Short Performance & Workshop

Short Performances & Workshop

The standard delivery of these programs is a 120 minute session consisting of a 70 minute short performance and a 50 minute workshop in which key scenes are revisited for further analysis and interpretation.

When booking these programs let us know your needs in detail. We want to work with you and you can choose the type of experience you would like to explore.

Do you want a powerful emotional performance or something that just helps students to follow the narrative?

In the workshop would you like us to explore a range of interpretations supported by the text or focus on a specific approach that you are teaching? If you would like us to focus on a specific interpretation, we need to know this in advance and know the details of what you want conveyed.

Oedipus The King

Oedipus is the story of a man in power and his quest for truth. He hears the truth from different angles but in an attempt to avoid his fate, he descends into madness and self-destruction. The chorus, represents a narrative voice and/or citizens who witness and convey the key messages, from which we are to learn.

In 2025 we have an exciting new offering. We begin the session by first workshopping two versions of the chorus. One is intended to represent traditional Greek theatre, the other is a more contemporary interpretation where phones and social media symbolise a modern chorus.

Unless the school wishes us to stay focused on one or the other style of reading, we will ask students to choose which style they want for the performance. Post show, the workshop examines key characters and the themes: fate, guilt, blindness, prophecy and the quest for truth and enlightenment.

Oedipus


short performance & Workshop 


Prices do not include gst


Oedipus the king

by sophocles


2 hourS


$22 per student 

$2200 minimum booking fee


Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and juliet

“I saw Shakespeare, it wasn’t hard, and don’t tell anyone but I may have even liked it.” This is a verbatim quote from a student post show but the type of comment we often hear. Truely we couldn’t hope for more. This performance starts out as a comic, romantic journey where we draw audiences into laughter, love and frivolity. As the tragedy unfolds, we give you the chance to feel deeply and have cause and reason to “go hence and have more talk of these sad things”.

Unless guided by the school, toward specific goals, in the workshop we explore iconic readings of the play as well as how it’s often perceived by young audiences. We also like to probe, how different perceptions of the play give different answers to, common essay questions like “Who is to blame?” and “Does love or hate win in this play?”


short performance & Workshop 


Prices do not include gst


romeo and juliet

by william shakespeare


2 hourS


$14 per student 

$1400 minimum booking fee


Macbeth

A tale of envy and jealousy, greed, ambition and an echo chamber of regret and the forces of manipulation that surround us. This performance brings the role of the witches into the foreground, as an almost ever-present force playing with their human puppets. The struggle of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are still at the centre of the performance but one gets the sense that it’s the supernatural and the witches’ awareness of human frailty that drives the tragedy.

Unless otherwise requested by the school, our workshop focuses on different possible readings of the lead characters. Is Macbeth a good man, who is not strong enough to stand up to his wife’s emasculating ambition?

If Lady Macbeth does manipulate him, given that he is a general, does it make sense if she does it with outright force? Is it possible the two are deeply in love and desperately want the other to get what they see is rightfully due?

Macbeth


short performance & Workshop 


Prices do not include gst


macbeth

by william shakespeare


2 hourS


$14 per student 

$1400 minimum booking fee

Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing

Shakespeare definitely called Much Ado About Nothing a comedy. The play certainly reveals the folly of being in love and in the ways we run from it. It also explores word play and darker uses of language.

Gender roles, and the behaviours of, not just Don John but also Don Pedro may, or may not, just be part of the fun. The latter of the two characters is, perhaps, a symbol of the two sides of meddling in the affairs of others. Our performance entices audiences to laugh along at seemly harmless jokes, before bringing it to our awareness that toxic humour is not as banal as it may seem.

The workshop, unless otherwise guided by schools, offers the chance to explore the idea of a period court drama, word play and the power of language. We also like to unpack the question of, if Beatrice is in fact one of Shakespeare’s empowered female roles.


short performance & Workshop 


Prices do not include gst


Much ado about nothing

william shakespeare


2 hourS


$22 per student 

$2200 minimum booking fee

Oedipus the King by Sophocles

PERFORMANCE

“It’s about a guy who never listens to anybody and pays the price.”

