Playhouse stage set to ignite with Queensland Theatre’s MOUTHPIECE
Mouthpiece will challenge you, surprise you, and send you out into the night with so many things to talk to your friends about. We are thirsty for this kind of theatre.
In exciting news for arts lovers, QPAC and Queensland Theatre present Mouthpiece by Kieran Hurley at the Playhouse from 31 October to 14 November.
Stage luminary Christen O’Leary and Jayden Popik, in his Queensland Theatre debut, are set to reignite the stage with Kieran Hurley’s startling, audacious and gripping play — a production that pushes past politics with humour, hope and fight.
Queensland Theatre Artistic Director Lee Lewis said it was a bold play to restart theatre.
We are starting with a simple story, magnificently crafted by a talented playwright, brought to life by two extraordinary actors. What could be better? Welcome back, she said. If you’ve missed live performance this year and the spark of post-show discussion echoing well beyond the theatre foyer, then you can’t miss this.
With Mouthpiece, winner of the 2019 Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award, playwright Kieran Hurley looks theatre squarely in the face, and challenges audiences to question the kinds of stories told and the power of the people who get to tell them.
“The story may be political, but the play is all human. If you think you’ve seen the story of the power of unlikely friendships before, Mouthpiece is way ahead of you. This is the kind of play that makes you wonder at the sheer imagination and skill of great theatre writing. Mouthpiece will challenge you, surprise you, and send you out into the night with so many things to talk to your friends about. We are thirsty for this kind of theatre.
“From its startling opening, through to its final devastating showdown, this remarkable play invites us to probe where the lines should be drawn. It’s very funny, very moving and will have your head spinning with the knotty ethical issues it provokes long after you leave the theatre.”
Lewis said Queensland’s first lady of the stage, Christen O’Leary will bare her theatre soul in the role of Libby as the play asks ‘why do we make theatre at all’?
“It is the hardest of questions to face coming so baldly after six months of silence on our stages. But Libby will show us the simplest and most powerful of answers… theatre is how we connect with our fellow humans. Joining her on the Playhouse stage will be Jordan Popik, in his Queensland Theatre debut, playing Declan. He hails from up Townsville way but has been working in Melbourne for the last few years and made it across the border just before it closed, deciding that surfing on the Sunshine Coast was more appealing than lockdown in Melbourne. So, like a lot of artists, COVID-19 has brought him back home at a time when family has never been more important.”
The news follows the recent announcement that Queensland Theatre will reopen the Bille Brown Theatre to audiences for the world premiere season of the Queensland Premier’s Drama Award (QPDA) 2018–19 winner The Holidays by David Megarrity. Running from 14 November through to 12 December, The Holidays is directed by Matilda Award-winning Bridget Boyle, and stars Queensland stage royalty Bryan Probets and Louise Brehmer.
ABOUT MOUTHPIECE
A cliff. Night. A woman stands on the edge. Her dreams crumble around her. But this ledge belongs to Declan. It is his only safe space. She’s trespassing. They should never have met.
Mouthpiece is a bold collision of class, privilege, and power. Libby is a woman who has wasted her opportunities, while Declan is a young man who will never be offered any. He has a story, and she has the voice to tell it… but does she have the right to? When does inspiration become theft?
QPAC and Queensland Theatre present MOUTHPIECE by Keiran Hurley
31 October – 14 November 2020
Playhouse, QPAC
Tickets: qpac.com.au or 13 62 46
