2016 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies
Playlist
The following plays have been selected for study in 2016. This list should be used in conjunction
with requirements set out in the VCE Drama Study 2014-2018 and VCE Theatre Studies Study
Design 2014-2018.
Schools should use the information in this notice to select play/s as required by Drama and Theatre
Studies Units 3-4 and make bookings in a prompt and timely manner.
For VCE Theatre Studies Unit 3, students must study the playscript and the performance identified
in this notice. The only version of the playscript students are required to study for Theatre Studies
Unit 3 is the one used as the basis for the performance students will attend. In some cases this
playscript will be a ‘working script’. For VCE Drama Unit 3 and Theatre Studies Unit 4, students are
not required to study the playscript. The playscript can be a valuable learning resource in these
units however theatre companies are not obliged to provide copies of the script for these plays.
Schools should be aware that plays may be withdrawn from the list. All financial arrangements
regarding attendance at Playlist performances are a matter for schools and the theatre
company/organisation responsible for the production.
Drama Unit 3 Playlist
The plays selected for study in 2016 are listed below. This list should be considered in conjunction
with the requirements set out in Unit 3 Outcome 3 in the VCE Drama Study Design 2014–2018.
Students will undertake an assessment task based on the performance of a play on the Playlist.
Question/s will also be set on the performances of the plays in the end-of-year Drama written
examination.
While the VCAA considers all plays on this list suitable for study, teachers should be aware that in
some instances sensitivity might be needed where particular issues or themes that are explored
may be challenging for students. Teachers are advised to familiarise themselves with the treatment
of these issues and themes within the context and world of the play prior to students viewing the
play and/or studying the playscript. This might involve reading the playscript, talking with the theatre
company, researching the playscript, the work of the playwright, director and/or company, attending
a preview performance and/or discussing the matter with the school administration. Information
provided in this notice about themes and/or language used in specific plays is a guide only. In some
plays, suggestive and potentially offensive words and phrases are used. This language may invite
adverse comment from some areas of the community.
Schools should note the advice provided in regard to Peddling, Blind, and Picnic at Hanging Rock.
© VCAA
2016 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist
1. Peddling by Harry Melling
Theatre Company Melbourne Theatre Company
Season 21 April–6 May
Venue Southbank Theatre, The Lawler, 140 Southbank Boulevard, Southbank
Duration 75 minutes
Performance times Melbourne season: 1.30pm and 7pm performances available. See mtc.com.au
for full schedule.
Tour 9–27 May to regional Victorian schools and performing arts centres including:

The Capital, Bendigo (03) 5434 6100

Mildura Arts Centre (03) 5018 8330

Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre (03) 5722 8105

Geelong Performing Arts Centre (03) 5225 1207

Esso BHP Billiton Wellington Entertainment Centre, Sale (03) 5143 3200
For further details, please contact MTC.
Tickets Southbank performances: students $26, one accompanying teacher per 10 students
admitted at no cost, additional teachers $34
Bookings Melbourne Season: Mellita Ilich, Education Ticketing Officer, (03) 8688 0963 or
schools@mtc.com.au
Peddling is the story of a young man, known only as Boy, existing on the fringes of society. Unseen
and unheard by almost everyone, apart from those who are out to gain from him (namely the
Bossman), he peddles his wares door-to-door in search of a solution, a familiar face, a way up and
out. Despite dealing with difficult life circumstances, Boy displays a sense of strength and hope that
transcends the harsh reality of his world. The language of the play uses a rapid rhyming structure
that removes us from the naturalistic world and positions us as witness to a vivid stream of
consciousness bursting forth from a young man who is frantically seeking a sense of self and a
sense of belonging in the world.
This production requires a theatrically heightened and intensely physical performance from its actor
and will also feature a musician and the use of theatre technologies. The performance will feature
repetition, fragmentation, narration and direct audience address.
Advice to schools
The content of this production is suitable for students in Year 10 and above. It includes strong
language that some students may find confronting.
Contact MTC for details of post-show forums.
