensemble Theatre, Kirribili, 3 May - 8 June 2024.

    Director: Shaun Rennie.

    Cast includes Toni Scanlan.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 2014
    • Strawberry Hills, Inner Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales,: Currency Press , 2016 .
      image of person or book cover 206261104922346995.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 49p.
      Note/s:
      • Published April 2016
      ISBN: 9781925005561
      Series: Currency Plays Currency Press (publisher), series - publisher
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Nick Hern Books ,
      2018 .
      image of person or book cover 1426646318793786119.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 64p.
      Note/s:
      • Publication Date: 6 December 2018
      ISBN: 9781848428218

Works about this Work

Theatre Review : Switzerland, Ensemble Theatre Ned Hirst , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , May 2024;

— Review of Switzerland Joanna Murray-Smith , 2014 single work drama

'Patricia Highsmith is all the rage at the moment, so it's a good time to stage Joanna Murray-Smith's play about the writer.' 

The Talented Ms Gore Sandy Gore , John Dexter (interviewer), 2017 single work interview
— Appears in: The Adelaide Review , November vol. 453 no. 2017; (p. 34)

'With Joanna Murray-Smith’s Switzerland set to open in Adelaide, Sandy Gore chats about playing the 'mercurial' author that was Patricia Highsmith and what sort of truths there are to be found in her most famous creation, Tom Ripley.

Sandy Gore says she doesn’t see herself as just an actor. Her role is more than calling out lines as part of a play; it’s to tell a story.' (Introduction)

Swiss Armoured Life Peter Craven , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 22 October 2016;

— Review of Switzerland Joanna Murray-Smith , 2014 single work drama
'Joanna Murray-Smith’s drama about thriller writer Patricia Highsmith’s dying days sequestered in Switzerland is brilliant, sinister entertainment in the Hitchcock mode.'
Seductive Thriller with a Barbed Wit Cameron Woodhead , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 23 September 2016; (p. 26)

— Review of Switzerland Joanna Murray-Smith , 2014 single work drama
Review : Switzerland Nancy Groves , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 17 November 2014;

— Review of Switzerland Joanna Murray-Smith , 2014 single work drama
Thrills and Chills Elissa Blake , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 1-2 November 2014; (p. 10-11)

— Review of Switzerland Joanna Murray-Smith , 2014 single work drama
'Patricia Highsmith’s talent was as sharp as her tongue. Elissa Blake peeks inside the mind of one of literature’s most unusual writers.'
Pitch-Perfect Pas de Deux Peter Craven , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 6 November 2014; (p. 15)

— Review of Switzerland Joanna Murray-Smith , 2014 single work drama
The Power of Words to Transform John McCallum , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 10 November 2014; (p. 16)

— Review of Switzerland Joanna Murray-Smith , 2014 single work drama
A Battle of Wills Worthy of Highsmith Herself Jason Blake , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 10 November 2014; The Age , 10 November 2014;

— Review of Switzerland Joanna Murray-Smith , 2014 single work drama
Review : Switzerland Elissa Blake , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 16 November 2014; (p. 14)

— Review of Switzerland Joanna Murray-Smith , 2014 single work drama
Adapting to a Season Without Cate Andrew Taylor , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 13 September 2013; (p. 16)
The Talented Ms Gore Sandy Gore , John Dexter (interviewer), 2017 single work interview
— Appears in: The Adelaide Review , November vol. 453 no. 2017; (p. 34)

'With Joanna Murray-Smith’s Switzerland set to open in Adelaide, Sandy Gore chats about playing the 'mercurial' author that was Patricia Highsmith and what sort of truths there are to be found in her most famous creation, Tom Ripley.

Sandy Gore says she doesn’t see herself as just an actor. Her role is more than calling out lines as part of a play; it’s to tell a story.' (Introduction)

Last amended 9 Sep 2024 09:39:13
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