This brand new staging of the classic Oedipus takes a fast and furious approach to the text.  Stripped back to the dramatic essence of the story, Oedipus is set in a contemporary corporate environment and works as a modern parable of being blind to the truth and ignoring advice from experts. The production is slick, fast paced, and ends with a classic moment of shock/horror. 

Adapted from the Robert Fagles translation and directed by Dr Robert Reid (writer of The Joy of Text and On the Production of Monsters at MTC).

WORKSHOP

“Good theatre is supposed to make you talk about it after.”

The workshop for Oedipus encourages critical analysis of the actions and behaviours of the characters, particularly Oedipus, and considers the motivations for those actions.  Through direct engagement with the students, the workshop facilitator and actors guide a discussion of contemporary issues affected by similar behaviour in modern society and the importance of seeking advice before making decisions.

This conversation is conducted post performance with the students and can range across relatable topics such as global climate change, smoking and vaping, mask wearing during the pandemic and reconciliation.  The discussion can also explore the narrative and performance aspects of the production for a workshop more focused on literary and aesthetic appreciation.


POTENTIAL PUBLIC SEASON & PARTNER SCHOOLS INVITE

We anticipate that we will be staging a season of Oedipus for the general public in 2024. This production will be a larger scale version of our school’s short performance. It will feature more ensemble chorus elements and a greater focus on design. 

As part of this project we are also partnering with schools who would be interested in hosting performances of our public season for their school community and the general public. We are already in discussion with 2 schools and have space for a few more. If your school would like the chance to be considered, get in touch asap.


OEDIPUS the king


NB: Prices do not include gst

short performance & Workshop


120 mins

$2200

up to 100 students

Additional Students $22 each

ROMEO AND JULIET by William Shakespeare

Performance

“I saw Shakespeare, it wasn’t hard, and don’t tell anyone but I may have even liked it.” This is the sort of thing we hear from students after this show.The dramatic style mirrors the narrative, creating an exciting ride for our young audiences.They are drawn into reckless abandon, a world of period costumes, playful sword fights and comedic characters, as Romeo and Juliet fall in love.Then of course the joy and frivolity ruptures and fades as the tragedy sets in. Both the actors and students all fall together.

Workshop

Students are guided to ask questions and talk about the performance; what they understood, what they liked or didn’t like. We often hear the comment that Romeo and Juliet is a play about ‘two dumb teenagers’ and lust. We explore this idea so students see how an idea that seems to be an off hand comment, could form the basis of a valid reading. Then we challenge this idea by looking at different portrayals of the main characters that might make the love-at-first-sight narrative more appealing. Where time and the level of the group permits, we also look at how creative choices can be used to explore essay prompts such as “Who is to blame?” and “Is love or hate the more powerful force?”

Romeo & Juliet



NB: prices do not include gst

Short performance only


70 MINS

$1150

up to 100 students

Additional Students $11.50 each

Short performance & Workshop


120 MINS

$1350

up to 100 students

Additional Students $13.50 each

MACBETH by William Shakespeare

Performance

When an evil person gets what’s coming to them there is no tragedy.This production focuses on the familiarity and banality of having desires and ambitions, and how when unchecked, they can lead to consequences beyond imagination. We focus on the journey of a loving couple, who each want the other to achieve their dreams, but ultimately destroy everything they care about; themselves, and each other.

Workshop

Students are guided to critique the performance, ask questions and delve deeper into interpretive practice by looking at the couple’s relationship, and other monologues as time permits. The scene between Macbeth and “His Wife” before Duncan is murdered is used to explore gender, manipulation, and power. The “unsex me here” monologue continues the discussion about gender introducing ideas about frailty and the super- natural.The “two truths” monologue offers an opportunity to show their ambition in tangible, contemporary terms.

MACBETH



NB: prices do not include gst

Short performance only


70 MINS

$1150

up to 100 students

Additional Students $11.50 each

Short performance & Workshop


120 MINS

$1350

up to 100 students

Additional Students $13.50 each