Cirrus@Austlit

'Mel’s got a lot on her plate. Between the anxiety-inducing return of her mother from their old home in Malaysia, her brother Eric’s mysterious double life and the pressure of caring for her mother’s prized poodle, Mel is hungry for more simplicity. In the world premiere of this new and eccentric family comedy, award-winning playwright Vanessa Bates colourfully unravels the complexities of what it means to be Eurasian in contemporary Australia. Energetically funny and affectionately provocative, THE ONE is a sizzling hotpot of food, culture and identity.'

Source: Ensemble Theatre.

'The spirits you carry, they carry you too.

'Twelve-year-old Celeste arrives in China to scatter Mother’s ashes, but in no time flat is thrust into a world of magic and adventure. Celeste’s grandmother has carried on the family tradition of ghost catching, and it turns out Celeste has a knack for the hairraising pursuit too.'  (Production summary)

'All Jed’s friends have moved to the city, but he still lives with his two mothers in a small town between the beach and the bush, on a train line with a city at either end. Waiting.

'He’s not sure what he’s waiting for, but in the meantime he works at the council investigating sinkholes in people’s backyards. Since finishing high school, the frustrations of coastal life are looming large. And something is being hidden from him about the illness facing one of his mothers.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'100 years from Gallipoli and what does it all mean now?

'To commemorate the centenary, Ensemble Theatre has commissioned two one-act plays, but this is not some dry lesson in Australian history. The past is made new in these two original productions.

In DEAR MUM AND DAD Holly discovers a long forgotten letter and her great-granddad’s secret is finally uncovered.

'The lyrical LIGHT BEGINS TO FADE follows a roomful of TV writers as they try to adapt the Gallipoli story for today’s audience. Meanwhile, the bloody past starts to haunt the present…..' (Publication summary)

'Every Second is the story of two thirty-something couples hell bent on having a child. They’ve given up sushi and champagne, as well as their sanity. But how much more are they willing to sacrifice?

'Full of wry observations and bitter truths, Every Second takes a comedic look at a very modern dilemma. Don’t miss this brand new Australian play from one of the country’s most daring and witty playwrights' (Production summary)

'Think you know every word of the Grimm brothers' fairy tales? Think again. In The Magic Hour, Helpmann Award-winning actor and singer Ursula Yovich breathes new life into the fables collected by the famed German folklorists.'

'Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Red Riding Hood.You know the names, but scratch the surface of your childhood memories and you'll find the Grimms' originals were deliciously dark versions of the sanitised bedtime stories you knew.'

'This is the wild and wicked side of fairy tales, a blackly comic journey into the cracks and crannies of these classic stories.' (Source: Qld Theatre Co. website)

''Singled Out is a brand new inter-generational, multi-playwright project developed by creative producer and new work director Augusta Supple and supported by a professional production team of some of Sydney’s most respected independent performers, musicians and playwrights. Responding to the prediction that by 2020, one in three living arrangements in Sydney will be that of solo households this new show is a heartfelt and hilarious adventure in the private lives of our neighbours, friends and relatives.

Offering an insight into the lives of many, 'Singled Out' is a kaleidoscopic series of portraits – colliding and intersecting – revealing flights of fancy, the gentle musings or the robust reflections on what it means to be living alone in a thriving dynamic city. Harnessing the creative imaginations of some of Australia’s leading playwrights this is a unique celebration of our city, our private moments and public confessions – exploring the joy and freedom of solo living and the sometimes hidden realities of the solo living person.' (Source: http://www.seymourcentre.com/events/event/singled-out/ )

Series One of East West 101 focuses on two men whose destinies are irrevocably intertwined. Malik is driven by a hunger for justice. He was twelve when a masked gunman held up the family shop. Malik refused to hand over the money and his father was subsequently shot and injured. He later joined the police force and has been looking for the shadowy figure who pulled the trigger. When he finally finds him, Malik's belief in the justice system is challenged by a powerful desire for revenge. As he hunts down the truth, it is revealed that one of his colleagues, Crowley, had a part to play in the original investigation. Crowley is a man whose vision has been blighted by pain and prejudice. His son, Paul, was found dead of an overdose on drugs sold to him by a Lebanese dealer. When the drug dealer who sold Paul the heroin is found murdered, Internal Affairs come asking questions.

In Season Two, East West 101 expands to seven episodes as the Major Crime Squad investigate crime and murder in all quarters of multicultural Sydney. But overarching all is the quest for Detective Zane Malik to find the truth behind a car bomb attack which kills two men. The Major Crime Squad form a joint task force with the NSO (National Security Organisation) to deal with the crime. There is paranoia in the city and fallout on the Muslim community. Malik knows that in order to stop the circle of hate, he must solve the crime. Was the bomb really an act of extremists, as the media suggest, or a sophisticated killing by a career criminal? Malik doggedly pursues the truth until he, too, becomes a target. Inspector Patricia Wright questions his motives but her vision is clouded by personal issues that she wants to keep hidden from the squad. Crime has touched her own family.

Season Three : The Hero's Journey. 'In [this] third season of East West 101, the Major Crime Squad investigates a 36 million dollar robbery in Australia and its connections to the murder of 17 people in Afghanistan. Is the robbery to fund an act of terror by military trained radicals, or the work of sophisticated criminals? For Detective Zane Malik the case has savage personal and professional ramifications. Malik is obstructed in his quest to find those responsible by the interference of newcomer Detective Neil Travis. Travis has fought in Iraq and his attitude and approach to the investigation cause conflict with Malik. In the hunt for an elusive foe, ultimately both men are forced to confront what makes a man a hero, or a coward...'

(Source: East West 101, SBS website)

'... a contemporary action drama series set in a critical incident police unit, providing an insider's view of police under pressure. Our heroes are a mobile squad trained to be smarter, tactically superior and technologically advantaged.'

Source: Australian Television website, www.australiantelevision.net (sighted 08/09/2009)