the zoey louise moonbeam dawson shakespeare company
CO-PRESENTED BY DAREBIN ARTS SPEAKEASY
JULY 21 - AUGUST 6 2016
★★★★1/2
“A richly woven feminist tapestry, as brutal and funny as it is heartbreaking.” ArtsHub
On the desperate shores of colonial Australia, two convict women disguise themselves as free settlers. They are hoping for another chance at life. But the arrival of a sinister redcoat sees their plans give way to terror, self-doubt and treachery. Will they survive the revolution brewing outside? In a messy lounge room in Brunswick East, a young woman attempts to write a play - a play that will make her famous, a play that will make her important - but she keeps doubting herself. Will she manage to get 4000 words done before her boyfriend arrives home for dinner?
Originally commissioned and co-produced as part of Darebin Arts Speakeasy 2016, Conviction continues an investigation started with the award-winning Melbourne Fringe hit The Unspoken word is “Joe”. Conviction is a caustically funny examination of contemporary feminism and self-authorship. It is play un–writing itself (and the authority of traditional drama) before our very eyes.
Written by Zoey Dawson
Director and Dramaturg Declan Greene
Set and Costume Design Romanie Harper
Lighting Design Amelia Lever-Davidson
Sound Design James Paul
Original Producer Anastasia Ryan
Touring Producer Natasha Phillips
Original Production and Stage Management Kate Brennan
Original Assistant Stage Managers Rikki-Lee Butinar & Kathryn Yates
Cast Ruby Hughes, Caroline Lee, Dushan Philips and Troy Reid
Greenroom Awards for Independent Theatre 2017
WINNER Best Design (Romanie Harper) NOMINEE Best Direction (Declan Greene)
NOMINEE Best Actor (Ruby Hughes) NOMINEE Best New Writing (Zoey Dawson)
“A raw, funny and utterly inimitable brand of meta-theatre…
Dawson speaks to the bleaker aspects of our time with a fresh voice.”
★★★★ THE AGE
“This work is generous, provocative, urgent, entertaining, and mind-bendingly clever.”
★★★★1/2 ARTSHUB
“Unsettling and outstanding… A brazen up-yours.”
THEATREPRESS
“Tone-perfect control in the chaos… So personal, it becomes universal”
SOMETIMES MELBOURNE
SOCIAL MEDIA PRAISE
“CONVICTION is unmissable… an incredibly potent, formally challenging, deeply moving work. With no apologies this is probably the best thing I'll see this year. SEE IT. SEE IT. SEE IT.”
“Best piece of new writing I've ever seen performed.”
“I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a show this much.”
“Hilarious and clever.”
“The Most Original Show of 2016.”
“Unique, genius and absolutely stunning.”
“I laughed more than I have at the theatre in a long time..”
“A funny, disturbing, stunner of a show… One of the best pieces of theatre I’ve seen in a long time.
the zoey louise moonbeam dawson shakespeare company