hitproduction06

	Double Act By Barry Creyton Comedy Dates:February - May 2006 We meet George and Alex, once a happily married couple, who meet by chance at a restaurant after their divorce. Their relationship takes off again from this casual meeting and the same problems and bones that were there to pick from before, come out again. The same ones that drove them earlier to divorce. A hilariously funny script that has had laughs from the wit and marvellous use of the English language. Barry Creyton, who wrote the play set out to create his own contemporary Australian version of a Noel Coward style of play. That he succeeded so brilliantly has been witnessed by the rave reviews that the play received in its original Sydney season where Barry starred alongside Noeline Brown. The play Double Act was optioned and picked up for Broadway and is now produced in 18 languages.
	Hotel Sorrento By Hannie Rayson Drama Dates:March - July 2006 Hotel Sorrento by Australian playwright Hannie Rayson is a highly commercial and relatable comedy / drama for a mainstream audience. This award winning play tells the story of 3 sisters who grew up together in seaside Sorrento. Hilary lives in the family home in Sorrento with her father and 16 year old son. Pippa, a businesswoman is visiting from New York and Meg, a successful writer, returns from England. When the 3 sisters are reunited after 10 years apart they again feel the constraints of family life and all the dramas that eventuate. This tour will reprise HIT's highly successful 1998 Melbourne Season and subsequent 1999 and 2000 tours of the production.
	Collected Stories by Donald Margulies Drama Dates: September - November 2006A respected short story writer and teacher in her mid fifties, Ruth Steiner has carved out a comfortable life for herself in a Greenwich Village apartment she has occupied for decades. Lisa Morrison is a callow yet talented 26 year old graduate student and aspiring writer, a child of suburban privilege, when she meets Ruth and offers to become her assistant. Over six years, in as many scenes, Collected Stories eavesdrops on Ruth and Lisa as their relationship evolves (from mentor / protégée to loving friends to adversaries) and ultimately disintegrates - touching on issues of age, artistic license and betrayal. Collected Stories was first staged in New York City in April, 1997 and starred Maria Tucci and Debra Messing.
	The Gin Game by D. L. Coburn (Remount) Drama Dates: October - December 2006 The Gin Game, by American playwright D. L. Coburn is a scathingly funny battle of wits between two older people whose lives have gone from ordinary to downright dreadful. The play is set on a rather run-down state run nursing home where the two characters, Weller and Fonsia, appear to have been abandoned by family, as they never receive visitors. Weller has been at the home for a few months and, being a loner, prefers to spend his time in the sunroom playing solitaire or reading. Fonsia is quite new to the home and the play begins with their first meeting. Weller convinces Fonsia to join him in a game of gin and begins by teaching her the rules. She wins the first game… and the second game… and the third… in fact she wins every game and with each win, Weller's frustration and rage grows. The card game can be seen as a metaphor for their lives - although Fonsia is lucky at cards, she has not been so lucky in love or life and Weller has obviously led a rather turbulent life in which the cards have been stacked against him. Perhaps their children have not abandoned them entirely by accident. The play is a thoroughly enjoyable slice of life about growing old in a society in which age is not respected and is wonderfully touching in its portrayal of this unlikely pair's unusual combative attraction to each other. The Gin Game was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the Best Play in 1978. This tour will follow on from HIT's successful and critically acclaimed 2004 tour.
	Barmaids by Katherine Thomson Drama / Comedy Dates: October - December 2006 Barmaids, a highly commercial comedy by Australian Playwright Katherine Thomson is the story of two mature barmaids who work at The Arms Hotel in an Australian port town. New Management at the pub puts the barmaids' jobs in jeopardy, as they see a new breed of karaoke singing, topless barmaids moving in on their territory. Through this avenue the play looks at the challenges women face everyday in terms of relationships, love, ageing and being valued for their work. This tour will follow on from HIT's successful and critically acclaimed 2006 tour.
	For further information about the above productions including show specs, production costings and details please contact HIT's Managing Director Christine Harris or Theatre Coordinator Shelley Steart (Direct line 03 9599 0804): HIT Productions 37 Melrose Street Sandringham VIC 3191 Ph: 03 9599 0899 Fax: 03 9521 6299 Email: christine.h@hitproductions.com.au shelley.s@hitproductions.com.au