normal.suburban.planetary.meltdown.

Production still for "normal.suburban.planetary.meltdown". Jim Russell. Photographer: Sarah Walker

normal.suburban.planetary.meltdown.

By Angus Cerini

28 October 2014 – 06 November 2014 Beckett Theatre

Malthouse Theatre,

Commission New Writing Theatre World Premiere Suitcase Series Tour

On a suburban street, a very normal voiceover (Cerini) describes the normality of the grass and wheelie bin, and is interrupted by a street-smart denim-wearing dog telling the voice to "skedaddle" so she can bark in the quiet of Earth Hour. The quiet is interrupted by a man and his daughter coming outside because they turned off their power, even though nobody would know if they watched telly. But this is the Earth's Hour and the man hears the voice over telling him he's dying, can talk to the dog, and can't breathe.

normal.suburban.planetary.meltdown was the third script commissioned for the Suitcase Series, Malthouse Theatre's award-winning education program, established in 2010. The program sees Year 9 & 10 drama students use theatre to explore their relationship to climate change, with a new script commissioned every two years.

The script functions as source material for the students to explore, developing their own theatrical responses and presenting them to each other in conjunction with the Malthouse production. 

This production was also performed at The Cube in Frankston (23 - 24 October) and remounted in the Beckett Theatre in 2015 (28 Oct – 6 Nov).

Production still for "normal.suburban.planetary.meltdown". L to R: Naomi Rukavina, Nicci Wilks. Photographer: Sarah Walker
Production still for "normal.suburban.planetary.meltdown". L to R: Naomi Rukavina, Jim Russell, Nicci Wilks. Photographer: Sarah Walker
Production still for "normal.suburban.planetary.meltdown". L to R: Naomi Rukavina, Jim Russell, Nicci Wilks. Photographer: Sarah Walker
Production still for "normal.suburban.planetary.meltdown". L to R: Nicci Wilks, Naomi Rukavina. Photographer: Sarah Walker
Production still for "normal.suburban.planetary.meltdown". L to R: Naomi Rukavina. Photographer: Sarah Walker
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Production still for "normal.suburban.planetary.meltdown". L to R: Naomi Rukavina, Nicci Wilks. Photographer: Sarah Walker

Production still for "normal.suburban.planetary.meltdown". L to R: Naomi Rukavina, Jim Russell, Nicci Wilks. Photographer: Sarah Walker

Production still for "normal.suburban.planetary.meltdown". L to R: Naomi Rukavina, Jim Russell, Nicci Wilks. Photographer: Sarah Walker

Production still for "normal.suburban.planetary.meltdown". L to R: Nicci Wilks, Naomi Rukavina. Photographer: Sarah Walker

Production still for "normal.suburban.planetary.meltdown". L to R: Naomi Rukavina. Photographer: Sarah Walker

Cast

Nicci Wilks

Nicci Wilks

Actor

Jim Russell

Jim Russell

Actor (2014 season)

Peter Houghton

Peter Houghton

Actor (2015 remount)

Creatives

Angus Cerini

Angus Cerini

Playwright

Susie Dee

Susie Dee

Director

Jethro Woodward

Jethro Woodward

Sound Designer

Lisa Mibus

Lisa Mibus

Lighting Designer

Tom Webster

Tom Webster

Production Manager

Caitlin Byrne

Caitlin Byrne

Stage Manager

Zoë Rouse

Zoë Rouse

Set Designer, Costume Designer

Acknowledgements

Malthouse Theatre presents normal.suburban.planetary.meltdown. as part of its Suitcase Series. The Suitcase Series is supported by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development; and receives generous assistance from the Betty Amsden Foundation and individual Malthouse Muse donors.