2. Blind by Nancy Black and Duda Paiva
Theatre Company A collaboration between Black Hole Theatre Co. and the Duda Paiva Company
(NL), presented by Theatre Works as part of the Festival of Live Art
Season 8-19 March
Venue Theatre Works, 14 Acland Street, St Kilda
© VCAA
Page 2
2016 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist
Duration 60 minutes
Performance times Tue 8 March 8.00pm (preview), Wed 9 March 8.00pm, Thu 10 March 1.00pm
and 8.00pm, Sat 12 March 8.00pm, Wed 16 March 1.00pm and 8.00pm, Thu 17 March 8.00pm, Fri
18 March 8.00pm, Sat 19 March 8.00pm.
Tickets Students $26 plus $1.00 booking fee, one teacher admitted at no cost for every 10
students, full ticket price $35, concession/under 30 $26, groups of eight-plus $26, preview $20 (plus
booking fees)
Bookings Paula Philip at Theatre Works, (03) 9534 3388 or admin@theatreworks.org.au
Out of the blue, life throws you a curve ball – a crisis that that you didn’t expect or deserve, with
lasting consequences. Blind explores such a crisis. It draws on the personal experience of Duda
Paiva who suffered an undiagnosed illness as a child in Brazil that left him temporarily blind. The
work treats his disability as both a physical reality and metaphor. Who actually ‘sees’? To what and
whom are we ‘blind’? What do we want? Who changes? These questions focus on the interactions
between individuals and society, so some of the audience is seated on stage, and from time to time
assist with the story. Non-naturalistic, and highly theatrical, Blind creates powerful images to
express the layers of Duda’s struggle: dance, puppetry, interactive sound and light, and improvised
conversations with the audience contribute to the impact of the work. Both real and poetic, often
funny, deeply moving, it crosses cultural (western and Yoruba) and performance boundaries, mixing
languages, genres, and social expectations.
Advice to schools
Blind draws on Duda Paiva’s personal experience of being temporarily blind as a child, and from the
treatments he received from medical doctors and witch doctors in his native Brazil.
Contact Theatre Works for details of post-show Q&A sessions and workshops
3. Bright World by Andrea James & Elise Hearst, devised with Arthur
Theatre Company Arthur, commissioned and presented by Theatre Works
Season 13 April – 1 May (previews 13 and 14 April)
Venue Theatre Works, 14 Acland Street, St Kilda
Duration 90 minutes
Performance times Wed–Sat 8.00pm, Wed–Fri 1.00pm, Sat 30 April 3.00pm
Tickets Students $26 plus $1.00 booking fee, one teacher admitted at no cost for every 10
students, full ticket price $35, concession/under 30 $26, groups of eight-plus $26, preview $20 (plus
booking fees)
Bookings Paula Philip at Theatre Works, (03) 9534 3388 or admin@theatreworks.org.au
On 6 December 1938, Aboriginal activist William Cooper led a deputation to the front door of
Melbourne’s German Embassy in protest against the mounting Nazi persecution of European Jews.
Eighty years later, two playwrights come together to explore the epic legacy of their ancestors.
Featuring in the production as themselves, the writers explore the ways in which they are marked by
the struggles and achievements of their ancestors, how contemporary Australians are affected by
the legacy of those who came before them, and how this forms our understanding of modern
Australian identity.
© VCAA
Page 3
2016 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist
Bright World spans three worlds: the past in Austria and Australia, the present in Australia, and an
imagined world where past, present and future collide. The play uses heightened and lyrical
theatrical language, disrupting traditional dramatic conventions and post-dramatic techniques. The
performance styles include magic realism, heightened naturalism, play with genre conventions,
deconstruction (The Sound of Music), verbatim conventions, contemporary stand-up comedy,
reportage, and multimedia. Immersive elements include an interactive/particiaptory Bat Mtzvah.
Music and sound will be controlled directy by the performers onstage through laptops and record
players.
Advice to schools
This production has been developed with input from cultural advisors who have expertise in the
Koorie and Jewish heritages and traditions.
Contact Theatre Works for details of post-show Q&A sessions.
