Sydney Theatre lovers have just been gifted an incredible last-minute present. Both Sydney Theatre Company and Belvoir St Theatre have been granted exemptions by NSW Health to get more bums on seats for two of the hottest tickets in town.
STC’s Oscar Wilde adaptation The Picture of Dorian Gray and Belvoir’s take on beloved Miles Franklin novel My Brilliant Career will expand by half again, from 50 per cent capacity up to 75 per cent, meaning way more happy punters. Time Out Sydney editor Maxim Boon raved about Eryn Jean Norvill’s staggering performance in the former, taking on all 26 roles with a little help from some technical wizardry. “In concert with a team of roving camera operators, a network of vast suspended screens, and a wildly ambitious intermingling of real-time and pre-recorded video, Norvill produces some of the most virtuosic theatre I have ever witnessed, on stage or screen,” he says.
My Brilliant Career opens on December 5, and consider us just as excited, with the marvellous Nikki Shiels stepping into the headstrong role of Sybylla, determined to forge ahead with a career as a writer, dumb patriarchal society be damned.
“Since returning to the stage for our first socially distanced show, Wonnangatta, in September, the safety of our audiences, artists and staff have been our top priority,” STC executive director Patrick McIntyre says. “This is another positive step towards getting back to full capacity after such a devastating year for the theatre industry.”
It was a sentiment shared by Belvoir counterpart Sue Donnelly. “Belvoir is grateful to the NSW government and the Department of Health for working with STC and ourselves to ensure that more people will be able to experience the thrill of live theatre at our forthcoming production of the quintessential Australian drama My Brilliant Career. We’ve been bowled over by audience eagerness to return to Belvoir... By working cooperatively we are hopeful of a theatre sector recovery.”