Sydney Theatre Company and The Sydney Morning Herald present the Steppenwolf Theatre Company production
August: Osage County
by Tracy Letts
Directed by Anna D. Shapiro
Beverly Weston has disappeared. His wife Violet has hit the pain killers… hard.
With Mom and Dad in crisis there’s no alternative but for the reluctant family to reunite and descend on their rambling country house in Oklahoma. Someone is going to have to take control of the situation.
Now that Beverly is out of the way, Violet is ruling the roost. She may be too strung out to string a sentence together but - if it comes to a tussle for supremacy - even that won’t stop her from hauling skeletons out of long-locked closets.
Hailed by critics as the great American play of our time, August: Osage County is a rare gem of a drama. In the tradition of Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller, playwright Tracy Letts tells a story of grand scale that is at once entertaining, funny and deeply moving. By showing us this family in meltdown Letts’ play holds a magnifying glass up to American society today, revealing its tragic dysfunction and lost idealism.
In 2010 we are delighted to play host to Steppenwolf Theatre, arguably the finest ensemble company in the US, with their originating production of this internationally renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning play.
"This original and corrosive black comedy deserves a seat at the dinner table with the great American family plays." - Time Magazine
"Tracy Letts’ fiercely funny, turbocharged tragicomedy is, flat-out, no asterisks and without qualifications, the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years. Fiercely funny and bitingly sad…it continually keeps you hooked with shocks, surprises and delights." - The New York Times
SYDNEY THEATRE
Schools Day Wed 1 Sep
Pre-show Intro 10:30am, 45 minutes
Performance 12:15pm
Duration 3 hours 15 minutes, including 2 intervals
Post-show Q&A immediately following, 15 minutes
Suits Years 10 - 12
Why Book? This modern American family epic is an excellent example of contemporary naturalism.
This production contains frequent strong language and adult themes.
