A play about going home, Magpie will delight like lemonade iceblocks on a hot summer's day.

Mordecai, a novelist dealing with a bad review, returns to her family’s home for the first time in decades following the death of her father. She discovers more than just the architectural monstrosities that have replaced the poincianas, as the home conjures echoes from her distant past: the muggy summers, the smell of rotting mangoes, and the misunderstood arguments between her Romani mother and father.

When Mordecai discovers her old journal – an innocent tapestry of ideas, drawings, and imaginings – she is drawn back to 1961 and a long-abandoned investigation into an unsolved crime. Pushed along by her childhood friend Splinter, Mordecai sets out to uncover the long-dormant secrets that cursed her family and led to her leaving home at fifteen.

Spanning from young love to aging cynicism, Magpie is a coming-of-age story that will thrill and delight like lemonade ice-blocks and a swim on a hot day.

Venue Format
Theatre, Black Box Venue
Technical Rating
A
Touring Party
6 (4 performers, 1 production stage manager, 1 lighting and sound operator)
Considerations

Contains adult themes, sexual references and coarse language. The show is a lock-out. The premiere season of the show included real fire and a tyre swing, however the show can be adapted. There are three versions of the show available – A, B, C. Version A includes full fire and tyre swing, Version B includes fake fire (lighting) and swing, and Version C includes fake fire (lighting) and swing alternative.

METRO ARTS

Metro Arts is developing the future of Australian contemporary arts practice, now.

Championing all contemporary art forms, the two core activities of the organisation are developing and co-presenting contemporary arts.

Company Website
metroarts.com.au

Unique Selling Point

More than just a Brisbane story of Australia's multi-cultural heritage, it’s a memory play about the power of going home to a place that no longer is. It’s a play to which audience members can apply their own experiences and reflect on the meaning of home, belonging and moving on. Magpie is a complex work with integral twists that serve to engage the audience. This is a poignant work that explores, with pathos and humour, the power and generational legacy of long-dormant secrets. It's a tightly crafted new Australian work with the actors offering a masterclass in character work.

Marketing Materials

Resources available include marketing collateral (copy, print material templates, digital assets, production images), published play, Education pack for schools, reviews, and media release. A promo video is currently being created.

Community Engagement

This tour will value-add, involving the community in the artistic process by offering playwriting workshops with Kathryn Marquet, acting workshops with Barbara Lowing (currently running an acting masterclass at La Boite), acting workshops with Julian Curtis (NIDA graduate) and preparation for auditioning for acting schools with recent Conservatorium of Music graduate, Michael Mandalios. Q&A sessions will be offered after each performance, enabling audiences to engage with the actors, asking questions, not only about the theatrical performance they’ve just seen but also about the reality of sustaining a career in the arts and auditioning for and surviving actor training. Elise will also offer Skype sessions to conduct Q&A sessions and/or workshops about playwriting and the process and techniques utilized in developing Magpie. The teacher notes include a range of activities for teachers to conduct with their students and again, Elise can be available via Skype to facilitate or address any of these exercises or activities.