A biographical drama with touches of comedy about a tennis superstar will take to Geelong’s Potato Shed this Friday.
Newk is the story of tennis legend John Newcombe that takes place in different stages of his life and is written by playwright Kieran Carroll.
“John Newcombe, who was a great Australian tennis champion of the 1960s and 70s, won seven Grand Slam titles, and he was number one in the world,” Mr Carroll said.
“The play traces his life from his early days in Sydney through a career in sort of two phases because, in the 1960s, tennis was amateur, and the players didn’t earn any money.
“By the time we get to the 70s, things have changed a lot. Everything’s gone into full-blown colour, and he has a career from some of the early 60s until about the mid-70s.
“The play is actually set in 2014 and it’s his 70th birthday and it’s a barbeque at his Sydney home.”
Mr Carroll said he wanted to write a play based on his passion for the sport and looked forward to delving into the history of Mr Newcombe.
“There was one side of me thinking, a play about the history of Australian tennis and about the national sporting icon would seem like something that hadn’t been done before,” he said.
“I already had a fairly strong working knowledge of Australian tennis history and feel passionate about it.
“It was partly putting some of my childhood and teenage love for the game into writing.
“I deal with some of the difficulties even back then for touring tennis players being away from their families and cover a lot of politics of the time.”
Mr Carroll said the play was open to everyone and that viewers did not need to be tennis experts to watch the performance.
“The character of John Newcombe is very magnetic and charismatic, and there are lots of touches of comedy,” he said.
“You don’t necessarily have to know anything, but hopefully you come away with a big picture of what that world was like in the 60s and 70s.”
Newk, the John Newcombe story, will be showcased at the Potato Shed this Friday, March 17, from 8pm. Tickets are available at tickets.geelongaustralia.com.au/event/newk-2023.