4. Picnic at Hanging Rock, adapted by Tom Wright from the novel Picnic
at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
Theatre company Malthouse Theatre (in association with Black Swan Theatre, Perth)
Season 25 February–20 March
Venue Meryln Theatre, The Coopers Malthouse, Sturt Street Southbank
Duration 90 minutes
Performance times
Previews: Fri 26 February 7.30pm, Sat 27 February 7.30pm, Mon 29 February 6.30pm.
Season: Tue 1 March 6.30pm (opening), Wed 2 March 7.30pm, Thu 3 March 12.30pm* & 7.30pm,
Fri 4 March 7.30pm, Sat 5 March 3.00pm & 7.30pm, Tue 8 March 6.30pm, Wed 9 March 7.30pm,
Thu 10 March 12.30pm* & 7.30pm, Fri 11 March 7.30pm, Sat 12 March 3.00pm & 7.30pm, Tue 15
March 6.30pm, Wed 16 March 7.30pm, Thu 17 March 12.30pm* & 7.30pm, Fri 18 March 7.30pm,
Sat 19 March 3.00pm & 7.30pm, Sun 20 March 5.00pm
*VCE Matinee
Tickets Students metro/regional $24.50/22.50, up to two accompanying teachers per school
admitted at no cost, additional teachers $40
Bookings Complete the Schools Booking Form on www.malthousetheatre.com.au. or email
education@malthousetheatre.com.au. Contact Vanessa O’Neill, Education Program Manager on
(03) 9685 5164, or Gemma Cotterell, Schools Booking Manager, on (03) 9685 5157.
Picnic at Hanging Rock presents a piece of faux Australian history, one that has haunted the
Australian psyche for decades. In a flimsy room with no exit or entrance, five contemporary
schoolgirls begin to recall the events that occurred on St Valentine’s Day in 1900. As events are recreated using a chorus of words, the girls themselves start to appear and disappear in the room,
time and subjectivity blur, and 2016 and 1900 begin to exist simaltaneously. The telling of this
unanswered Australian myth becomes a traumatising and euphoric act, and as the rock is
manifested in the imaginations of the actors and the audience, the potential for history to repeat
itself becomes ominously present.
Tom Wright’s adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s novel speaks to our contemporary need for meaning, our
impulse to simplify and comprehend a world that is ultimately incomprehensible, and our fear of
© VCAA
Page 4
2016 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist
engaging with the unknown. The five actors telling the story, move between direct address and
playing a myriad of male and female characters; blurring time, place and notions of ‘reality’. There is
also an erotic subtext throughout the narrative, a fear of sexuality and transformation, as both young
women and men lurch from childhood into adulthood and a society struggles with change - a
society fighting to shake off its ‘English’ ancestry, its conservatism and its naivety. Music will be a
key stagecraft element throughout this piece, aurally building this dream world and the ominous
presence of the rock itself. This production will feature transformation of time, place and character,
heightened language, direct address and an exploration of the conventions of Australian Gothic
theatre.
Advice to schools
Schools are advised to contact Malthouse Theatre for further information about treatment of themes
in this production.
Contact Malthouse Theatre for details of TTT – Time to Talk (with the director and cast) and forums.
5. Tales of a City by the Sea by Samah Sabawi
Theatre Company La Mama Theatre
Season Wed 11 May–Sun 29 May
Venue La Mama Courthouse Theatre, 349 Drummond Street Carlton
Duration 100 minutes (approximately)
Performance times Wed 6.30pm, Thu–Sat 7.30pm, Sun 4.00pm, Wed 1.00pm & Thu 11.00am
Tickets Students $ 30, Teachers $30 (including show, forum, program notes, published script)
Bookings Maureen Hartley, Learning Producer, (03) 9347 6948 or maureen@lamama.com.au
Tales of a City by the Sea explores life in Gaza through the lens of a generation who have grown up
in a state under occupation. It tells a story of people who are experiencing very difficult life
circumstances, but who are resisting being defined by their suffering. Before the play begins, the
cast mingles with the audience and introduce themselves as actors who are there to share a story.
