The 7 Stages of Grieving (2019)
Written By Wesley Enoch & Deborah Mailman
Directed by Jason Klarwein
Produced by United Stages and Skylight Theatre Company
Co-Producer: Sam Cook
Poignant, relevant, funny and devastating...
The first Australian Indigenous play to come to Los Angeles, The 7 Stages of Grieving has played nationally in Australia and internationally in London and Montreal and is hailed as “a vital masterwork." A remarkable story that talks about the issues which can both separate and unite us in a way that is relevant, jubilant, and sometimes devastating.
Skylight Theatre Company and United Stages acknowledges the Elders past and present of the Guugu Yimithirr Nation of the Cape York region of Queensland, the home of Thitharr Warra actor Chenoa Deemal. We extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people whose stories we share.
SCHEDULE
Skylight Theatre;
Nov 1– Nov 24 only
Co-production |
United States Premiere
Tickets sold through UnitedStages.org
Tickets: $20 - $35;
Opening Night $50
2019 Season
LOS ANGELES TIMES – “…POETIC, POIGNANT AND HUMOROUS”
“The 7 Stages of Grieving” has become one of Australia’s most produced plays... Written in 1994 by Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman,...one woman — played here by Chenoa Deemal — sums up the history of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia: the way they lived before the British arrived, and their ongoing struggle for recognition and equality.
America, like Australia, was founded upon conquest, the displacement of a real, rich and complex culture. The tone of “The 7 Stages of Grieving” isn’t so much accusatory as hopeful, a step toward acknowledgment and reconciliation.
MEDIA
2019
THE ARTISTS OF THE 7 STAGES OF GRIEVING
Jason Klarwein
director
works nationally and internationally with Australia's leading theatre companies. 2019 marks his tenth year as Artistic Director of Grin & Tonic Theatre. In 2007 Jason was one of five Australian artists invited by London's Almeida Theatre and the Sydney Theatre Company to participate in an International Shakespeare Laboratory led by Cicely Berry of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Almeida Theatre's Artistic Director Michael Attenborough. In 2009 he toured the United States alongside Cate Blanchett in the Sydney Theatre Company's production of A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Norwegian screen and stage legend Liv Ullmann. In 2017 Jason was nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best Actor in a Play for Sam Strong’s production of Michael Gow’s Once In Royal David’s City. Jason has directed many acclaimed theatre works including Orbit, Oedipus Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Much Ado About Nothing, St Mary’s In Exile, The 7 Stages of Grieving (Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Montreal, London), Hoods and My Name Is Jimi (Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney).
Chenoa Deemal
actor
is from the Thitharr Warra clan that is part of the Gugu Yimithirr tribe who reside in and around Hopevale, north of Cooktown in the Cape York Peninsula of Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) and has been working professionally as an actor since 2009. Chenoa’s shows include Rainbow’s End (Riverside Theatres Parramatta), Mother Courage and Her Children (Queensland Theatre Company), The Voice In The Walls (Imaginary Theatre), Mr. TakahashiI & Other Falling Secrets (Corrugated Iron) and A Man With Five Children (Darlinghurst Theatre). She has performed in the national tour of The 7 Stages Of Grieving (Queensland Theatre Company / Grin & Tonic) to critical acclaim and recently appeared in London at Origins: Festival Of First Nations.
DESIGNERS
LIGHTING DESIGN: Dan Anderson
SOUND / PROJECTION DESIGN: Justin Harrison
PRODUCTION STAFF
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER: Chris Goeldner
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER: Christopher Hoffman
PUBLICIST: Judith Borne
POSTER PHOTOGRAPHY: Elverina Johnson, First Nations Gungganji woman of Yarrabah, Queensland, Australia
POSTER MODEL: Joan Fourmile, First Nations Idinji/Gungganji child of Yarrabah, Queensland, Australia
PRODUCTION STILLS: Justin Harrison
SPECIAL EVENTS
REVIEWS
CAPTIVATING… the versatility of the multi-dimensional presentation is Impressive to behold - TheHollywoodTimes
A STORY WORTH HEARING FOR EVERY AMERICAN...thought-provoking. Poignant…will appeal to audiences fascinated by cultural issues - Splash Magazines/LA
RESONATED SACRED, the ineffable... Calling this performance a tapestry feels right... or even galaxy of life and longing, memories sweet and bitter...WITH ALL THE POWER such is supposed to invoke. - Night Tinted Glasses
REMARKABLE... beautifully represents the Aboriginal tradition of storytelling and, in a larger context, First Nation peoples finding their voices. There is grieving, yes, but also Healing. As Deemal notes in 7 Stages, 'Everything has its time.' Now is the time for this show” - Larchmont Buzz
UNITED STAGES
United Stages (formerly Australian Theatre Company) is recognized in Los Angeles for their critically acclaimed productions of Grey Nomad (winner Best Play - Local Production 2017 BroadwayWorld.Com Award), Swansong, Speaking in Tongues, Ruben Guthrie, and Holding the Man. Their annual reading series has presented 17 Australian works since its launch in 2015. In 2017 they partnered with 16th Street Actors Studio Australia to launch an education program that has included master classes with top professionals such as Tony Award, Oscar and Pulitzer Prize winning writer and director, John Patrick Shanley. Relaunched in 2019, United Stages is excited to expand from its Australian roots to become a reinvigorated and inclusive arts organization sharing stories from around the world. As the global entertainment hub, and a melting pot of diversity, Los Angeles will be the home of United Stages as it continues to enhance and contribute to the world’s theatre and arts communities. For more information, visit www.unitedstages.org
GRIN & TONIC
THEATRE TROUPE
Grin & Tonic Theatre Troupe developed this production with Queensland Theatre in 2015 and toured Australia in 2016 and 2017. Internationally, the production has appeared at the International Performing Arts for Youth conference in Montreal in 2016 and Origins: Festival of First Nations in London 2017.