Australian Premiere: Shining City

Following the recent success on Broadway and the West End, Hoy Polloy Theatre Productions presents the Australian premiere of Conor McPherson’s play Shining City directed by Chris Baldock at the Mechanics Institute Performing Arts Centre, Brunswick from 1–16 June 2007. Described as a haunting and absolutely glorious new play, Shining City is an unqualified critical success and quite possibly Conor McPherson’s finest work. Nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play 2006, Shining City was originally produced at London’s Royal Court Theatre in June 2004, moving to Dublin’s Gate Theatre in September 2004 and the Manhattan Theatre Club last year. Hoy Polloy always aims to produce exciting new works or alternatively remounts of contemporary classics that are vital, vibrant and challenging. Proof of this is Hoy Polloy’s last production, the much acclaimed Killing Jeremy, a new Australian work by rising playwright Bridgette Burton. Founder of Hoy Polloy, Wayne Pearn said, “Our vision is vividly underlined by producing the Australian premiere of Shining City.” “Conor McPherson has established himself in the vanguard of great modern playwrights and when the opportunity arose to produce Shining City, Hoy Polloy seized it with both hands,” Pearn continued. Director, Chris Baldock (The Laramie Project, winner of the Victorian Green Room Award for Best Fringe/Independent production 2005) was drawn to Shining City as it works on so many levels. “Theatrically it’s exciting, never knowing where the characters are heading as the story unfolds; emotionally it’s deeply affecting as audiences will relate to aspects of the two main protagonist journeys; and thematically the play deals with elements of life that will resound in all of us,” Baldock explained. “Ultimately what Conor McPherson has inherently given us is a expertly-crafted and intelligent ghost story with style, depth and resonance,” Baldock concluded. The experienced ensemble for Shining City’s Australian premiere features Jonathan Dyer, Ben Grant, Corinne Davies and Dave Kenyon. Jonathan Dyer is a National Theatre Drama School graduate, received a Green Room Award for Best Ensemble Cast 2007 for The Time Is Not Yet Ripe and most recently performed in The Object Of Desire at La Mama. Ben Grant has worked with the Melbourne Theatre Company, Red Stitch Theatre, La Mama; been involved in the Melbourne Fringe and Comedy Festival; and just finished touring The Life And Deaths Of Don Koyote with The Old Van Theatre Company. Trained at NIDA, Corinne Davies played Lady Ross in the Geoffrey Wright film Macbeth and was most recently involved in Stars In Your Eyes and The People In Your Pocket for Eschelon Productions. Dave Kenyon’s theatre experience comprises productions at Trades Hall, Chapel Off Chapel and Melbourne Fringe Festival, while his television credits include Neighbours, Secret Life Of Us and The Floating Brothel. Brief Synopsis Set in Dublin, Shining City follows John, a guilt-ridden man who reaches out to Ian, a therapist, after seeing the ghost of his recently deceased wife. What begins as an unusual encounter becomes a struggle between the living and dead – a struggle that will shape and define both men for the rest of their lives. The themes presented in Shining City look at guilt, self-loathing, isolation, confusion and regret of the four characters that don’t notice or can’t express their connection to others. Critical Acclaim “In terms of construction, Shining City is as close to perfection as contemporary playwriting gets. As elliptical as the conversation is, there’s not a word or pause that doesn’t feed the work’s theme or its interconnected, disconnected stories.” New York Times “Shining City is right up there with The Weir, moving, compassionate, ingenious and absolutely gripping… As the title suggests, this is a play that shines.” Daily Telegraph “McPherson brilliantly reconciles the mundane and the metaphysical. The play is anchored in the real world; yet beneath the everyday Dublin world of business meetings and fumbling adulteries lurks a powerful sense of loneliness.” The Guardian __________________________________________________ Shining City by Conor McPherson Directed by Chris Baldock Mechanics Institute Performing Arts Centre corner of Sydney Road & Glenlyon Road, Brunswick Friday, 1 June to Saturday, 16 June 2007 at 8.15pm Sunday shows at 5.00pm only No Monday performances Tickets: 30 Adult, $20 Concession/Groups 10+, $18 Tuesdays Bookings: 03 9388 1942 or hoypolloy@bigpond.com