ABOUT "MONSTROUS REGIMENT"

John Knox (well known Protestant Reformer of the 16th Century) is turning in his grave!   His view that women are "weak, pale, impatient, feeble, foolish, inconstant, variable, cruel and lacking the spirit of counsel and regiment" is about to be exposed for exactly what it is - MONSTROUS!

It may have taken five centuries since Knox wrote his essay entitled "The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women", as well as the enormous satirical wit of Sir Terry Pratchett, for Unseen Theatre Company to blow its own first blast of the trumpet, but here we are, ready to do battle with our own Monstrous Regiment, led by - you guessed it - a girl!

Polly Perks has to become a boy in a hurry. Cutting off her hair and wearing trousers is easy. Learning to fart and belch in public and walk like an ape takes more time......but nothing is going to stop her enlisting in the Borogravian Army to search for her lost brother.

The fact that there's a war on and their side's coming off worse doesn't scare her. Polly and her fellow recruits are suddenly in the thick of it, without any training.

All that the bunch of new recruits has on their side is the most artful sergeant in the army, a vampire with a lust for coffee, a troll, an Igor,  and a readiness to fight dirty.

As they take the war to to the heart of the enemy, they will need all the resources of the  Monstrous Regiment.

PREVIEW NIGHT AND FREE TIX (for holders of Health Care Cards) FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 17

OPENING NIGHT FOR MEDIA SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 18

Season continues Wed to Sat until October 2.   All shows at 8pm

Unseen Theatre Company and The Bakehouse Theatre are proudly supported by Australian Audio and Lighting Technology (AALT)  8373 4222  www.aalt.com.au

There are times when, for the good of the greater number, an individual must be sacrificed.  Donald Jackson, a weapons scientist for America's  defence programme, is found dead outside a church. No witnesses, no motive. When his son attempts to piece together the truth behind his father's death he is embroiled in  a world of double agents, rogue states and global paranoia.  Inspired by the real life murder of the Canadian weapons scientist Gerald Bull, Three in the Back, Two in the Head graples with the elusive nature of truth as the action shifts across conflicting versions of the past. Was Jackson a force for peace betrayed by merciless politicans? Or was he about to give America's greatest enemy the missile that could destory it?

Snippets from Reviews:

"Humanity, science and politics intertwine with intriguing twists and turns...the ensemble cast is breathtaking..an hour and a quarter of brilliant theatre - "Stephanie Johnson - Australian Stage Online

"this is a tense political thriller......nobody trusts or believes anybody else, and quite rightly..It does not take a billion dollar budget to produce quality and this production proves it. If you love top class theatre you will not want to miss this one" - Barry Lenny - Glam Adelaide and Rip It Up

"Peter Green is excellent as Donald Jackson..This show is based on fact, the premise is based on fear. Who can you trust?" - Matt Byrne - Sunday Mail

"A play with true grit, tension, unsubtle manoeuvring and a bittersweet cordite epilogue.. a work well worth taking the time to see and ponder" - Teri Louise Kelly - Independent Weekly

"Three in the Back Two in the Head is a well spent non-stop hour and twenty minutes of gripping theatre" - Myk Mykyta - Radio Adelaide

"A powerful piece of theatre....Director Michael Allen has built the tension carefully and delivered a riveting and discomfiting production" - Fran Edwards - Adelaide Theatre Guide

"Sherman's piece is delightfully engaging..... Allen's cast deliver....a very strong piece of theatre....Roger Newcombe is superb.....Peter Green offers a gripping picture....Michael Baldwin....is richly arrogant....Sheila Duncan....delivers a wonderful performance....Nathaniel Davison...(brings) to life the complex mix of standoffish warmth that son Paul struggles with as he seeks answers" - David O'Brien - Db Magazine

SPECIAL 2 FOR 1 OFFER WED JUNE 24 ONLY
(offer based on adult ticket price. This means 2 tix for $18 or $9 each.)  Book quickly to avoid disappointment.

An unsavoury character. A riveting storyteller. A spare and striking study on grief and alcoholism.
Grab your drink of choice, and settle in for a night of laughter and tears as Accidental Productions presents BoomShanka Productions' staging of Owen McCafferty's award-winning play Cold Comfort.
Cold Comfort is lyrical, hard hitting, and gives real emotional punch. This SA premiere brings together Brendan Rock, in his directorial debut, with his twin brother David Rock starring in the story of Kevin Toner who returns to Belfast after an absence of 15 years.
In a last 'conversation' with his recently deceased father, Cold Comfort reveals a man facing his demons for perhaps the first time in his life.
By Owen McCaferty, winner of the Meyer-Whitworth award for best new play.

