Toy Symphony April 7, 2010

Michael Gow’s long-awaited new play is a compelling journey of personal self discovery.

Queensland Theatre Company’s very own artistic director and award-winning playwright Michael Gow, gives us a rare insight into the heart and mind of the artist and the inescapable power of memory. The multi-award winning, Toy Symphony is playing at Riverside Theatres from April 7 to April 10.

Gifted playwright Roland Henning is trying to convince his sceptical therapist Nina that he doesn’t have writer’s block, it’s just that, well, he can’t write anymore. With Nina’s help, Roland reluctantly recalls his primary school days in the outer-Sydney suburb of Como, and the extraordinary day that shattered his boyhood plunging him headlong into the dizzy circus of art and life. As Roland remains adamant that he is beyond help and will never write again, personal tragedy threatens to permanently derail him.

Director Geordie Brookman says “Toy Symphony is a highly theatrical and clever new work. It taps into one of the great, but not irreversible tragedies of life, the moment we lose our inner child. I was drawn to the piece initially because of its investigation of the creative act but it has stayed in my head and heart since because of the joy and rebirth it finds in some of life's most painful moments.”
Michael Gow is one of Australia’s leading playwrights and directors. His plays include the multi-award winning Away, hailed as a modern classic of the Australian theatre and one of the most performed Australian works written. Toy Symphony premiered in 2007 and won numerous awards including the Helpmann for Best New Australian Work and the Sydney Theatre Award for Best New Work.

RIVERSIDE THEATRES, Cnr Church and Market Sts, Parramatta
DATES: Wed Apr 7, 8pm; Thurs Apr 8, 6.30pm; Fri Apr 9, 8pm; Sat Apr 10, 2pm & 8pm
SINGLE TICKET PRICES: Adults $52, Conc $47, 30 & Under $39
SEASON TICKETS*: Adults $45, Conc $40, 30 & Under $35
BOOKINGS: Riverside Box Office 02 8839 3399 or www.riversideparramatta.com.au
Also playing at Glen St Theatre from April 20