Sydney Theatre Company and UBS Investment Bank present

True West

by Sam Shepard

Directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman

Austin is on the brink of something big. He has secured a Hollywood deal for his latest film script. He’s about to hit the big bucks and the big time. Soon he’ll be living the dream.

Lee is a bum: a free agent. He has been roaming the wild untamed plains of America’s West, eking out a hand-to-mouth existence and thieving household appliances. He’s got nothing to his name except a six pack, a criminal record, a chronic case of sibling rivalry… and authenticity.

They’re brothers but they are as different as day and night.

When Lee re-enters Austin’s life after a prolonged absence, the two brothers go head-to-head in a showdown of Western proportions. Who is good? Who is bad? One thing is for certain: when these two attempt to co-write a movie, things are going to get pretty darn ugly.

In this deliciously dark play of duality, Sam Shepard takes a long, hard look at America. From the romanticised West to the tranquillity of picket-fenced suburbia, Shepard suggests that a nation obsessed with fantasy will find its illusions fiercely pursued by disappointing reality.

Philip Seymour Hoffman returns to Sydney Theatre Company to direct Wayne Blair in this ferociously funny play.

"It’s clear, funny, naturalistic. It’s also opaque, terrifying, surrealistic. If that sounds contradictory, you’re on to one aspect of Shepard’s winning genius; the ability to make you think you’re watching one thing while at the same time he’s presenting another." - San Francisco Chronicle

WHARF 1
Schools Day Wed 10 Nov
Pre-show Intro 10:30am, 45 minutes
Performance 12:15pm
Duration 1 hour 40 minutes, no interval
Post-show Q&A immediately following, 15 minutes
Suits Years 11 - 12
Why Book?   A terrific Sam Shepard play with a fine Australian cast directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman.
This production contains frequent strong languageand occasional violence.

  

Photo: Derek Henderson