"David Rock, directed by Brendan Rock (his brother) is captivating as the bitter, lonely and troubled Kevin Toner. An emotionally demanding experience, but also a thought-provoking and rewarding one" -  Jamie Wright - Adelaide Theatre Guide

Kat is moving out of the apartment she shares with ex-boyfriend Ben.  Helping her are Thea, her best friend, and Josh, the new man in her life.  Ben (who's not even meant to be there) is hurt and angry and still in love with Kat. But is it now too late to telll her?  Named one of the Daily Telegraph's Top Ten Shows at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival, this is yet another Accidental Productions Australian premiere! 
First performed by Andy Jordan Productions in August 2007 at the Edinburgh Festival.

Snippets from reviews:-
"Worlds End is a gem of a production performed by an ensemble of fine young actors" - Australian Stage On-line - Stephanie Johnson.
"Under the direction of Joh Hartog, with design by Tammy Boden, this is a play that has you siding, back and forth many times.....even in the last ten minutes, the outcome is anyone's guess or is it really?" Adelaide Theatre Guide - Richard Flynn.
"Barden gives a most moving and compassionate interpretation in a superb performance, Mark Fantasia plays the emotionally manipulative Ben, Alice Darling and Matt Crook (create) more than the script might suggest." Rip It Up - Barry Lenny

Click on "bookings and more information" for full reviews

Disturbing, irreverent (and funny) 

Must finish June 13 to go to Melbourne's La Mama Theatre

In a world where mental health issues are reaching epidemic proportions, Tom the loneliest is a mirror to our time , reflecting wisdoms, observations, stories and habitual coping mechanismes of society's 'crazies'
Two men (both named Tom) inhabit a familiar yet strange world. They revisit painful memories. They explore moments between boredom and madness. They speak in languages and move in gestures uniquely their own. They're never quite sure if something just said is in the room or in their head.
A dark comedy, "Tom the loneliest" confronts isolation, depression, medication, psychosis, domestic violence, addiction and the disempowerment of modern masculinity with a disturbing irreverence that is a constant in this world of the Toms.  The result is funny, enlightening, unnerving.

Please note: There will be special signed performances on Wed June 10 and Sat June 13

Snippets from Reviews:-

       "A dense and intimate atmosphere is established as Crotti and Duncan...rattle the cages of their minds...both performances are special - Crotti so fluent and elegant on the ear, Luke sometimes almost robotic in his exactitude.......Paulo Castro (Director) .....giving it a sense of flourishing high art,. (Samela Harris - The Advertiser)
       "There are times when theatre's power to transfix and transform us hits us between the eyes.......there are these moments of insight, humour and sadness in " Tom the Loneliest". Duncan Luke and Julian Crotti play the Toms and their performances are sharp, funny and always entertaining........an entirely successful production which achieves everything it sets out to do.  (John Wells - Adelaide Theatre Guide)
        "There's a car crach quality about this show that makes it watchable - enter at your own risk!" - (Matt Byrne - Sunday Mail)
        "Tom the loneliest is a gem on many levels...Several times the opening night audience reacted with appreciative gasps; a high tribute indeed.(Myk Mykyta - Radio Adelaide)

This comedy borrows elements from both the Commedia Del' Arte and Burlesque traditions to send up doctors, wives, brutality and death. It is for a general audience, though children may particularly enjoy the exaggerated, absurd characters.  Norman has just learnt that he's about to die and his life changes dramatically as he finally stands up to his domineering Wife, the bullying Brute and the condescending Doctor. As it turns out, there has been a mistake on the part of the doctor, but Norman will never be the same.

Reviews are here

Moist Von Lipwig is given another offer that is too good to refuse.  Who would not wish to be the man in charge of the Ankh-Morpork Royal Mint?  It’s a job for life but, as former con man Moist Von Lipwig is learning, life is not necessarily for long. The Chief Cashier is almost certainly a vampire, every day Moist has to take the Chairman for “walkies” and there’s something nameless in the cellar.  Oh, and it turns out that the Royal Mint runs at a loss.  According to Moist, that’s what happens when you base the value of your monetary system on gold.  So just what should he base it on?  Potatoes?  Dibbler’s famous pies?  Golems?  Or maybe something as simple as trust?  Moist is thinking it should be based on trust.  But that could be difficult when he is about to be exposed as a fraud.