IS THIS THING ON?
WORLD PREMIERE
Belvoir St Theatre
2 October - 2 November 2014
Written by Zoe Coombs-Marr
Direction: Kit Brookman and Zoe Coombs-Marr
Set and costume design: Ralph Myers
Lighting design: Verity Hampson
Composition and sound design: Steve Toulmin
with Madeline Benson, Genevieve Giuffre, Fiona Press, Susan Prior and Nat Randall.
* Best Ensemble, Sydney Theatre Awards 2014
All photographs by Brett Boardman.
REVIEWS
"Fast moving, focused and frequently surprising in that it continually confounds expectations and delivers a show that is moving and emotionally rich... Is This Thing On? is clever, confounding and beautifully executed."
- Diana Simmonds, Stage Noise
"★★★★
With co-director Kit Brookman, Coombs Marr makes her script sing. An older Brianna’s interaction with her younger self could easily be a cringe-worthy moment, but Brookman and Coombs Marr use these interactions to demonstrate her changing attitude — even when the material stays the same... perfectly crafted, with every piece of narrative from the five performances slotting into place"
- Ben Neutze, Daily Review
"Is it funny? Yes it is, laugh-out-loud funny (when it's not being deliberately unfunny, that is) but there's more to it than that... what drives some people into this most searching kind of spotlight? What is it like for women in a male-dominated industry? Should a comedian challenge the audience and go down fighting, or pander to it and get a TV show? Is comedy about generating laughs, or telling uncomfortable truths?"
- Jason Blake, Sydney Morning Herald