THE LOVELY BONES

BY ALICE SEBOLD
ADAPTED BY BRYONY LAVERY

23 NOVEMBER – 18 DECEMBER 2021

AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

“My name is Salmon. Like the fish. Susie. Fourteen years old. I was murdered.”

A coming-of-age story with a supernatural twist.

Susie Salmon is a typical 14yo girl, with all the usual preoccupations: she wants to be gorgeous, she has secret crushes, and favourite things. There’s just one small difference: Susie is dead, lured into a hideaway in a cornfield, and subsequently raped and murdered.

From beyond the grave, she now observes her grieving family: her father, obsessed with finding her killer and getting justice; her mother, looking to escape the unbearable pain of losing her child by forging a new life; and her clever sister, discovering boys and embarking of the journey that Susie herself never had the chance to take.

And Susie is trying to find a way to help.

Alice Sebold’s best-selling novel turned the horror-thriller trope of a crime and its aftermath into an elegiac meditation on life, love and loss. As she herself wrote: “the line between the living and the dead could be murky and blurred.”

Award-winning British playwright Bryony Lavery has taken Sebold’s beautiful novel and created a visceral performance text, both sparse and dense, that also surprises with its humour and verve.

New Theatre is thrilled to be presenting the Australian premiere of this work.

“A stunning adaptation” British Theatre Guide

Read the interview with director Deborah Mulhall

Please note: this play deals with issues of sexual assault, violence and abuse, which some patrons may find disturbing

Creative team

Director Deborah Mulhall
Set Designer Robyn Arthur
Scenic Designer & Artist Gareth Ernst
Lighting Designer Michael Schell
Costume Designer Andrea Tan
Sound Designer Sam Barnett
Vision Designer Mehran Mortezaei
Assistant Director Dimity Raftos
Production Manager David Marshall-Martin
Stage Manager Victoria Lewis
ASM Amelie James-Power, Owen Hirschfeld
Operators Ricci Costa, Isabella Zinghini
Crew Mitch Latham

Cast

Mark Barry, Naomi Belet
Cassady Maddox Booth
Shiva Chandra, Ted Crosby
Lisa Hanssens, Susan Jordan
Sarah Maguire, Brendan McBride
Natasha McDonald, Kirsty Saville
Andrea Tan, Sean Taylor
Parker Texilake

dates & times

Preview: Tue 23 November 7:30pm
Press Night/Opening Night: Wed 24 November 7:30pm
Thursday – Saturday 7:30pm
Sunday 5pm
Final performance: Saturday 18 December 2pm

Running time: 140 mins including interval

tickets

Full $35
Concessions, Groups (6+) $30
New Theatre Members $22
Thrifty Thursdays $22
Preview $20

Please note: New Theatre is a general admission theatre and seat selection is done on a first-come-first-serve basis. Venue opens 30 minutes before the advertised starting time of a performance.
In line with recent NSW Public Health orders, checking-in, proof of vaccination and the wearing of face masks is no longer mandatory at New Theatre.

BOOK TICKETS

★★★★ “A knockout adaptation…The cast is consistently strong…A cracker of a play that blows up our very current obsession with procedural crime dramas and whodunits to refocus on the real puzzle, ie life and how to live it.” Sydney Morning Herald

★★★★ “New Theatre reopens in style with an amazing Australian premiere on its hands…Be ready to be taken on a musical and fashion, time travel crime solving adventure…Director Deborah Mulhall has guided her actors to recreate a deeply human story with compassion.” Sydney Scoop

★★★★ “Whilst the subject matter is bleak the play is often tenderly funny…A contemplative and worthwhile production.” Arts Hub

“Heart tugging, warm, and frequently funny, and a celebration of living as best you can…A terrific production.” Chuck Moore reviews about

“Intriguing, inventive and engaging” Broadway World

“Poignant and heartbreaking. Congrats go the team for mounting a show despite the challenges and trials of pulling a production off during the lockdown.” RasaArt

“The director and the actors bring forth the gravity of the material without compromise..An incredibly rich and interesting story…A compelling and emotional show…This is a must see and a triumph for the cast and crew, working through the difficult and uncertain time of Lockdown 2.0” Theatre Travels