Poison is a life-affirming tour de force that asks the question – is there life after grief?

The Australian premiere production of an intimate and life-affirming story of love and grief by Holland’s leading contemporary playwright, Lot Vekemans. Poison features Paul Bishop of Blue Heelers fame and Elise Greig winner of four Matilda Awards and currently the voice of Mrs Kangaroo in Peppa Pig. Catarina Hebbard, artistic director of Indelibility Arts and director of The Pitch at QT directs this beautiful and compelling play that will stay with you long after you leave the theatre.
Two people in a room – He and She. Two voices, two emotional lives and one shared story. A death separates them, but also connects them. They are face to face for the first time in years and must make a decision about the grave of their son. A toxin has seeped into the soil. Long in the ground, the boy's body will have to be disinterred and reburied somewhere safer. Much the same needs to happen with the pain carried by He and She. A sizzling Euro-hit, two-hander, Poison speaks directly to the zeitgeist and asks the question – is it possible to move on after grief?

Venue Format
Theatre, Hall, Black Box Venue
Technical Rating
A, B, C
Touring Party
3
Considerations

This production contains adult themes insofar as it deals with the topics of loss and grief. There is minimal swearing and no sexual references.

Due to artist availability there are limited blocks of availability for touring: ideally April – June 2019/2020 and September – November 2019/2020 are the best periods.

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

Audiences will love seeing sizzling acting bouncing between 2 seasoned performers with tight, nuanced directing in this Australian premiere production. The sparse text tackles the tough question of grief head-on with no artifice or spectacle, but with life-affirming moments of dry humour and full of human connection. Poison won the Taalunie Toneelschrijfprijs Award in 2010 for best new play and has been translated into 15 languages, accrued awards all over Europe and has been produced in America, Russia, South America, Mexico, China and South Africa. There are plans for film adaptions in both Dutch and English.

Marketing Materials

Teacher’s notes will be made available. The production is suitable for senior drama and/or English students. Promotional footage from the Metro Arts premiere production. Marketing copy, print material templates and hero and production images. Audience feedback and critical reviews from the premiere season. Media release template.

Community Engagement

Elise Greig is a playwright as well as an actor. Her play, Magpie, was longlisted for Queensland Premier’s Drama Award in 2018. Elise will offer a 1.5 hour playwrighting workshop as a community engagement activity, focusing on the importance of language and the necessity to develop nuanced characters when writing for the theatre. Alternatively, a 1.5 hour acting workshop will be offered by Elise Greig and Paul Bishop, in which they explore the importance of human connection in character development.