Belloo Creative is an all-female, award-winning Australian theatre company that produces original contemporary works for stage and film.
MOTHERLAND
By Katherine Lyall-Watson
AN ELLEN BELLOO & CRITICAL STAGES PRODUCTION
“... In your face melodrama...”
Accolades
WINNER Best Independent Production, Matilda Awards
WINNER Best Overall Production, Groundling Awards
WINNER Barbara Lowing, Gold Matilda Award AND Groundling Award
FINALIST Patrick White Playwrights’ Award
“... the audience is treated to an impressive tapestry of the human experience, with all its quirky twists and turns, which makes life so unpredictable…The playwright, cast and director Caroline Dunphy have done a fine job in taking an interesting real-life personal history out of the Brisbane story and turning it into a compelling piece of theatre.”
Cast: Barbara Lowing, Kerith Atkinson, Peter Cossar, Daniel Murphy & Rebecca Riggs. Photos by Jackie Ryan.
“Motherland is the most beautifully crafted and intelligently delivered story you’ll see on stage this year. Its passion and fierce beauty will stay with you long after you leave the theatre.”
“This new production of Katherine Lyall-Watson’s play is a beautiful piece of work in every possible way. It is a finely crafted script that melds perfectly from character to character, time-frame to time-frame and country to country... I must say here that all five of the actors were superb... The play was first performed in 2013 to acclaim and now, after more work and a new technical team, the script comes to life in a new way. It is one of the best plays I have seen in a while.”
“The best plays sweep you up, visually and emotionally, and drop you down amongst the action. They’re so engaging you can’t escape. They’re so spectacular you don’t want to. The newest production on my Best Plays list is the phenomenal ‘Motherland’. ... High-energy, entertaining and emotionally stirring. ”
Belloo Creative presents Motherland by Katherine Lyall-Watson and directed by Caroline Dunphy. Actors: Kerith Atkinson, Peter Cossar, Barbara Lowing, Daniel Murphy and Rebecca Riggs. Composer: Dane Alexander Lighting Designer: David Walters Set and Costume Designer: Penny Challen
MOTHERLAND is a play about three remarkable real women based on the incredible true story of Nell Tritton, a Brisbane socialite who married Russia’s deposed Prime Minister, Alexander Kerensky, and helped him escape from the Nazis during the Second World War. This is gripping contemporary theatre, weaving stories of belonging, love and loss that span decades, continents and world wars.
Acknowledgements MOTHERLAND is possible thanks to support from: Queensland Theatre Company, The Queensland government, Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, Metro Arts & Brisbane City Council. MOTHERLAND’s first production was in October 2013 at Metro Arts, Brisbane, where it was co-produced by Metro Arts and Ellen Belloo.
More Information
See the MOTHERLAND Trailer.
See the interview with Katherine Lyall-Watson.
CREATIVE TEAM
Director: Caroline Dunphy
Cast: Barbara Lowing, Kerith Atkinson, Peter Cossar, Daniel Murphy & Rebecca Riggs
Set Designer: Penny Challen
Associate Designer: Annie Robertson
Lighting Designer: David Walters
Composer & Sound Designer: Dane Alexander
Dramaturg: Kathryn Kelly
Producers: Chris Bendall (Critical Stages) & Danielle Shankey (Belloo Creative)