Thursday's Child August 13, 2009

Monkey Baa Theatre for Young People present
Sonya Hartnett’s
Thursday’s Child
Based on the award-winning Australian novel
At Riverside Theatres August 13 and 14 including Schools performances

The premiere stage adaptation of Sonya Hartnett’s award-winning Australian novel, Thursday’s Child has been bought to life by the acclaimed Monkey Baa Theatre for Young People and has begun a national tour. Adapted for stage by Eva Di Cesare, Sandra Eldridge, and Tim McGarry, Thursday’s Child will play Riverside Theatres on August 13 and August 14 including 2 performances for schools.

Thursday’s Child is Tin, born on a Thursday, he is a living testimony to the original nursery rhyme lyrics as Tin, “has far to go”. A curious and lonely boy, Tin’s solitary wanderings and strange desire to dig take him underneath the earth into a self-made labyrinth of subterranean tunnels that he’s pre-destined to roam. Told by Tin’s sister, Harper Flute, above ground Tin’s family struggle through the tough times of the Great Depression. There is death, crop failure, neighbourhood and family disputes. Harper narrates her family’s hardship on the desolate, impoverished farm and as life on the surface grows harsher, Tin escapes even further into a dark, mysterious world. Thursday’s Child explores cruel misfortune and the idea that life is a pre-determined fall from a great height. It juxtaposes the spirit of childhood with the struggle of adulthood in a poignant and intriguing story which ends in great hope.

“Thursday's Child is a tale of fate, of surrendering to destiny, of family and hope, but most of all it’s a tale of memory,” said Director Sandra Eldridge. ” Looking back enables us to see the connectedness of the events that shape our lives. It allows us to then understand who we are and gives us the grounding to move forward. The epic tale of Thursday’s Child lends itself beautifully to the theatrical form.”

Monkey Baa’s production of Thursday’s Child unites a large and experienced cast. It includes Charles Cousins who has previously appeared in Blind, As You See It; Scooby Doo and Our Country’s Good; Belinda Hoare Shakespeare’s Magic Box, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and A Winter’s Tale. James Lugton now a veteran of the Sydney stage has performed in various roles including Macbeth, The God Botherers, and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; Brendon McDonall’s Review with Myles Barlow, Mademoiselle Fifi and Worry Warts. Janis McGavin Urban Monkey, Comedy Inc, and 52 Pick Up. Kate Worsley Don’t Stare Too Much, Mademoiselle Fifi and The Taming of the Shrew.

The cast is supported by an accomplished creative team including Imogen Ross as set designer, Kate Shanahan as costume designer, lighting designer Luiz Pampolha and Jeremy Silver as the sound designer and composer.

Thursday’s Child won the 2002 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and is one of many award winning books by author Australian author Sonya Hartnett. In 1984 Hartnett published her first book, Trouble All the Way, at the young age of 15. She has written numerous young adult fiction novels including Sleeping Dogs, In Stripes of the Sidestep Wolf, Ghost’s Child, Butterfly and Wilful Blue which was also produced as a play. In 2008 Hartnett was awarded the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and she is currently nominated for the 2009 Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature.

Monkey Baa’s stage production of Thursday’s Child is touring across Australia from May until November and will play at Riverside Theatres August 13 and 14.

Thursday’s Child
Riverside Theatres
Schools Performances August 14
Other Performance: Thursday August 13 TIMES: 6.30pm TICKET PRICES: Adults $25, Conc $20, 30 & Under $20, 16 & Under $15 Riverside Saver: Adults $20, Conc $15, 30 & Under $15, 16 & Under $12 BOOKINGS: Riverside Box Office 02 8839 3399 or www.riversideparramatta.com.au

Official Website: http://www.riversideparramatta.com.au