Cirrus@Austlit

'On this day every year the ‘Kappa Crew’ perform a sacred ritual in honour of Amalia’s sister, who died four years ago. They pool their money to buy flowers, wag fifth period, go to the cemetery and sing All the Small Things by Blink 182. But when the crew meet at the start of lunch, something goes horribly wrong… no one brought any money. No one has any money. A plan is set into motion — scab! The crew splits up in an attempt to find enough money to buy flowers, but scabbing money at Meadow Ditch High is not the only challenge they face. Scab is a hilarious tale paying homage to the tenacity of young people who, when confronted with a lack of resources, become infinitely more resourceful than those around them.' (Production summary) 

'A high-school history class sets out on a three-day trek across the Great Dividing Range, learning about the expedition by Blaxland, Wentworth, and Lawson. As details emerge about some of the earliest interactions between Indigenous people and colonial explorers, Liam, a scholarship student from the Torres Strait, starts to feel deeply uncomfortable. Tensions mount when Liam’s friend Max refuses to see how European settlement created anything but a ‘positive pathway to progress’. Tempers flare around the campfire and Liam becomes lost – in time and place – as he’s suddenly staring down the barrel of a shot-gun held by an equally startled and confused Gregory Blaxland'  (Production summary)

'Murder and revenge,  love and… goats? Hamlet is annoyed. He has enlisted a Company of Players to secretly rehearse his revenge play and they are late. They are to perform The Murder of Gonzago to catch out his uncle in his murderous lie. One small problem — The Players don’t know it. They gingerly offer up an alternative, something they’ve been tinkering with –  a brand new gender-bending comedy they’ve cooked up on the road. Hamlet is in no mood for comedy. Will he get these rag-tag actors ready to perform in time?'  (Production summary)

'Juno_XO and their family are the dominant content creators of their time, working tirelessly to bring you premium content as the world outside slows down, the oceans rise and dust fills the air. As individuals, they’re groundbreaking. As a family, they’re an empire. And they’re well on their way to having all the Points they’ll ever need.

'But when a filming stunt pushes Juno to the limit, the family fractures and the brand is thrown into jeopardy. Each family member navigates their own path through cancellation, rebranding, apologies and public relations crises. And for Juno, it might be the second chance at an honest, private life they never thought they needed.

'A family attempts to salvage their legacy, the world outside scrambles for the Points they need to live the life they want, and in the shadows, whispers emerge of a long-gone heroine who will return to those that worship her…'  (Production summary)

'Claire’s having trouble connecting… IRL that is. Enter SAAM: A Social Ally Android Machine – her ‘shortcut to friendship.’ Configured based on her digital behaviour and social media profiles, SAAM’s an expert at connection – which is great, because Claire’s birthday is next week and the RSVPs are sitting at a grand total of zero. Not great. With SAAM’s help, Claire’s circles are growing. The foodies, the handballers, even the SRC kids start to invite her to things. Nothing stands in her way, except of course her crippling social anxiety.'(Production summary)

'Helen is on a roll. Tonight, she is poised to finally make equity partner at her law firm, and according to her over-achieving college age daughter, she can still rock a mini dress at 50. But then her husband Marshall, a career novelist, arrives home and drops a bombshell — he has been accused of an historical sexual assault. Over one night of heavy drinking, they will attempt to make sense of an uncertain past and even less certain future.

'Our public fascination with high profile assault cases is scrutinized in this legal drama that explodes out of Brisbane’s upper middle class.'

Source: Production blurb.

'Big Dreams. Bigger Doubts. Big Yikes!

'Meet Lorrie. Sorry… Loxie. Loxie is cooler. She’s rebranding so as not to be mistaken with a load bearing truck. She wouldn’t want you to know that though – she doesn’t like being ‘perceived’.

'Loxie is leaving school, starting her first job, moving out of home, and waiting for Uni offers. She’s entering her adulting era. ‘Finding yourself’ is hard when you’re searching in a rundown share house, the situationship you THINK you have with your coworker, and under the constant nagging of your divorced parents.

'Big Yikes! is a coming-of-age story that explores boundaries, decision making and autonomy while asking the big questions like “what is my purpose?”, “what should I do with my life?” and “why does my housemate leave lentils in the fridge to rot?”'

Source: Production blurb.

'When Zan, a self-proclaimed “FEMINAZI” sets out to kill every man in the world, they undergo an identity crisis to understand the constructs of gender and ingrained homophobia within our queer world.

'Iconic and darkly funny af, FEMINAZI is a part digital part theatre performance about queer guilt, inherent misogyny and homophobia within self.'

Source: Production blurb.

'A mysterious new adventure comedy for the whole family!

