FINALLY FRIDAY: Stages set for 2014

THEATRE-lovers are in for a treat, with eight shows from Australia’s most innovative and accomplished theatre companies set to play Geelong Performing Arts Centre in 2014, according to the centre’s general manager.
Jill Smith said the season would mix the classic and contemporary, providing exciting family entertainment.
“We’ve brought together what promises to be a startling season of eight productions that will make you laugh, gasp and even shed tears – possibly at the same time.”
Red Stitch Actors Theatre will kick off the season in March with warm and funny new play Tom Wells’ The Kitchen Sink.
The play’s “not-so-typical family” from the faded Yorkshire seaside resort of Withernsea was described as comical and affecting, putting a “hilarious spin” on blue-collar domestic drama exploring human fragility.
Belvoir and Malthouse Theatre will then perform Simon Stone’s reworking of Nikolai Gogol comedy The Government Inspector.
Stone has taken the 1836 laugh-out-loud show on a madcap turn toward 21st Century Australia, creating an implausible masterpiece.
Shake & Stir Theatre will then bring to life George Orwell’s chilling classic novel 1984 in a new adaptation.
The play explores free thought and liberation, with a radical ruling party rewriting history to align the past with its political agenda, torturing citizens who attempt to take control over their lives.
Geelong will host the only Victorian performances of State Theatre Company of South Australia’s fairy-tale for grown-ups, Little Bird, written by multi-award-winning Nicki Bloom for stage legend Paul Capsis.
Darwin playwright and performer Mary Anne Butler will head south along the Highway of Lost Hearts with her heart-warming story about a woman, a dog, a campervan and 4500km of wide open road.
Oscar Wilde’s much-loved comedy of love, manners and mistaken identity, The Importance of Being Earnest, will feature theatre legend Nancye Hayes in a State Theatre Company of South Australia production.
Circus Oz will then make its long-awaited return to Geelong with an electrifying new show for the whole family.
A killer black comedy will finish the 2014 theatre season – Sondheim musical Assassins, directed by Tyran Parke and featuring a cast led by Nadine Garner.
Ms Smith said more information about the performances, including season and group ticket purchases, was available at gpac.org.au.