Norm and Ahmed June 7, 2010

The Alex Buzo Company presents
the Western Sydney premiere of its acclaimed production of
NORM AND AHMED
Written By Alex Buzo & Directed by Aarne Neeme
Never underestimate the power of difference
Riverside Theatres
June 8 - 11
Forty two years after Alex Buzo’s Norm and Ahmed was at the centre of a sensational censorship battle
over its controversial ending, this tour de force of Australian theatre that addresses issues about male
aggression and racism is more compelling than ever for a nation presently faced with the challenges of
identity and tolerance. The critically acclaimed Norm and Ahmed is playing at Riverside Theatres from
8 June to 11 June with performance times also included for the Riverside Education season.
Norm, a middle-aged, working class war veteran meets Ahmed, a Pakistani university student late at night
on a deserted city street and a sharp and witty dialogue ensues. In a tension-fuelled, but often amusing
game of cat and mouse, “Aussie” Norm is confronted with his worst nightmare an intelligent, articulate and
attractive ethnic young man. Buzo's encounter between Norm and Ahmed exposes Australian life to be full
of contradiction, questionable values and an increasingly multicultural social fabric.
Time and time again today’s audience members who are new to the work are unnerved when they realise
Norm and Ahmed is a forty year old play. The backdrop of contentious current events such as the attacks
on international students, the Haneef saga, the Cronulla riots and the backlash against the Muslim school in
Camden fuels a new wave of relevance for the play.
“I never tire of being in the audience with people who are seeing this gem of a play for the first time. I love
the laughter, the gasps and when the lights go up after the surprising ending, how people immediately want
to talk about the questions it raises. I have fond memories of being in theatre foyers with my father over
the years and people bailing him up, demanding to know why Norm did what he did. Now, when people do
this to me, I always respond in exactly the same way my father did - with another question: What do you
think? ” said Producer, Emma Buzo.
Director Aarne Neeme is acutely aware of the powerful relevance of Norm and Ahmed and has set the
action in the present day, changing Norm, played by Laurence Coy, from a WWII veteran to a Vietnam
veteran and giving Ahmed, played by Craig Meneaud a backpack instead of a briefcase.
“Norm and Ahmed is a prized Australian work and epitomises the very essence of theatre as it is both
thoroughly entertaining and dares the audience to reflect on their beliefs. Perhaps the most extraordinary
part about Buzo’s gutsy play is that Norm and Ahmed’s examination of Australian values and conventional
belief systems is still as relevant as it was over forty years ago. Riverside Theatres is proud to have Norm
and Ahmed as part of the Riverside Theatres Education season” said Director of Riverside Theatres, Robert
Love.
Norm and Ahmed is a watershed work. It was one of the first plays to link male aggression with insecurity
and challenge popular Australian notions such as the Great Australian Dream, mateship, the “fair go” and
the ANZAC legend. An encounter between an urban, middle-aged blue-collar Aussie bloke and an articulate
young Pakistani man living in Australia to attend university represented a slice of Australian life unseen in
Australian theatre in the late sixties. The notorious censorship battle that followed over Norm and
Ahmed’s premiere shot the play’s young author, Alex Buzo to fame and Australian contemporary theatre
hit the headlines for the very first time. The censorship battle was fought across three states and the play
was banned in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. Ironically and amusingly, the play is now a set text for NSW
HSC Drama students.
Laurence Coy’s first professional theatre role was as Harry the convict in Alex Buzo’s Macquarie in 1984.
Since then he has worked for all the State Theatre Companies in Australia, Bell Shakespeare, Perth,
Adelaide and Sydney Festivals, Marian St, Q Theatre and for many commercial and independent producers.
His recent theatre credits include Angels in America at Riverside and Shining City and Bug at the Stables
Theatre.
Multi-talented Craig Meneaud is trained as an actor and also has a Bachelor of Business degree and
teaches Business, Marketing and Events Management. His recent credits include Homebody/Kabul at Belvoir
St Theatre and a guest role in the television series Sea Patrol. He is about to play two different roles in The
Alex Buzo Company and Riverside Theatres’ production of Macquarie in July 2010.
Director, Aarne Neeme was Artistic Director at Perth’s The Hole in the Wall, Hunter Valley Theatre
Company, Perth’s National Theatre Company and a Resident Director at Nimrod Street Theatre. He has
directed plays for most of the major Australian theatre companies and has directed fourteen of Alex Buzo’s
plays including Rooted, Coralie Lansdowne Says No, Martello Towers, Big River, Macquarie, Pacific Union
and Shellcove Road and the premieres of Makassar Reef, The Marginal Farm and Stingray.
The Alex Buzo Company is a young and energetic arts organisation founded in 2007 by Emma Buzo,
the daughter of acclaimed Australian playwright and author Alex Buzo, shortly after he died prematurely in
2006. The company is dedicated to reinventing his extraordinary canon for contemporary audiences and
upholding the spirit Alex Buzo’s achievements, who believed that the arts were vital not only for
encouraging reflection and self awareness, but for helping to make life in Australia more enjoyable.
A revelatory production...a fine revival of a great classic
The Australian
This is an incredible play: engrossing and exhausting and confronting
Australian Stage Online
Riverside Theatres wishes to advise patrons that this production is also a part of our Education Season.
Please note that our daytime performances are also offered to school-age audiences, however patrons
are most welcome to attend.
NORM AND AHMED at
RIVERSIDE THEATRES, Cnr Church and Market Sts, Parramatta
DATES: Tues 8 Jun at 10am & 12:30pm & 7pm Wed 9 Jun at 10am, 12:30pm & 7pm; Thurs
10 Jun at 10am, 12:30pm & 7pm; Fri 11 Jun at 10am & 12:30pm
SINGLE TICKET PRICES: Adults $32, Conc $28
BOOKINGS: Riverside Box Office 02 8839 3399 or www.riversideparramatta.com.au