'When people-pleaser Claudia Thorogood finds herself in hot water after an unfortunate accident leaves her principal with ten broken bones and a shiny new electric wheelchair, she is sent to Suspended Stone Camp, a place for ‘Difficult, Disobedient and Different Teen Delinquents’.

'It’s definitely not how she pictured her summer…Under the guidance of Vickie, her authoritarian team leader, Claudia and the other camp inmates are driven to a cabin in the bush with nothing but a backpack, a sleeping bag and a packet of contraband burger rings. The misfit group think it’s a blessing when Vickie’s late from break, until it gets dark and she’s still not back.

'Abandoned, restless and fearing they’ll die alone without ever having a hot meal again, they start hatching plans of survival. It doesn’t take long for things to go from bad to worse to just plain creepy.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Being a 17 year old is awkward. 

'Being a gay 17-year-old cosplayer with a mild Disney Princess obsession, a TV celebrity as a best friend and a first date with a shy guy you met online takes awkward to the next level.

'IRL is fairytale meets fanfiction in the quest for ‘happily ever after’. It is a fierce and funny reflection of what it means to be a teenager searching for friendship, love and acceptance and trying to find your community.

'Alexei and his long-time internet crush, Thaddeus, are about to meet IRL (in real life) at the Supanova pop culture convention.

'In a moment of regrettable self-sabotage, Alexei assumes a false identity to test the authenticity of his would-be boyfriend.

'When Alexei’s best friend Taylor begins channelling the anti-capitalist vigilante superhero she plays on TV, the thin line between fantasy and reality wiggles wildly out of control.

'At the end of a very long, strange, cosplay-filled day, will the trio find the connections they’re each craving?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Jane Austen, eat your heart out

'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a down-on-her-luck mother (who has just lost her home to a shady online suitor) must send her only son to Sydney to find and marry a wealthy man.

'Jane Austen’s drawing rooms and country estates are switched out for the dizzying dancefloors and leafy avenues of post-plebiscite Sydney in Lewis Treston’s outrageously funny Hubris & Humiliation. This laugh-out-loud comedy is a kaleidoscopic pastiche of Jane Austen’s writing and an outrageous satire of life and love in the Emerald City’s pumping gay scene. 

'Elliott, a naive wallflower from the Sunshine State, spends all his time pining for his best friend until he’s unexpectedly packed up and shipped off to his fabulously wealthy uncle’s Kirribilli mansion to pick up a few dating tips, and bag the man of his (mother’s) dreams. A series of increasingly ludicrous and high-stakes events take Elliott and his stowaway sister Paige from the rainbow mile, all the way to Berlin, and back again in a high-camp exploration of love, family and commitment.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Getting older is inevitable, but growing up takes courage.

'When Mark moved out of home for the first time his mum started writing him letters – just checking in, staying in touch, keeping a gentle hold on her son. Until one letter brings news no-one wants to hear.

'Today, alone in his apartment, on a quiet ordinary morning, Mark needs to try to make some sense of the path of his young life. He needs to work out how to go on with the day, his studies, the fragility of living. He needs us to hear his story, and the story of his family.

'A tender, exquisite monologue written and performed by a rising star, Thomas Weatherall, Blue takes us deep into the beauty, and sadness, of a young life at its new beginning.'

Source: Belvoir Street Theatre.

'It’s Sydney. It’s Christmas time. And it’s stinking hot. Even though she’s unable to be there, Mum is insisting the family gather in honour of Dad – he was the BBQ king!

'Their adult children, wine snob Peter and cynical Connie, reluctantly get the clan together for round two of festivities – they’ve survived the chaos of Christmas but Boxing Day is set to pack a punch. In raising a toast to their Dad’s memory, old grudges and family tensions sizzle to the surface. Surely they’ll be able to stop grilling each other for one day.'

Source: Ensemble Theatre.

'Equal parts hilarious and arresting, Tongue Tied is a brand new Australian play about the lengths a journalist will go to achieve justice. Ethics, justice and gender politics are all under-fire in this play for a post #MeToo Sydney.'

Source: KXT.

'Joan needs her father. She hasn't seen him since he left her and her Mum when she was just a little girl. She wants answers. she wants history, she wants to know more about who she is. She travels a long way into country as remote as it is strange to this city girl. She finds Mick; a man who doesn't speak much, and who bears little resemblance to the man who taught her to play Scrabble all those years ago.

'But amid the flies, the heat, the dust and the stillness of this small river town, lurk many ghosts and mysteries. Over cups of tea and Scrabble in Mick's weather-beaten old house, Joan is about to discover some family secrets that have been hidden below the surface for decades.'

Source: Queensland Theatre Company.