What happens on the footy trip doesn’t always stay on the footy trip. When things go wrong in Thailand, only three people know the whole story. There’s Liam, an NRL workhorse who’s devoted to his code and his teammates; his older brother Dean, a top pick for the Brownlow, who tries desperately to clean up Liam’s mess; and Amber, a promising young athlete who rests uneasily on the edge of complicity and victimhood.

Cutting through the media-managed clichés of professional football, The Sublime plots an emotionally charged trajectory to expose human faults that go way beyond the sporting field.

This production staged by No Interval : Actors Theatre brings Brendan Cowell's razor sharp writing to the front line by keeping the actors totally restricted. David Bell (director) describes it as 'white-knuckle' theatre, audiences are gripping onto their seats until they are absorbed into a disturbing and all too-real world.

Venue Format
Theatre, Hall, Black Box Venue
Technical Rating
C, D, The production can be modified to suit most venues
Touring Party
3 Artists, 1 Stage Manger
Considerations

There is coarse language and adult themes, and specifically sexual content is graphically described at one point. The staging of the piece is very minimalistic and text focused, so nothing is illustrative or physically demonstrated. In terms of technical work, it is very simple, however a lighting and sound system would be essential.

No Interval : Actors Theatre is a company that was created by Tom Yaxley and Bradley Watt to be run by actors that does not have any ties to programming guidelines. Our goal is to bring razor sharp contemporary writing that is not often seen on the mainstage, writing that makes you want to look closer at our own humanity. As actors we have a responsibility to ‘hold the mirror to nature’ and this is what our company is about.

To expand on this, we're wanting to take our first production on tour. Tom and Brad both grew up in regional areas and we can attest giving these places access to professional theatre is life-changing.

Unique Selling Point

What truly struck us about this show is how fierce and forward the writing is. The Sublime debuted as one of the most significant new Australian plays of 2014 and No Interval's is only the second production to be mounted. We found this astounding and want to give the work as much life as possible. This version is unique as there is little physical movement in the staging. At our Brisbane Powerhouse prodution, audiences imaginations were struck by the interweaving words of a rocket-paced story and this is far more unsettling than any special effects we could muster.

Marketing Materials

We still possess all the marketing imagery from the original production. We also have a strong relationship with Jill Standfield from Gardens Theatre, who has offered marketing assistance, as well as Playlab who are the original publishers of the script. We have the facility for selling the script on tour as well - we found this helps audiences actively engage with the material after seeing it. We have a strong social media following that is always growing which will help spread marketing material.

Community Engagement

We can offer a range of community engagement, regarding discussions about the content of the play, forums about our own career trajectory for youth interested in pursuing the arts at a professional level. We can also offer acting workshops for community theatre groups and senior schools, as all the actors involved are trained. From a cultural perspective we can help establish a legacy of bringing new, exciting and confronting Australian work to places that may not always be exposed to this and bring our talented writers to the forefront. Our goal as a company is to help create a cultural fabric that allows us to look closer at our own culture, find what is worth fighting for and change what is draining us.