MEDIA RELEASE: Thursday 21 June 2007

The MAN from MUKINUPIN
by Dorothy Hewett

(The Chapel Perilous, This Old Man Comes Rolling Home)

Scene from New Theatre 2007 Production of Man from Mukinupin - Photo Bob Seary

THE MAN FROM MUKINUPIN is a musical celebration of country life in a Western Australian wheat-belt town at the time of the Great War.

Dorothy Hewett's wonderful play has it all: star-crossed lovers; rivalries and feuds; dark secrets; hidden lies; and many sets of twins. Shakespearean players, fertility rites, tight wire walkers, a shopkeeper's daughter and brand new soldiers; stargazers and knights of the road, a murderous past - that's Mucka.

THE MAN FROM MUKINUPIN sparkles with the verve and innocence of 'the good old days' but it also reveals the prejudices and ignorance of a less forgiving time, serving as a reminder that our nation was founded as much upon repression and hate as it was on enterprise and optimism.

Scene from New Theatre 2007 Production of Man from Mukinupin - Photo Bob Seary This delightful musical play charts the story of the young heroine Polly Perkins, of Jack and Cecil the rivals for her hand, and the quest for that elusive happy ending. This town might have more than its fair share of eccentrics, but Hewett doesn't simply tell a folksy tale. There are serious themes running underneath to earth the humour, charm and quirkiness: the clash of European and indigenous cultures, the tensions and differences between city and country people, the effects of outsiders on a tight-knit community, and the profound changes wrought on a community by the experience of war.

new theatre is thrilled to welcome back past Artistic Director Mary-Anne Gifford to direct this revival, collaborating with Musical Supervisor Michael Huxley and a talented cast including Louise Fischer, Peter Flett, Danny Green, Michael Gupta, Elaine Hudson, Patricia Jones, Romy Teperson and Deborah Thomson, most playing more than one character, many playing twins.

THE MAN FROM MUKINUPIN
by Dorothy Hewett

19 July - 18 August 2007
Thursday - Saturday 8pm, Sunday 5pm
Tickets: $27 full / $22 concession / $20 Groups 10+ / $15 school groups / $10 preview Wednesday 18 July 2007
Bookings: 1300 306 776 or mca-tix Schools bookings only: 9519 3403

For all media enquiries, including interviews and images, please contact: newtheatre@bigpond.com / 9519 3403

new theatre media-release-2007-06-21.shtml Last updated 23 July 2007.
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