A Stretch of the Imagination May 19, 2009

Christine Harris, HIT Productions and Riverside Theatres
present

A Stretch of the
Imagination

By Jack Hibberd
STARRING JOHN WOOD

Multi award winning actor, John Wood returns to Riverside Theatres to play one of the great comic creations of Australian dramatic literature, Monk O’Neill in A Stretch of the Imagination. This dark and quirky monologue, written by Jack Hibberd will be performed from Tuesday 19 May to Saturday 23 May.

A Stretch of the Imagination is a surreal black comedy. This colourful and rambling monologue reveals the grouchy observations over the course of a day of a man described as bush philosopher, yarn spinner, epic lover, mate, heroic battler, individualist, sardonic, iconoclast, cultured man of letters, bon vivant or just plain old Monk O’Neill.

A Stretch of the Imagination was first performed in 1972, its’ universal themes of self reflection and mortality communicate to audiences today. Fast becoming an Australian classic, A Stretch of the Imagination has also been translated into Mandarin and performed in China.

“Monk is of the ilk of Lear, Astrov, Vanya, Gallileo; a man pushing at the imaginative boundaries of our universe,” said John Wood. “Written in the era of the Cuban Missile crisis, the Cold War, the post-apocalyptic, pre-apocalyptic world of 9/11, it turns out to be a play about a man dealing with the events and outcomes of a life he alone has lived and his impending death.”

“Monk O’Neill acts out his memories and fantasies while heroically fighting against his own physical decline and the depredations of his environment, said Director, Denis Moore. “Through the audience’s witness and involvement in his virtuoso performance, Monk encourages us all to ‘stretch our imaginations’ and come to new ways of thinking about ourselves and the country in which we live.”

A Stretch of the Imagination is also playing at the Q Theatre, Penrith from the 12-16 May and Civic Theatre, Newcastle on the 26th and 27th May.

A STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION
Riverside THEATRE, Cnr Church and Market Sts, Parramatta
DATES: May 19-23
TIMES: Tues 19 May 7:30pm, Wed 20 May 7:30pm, Thurs 21 May 6:30pm, Fri 22 May 7:30pm, Sat 23 May 2:15pm & 7:30pm.
TICKET PRICES:
Tues – Thu & Sat Matinee Adults $45, Conc $40, 30 & Under $32, 16 & Under $28
Fri & Sat Evening Adults $48, Conc $43, 30 & Under $35, 16 & Under $31
BOOKINGS: Riverside Box Office 02 8839 3399 or www.riversideparramatta.com.au

Official Website: http://www.riversideparramatta.com.au/performance.asp?pID=836