There is no effort to create the illusion that they are their characters. The device of Brechtian
alienation emotionally separates the audience from the story to allow them to take a critical view of
the action. The actors are visible at all times, when onstage and offstage. Actors who play several
characters transform in full view, through costume changes, gesture, and voice. While the story
specifically takes place in 2008 during the siege of Gaza, the symbolic staging of the play does not
include scenic elements that define place or time. The non-naturalistic set, composed of a set of
white sheets on wires, has a makeshift sensibility. Time and place are indicated by transformations
of lighting and set, which is operated by the actors as part of the action of the performance. A singer
performs traditional songs a capella in Arabic throughout these changes, punctuating the action
while connecting to the audience.The play combines scenes from life with conventions of epic
theatre, including direct address, poetry, and breaking the fourth wall.
Advice to schools
Contact La Mama for details of post-show forums.
© VCAA
Page 5
2016 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist
6. In Search of Owen Roe by Vanessa O’Neill
Theatre Company La Mama Theatre
Season Wed 11- Sun 29 May
Venue La Mama Theatre, 205 Faraday Street, Carlton
Duration 90 minutes including forum
Performance times Wed 6.30pm, Thu–Sat 7.30pm, Sun 4.00pm, Wed 1.00pm & Thu 11.00am
Tour Regional Arts Victoria, 30 May–3 June, tour details, including ticket prices and booking form,
are available on the Regional Arts Victoria website. Minimum fee: base rate of $1040 plus GST for
up to 130 students, with additional students $8 each (less eligible subsidy)
Tickets Students $30, teachers $30 (including show, forum, program notes, published script)
Bookings Maureen Hartley, Learning Producer, (03) 9347 6948 or maureen@lamama.com.au
In Search of Owen Roe is inspired by Vanessa O’Neill’s discovery that her great-grandfather, Owen
Roe O’Neill, was buried in an unmarked grave along with his 13-year-old child at Karrakatta
Cemetery in Perth. The play weaves together a number of stories incorporating historical
documents, music, song, poetry, and a myriad of characters’ voices. It also includes the
contemporary stories of Vanessa’s own father’s experiences with dementia, of her nine-year-old
son, as well as some of her own stories, and search for identity. The production uses sound design,
music and soundscapes that help to capture key historical moments and create echoes between the
past and present, evoking ghosts and memories. The performance incorporates rapid character
transformations, engaging storytelling, heightened language and dynamic vocal use. The work
draws on many of the traditions of storytelling: multiple narratives and accents, poetic texts and
song. Stories are told through a nuanced use of physicality and expressive skills. The emphasis is
on the actor’s body in the space connecting with the audience and taking them on a journey through
a range of narratives. The production draws on some of the conventions of poor theatre and
physical theatre, with a minimal use of set and props.
Advice to schools
Contact La Mama or Regional Arts Victoria for details of post-show forums.
© VCAA
Page 6
2016 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist
Theatre Studies Unit 3 Playlist
1. The Secret River by by Kate Grenville, an adaptation for the stage by
Andrew Bovell
Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company
Season 10-19 March
Venue The Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne
Duration 170 minutes including one interval
Performance times Schools’ matinee Wed 16 March 11.30pm; Thu 10 March-Sat 19 March
8.00pm with matinees at 1.30pm Sat & 2.00pm Sun
Tickets Schools’ matinee Wed 16 March students $25, accompanying teachers admitted at no cost
(one teacher per 10 students), all other performances Youth and Under 30’s $30
Bookings For schools’ matinee: please contact Hannah Schneider:
schools@artscentremelbourne.com.au. For all regular performances see the Arts Centre Melbourne
website.
Script The Secret River, by Kate Grenville, adapted by Andrew Bovell, published by Currency Press
and available from the Currency Press website.
The Secret River is an adaptation of the well-known novel by the same name by Kate Grenville and
tells the story of white convict settlers laying claim to land belonging to the Dahrug people on the
Hawkesbury River. The play is presented by a large ensemble cast of 21 actors with a set design
that draws on the idea of a giant tree on the banks of the Hawkesbury River. Featuring natural
earthy colours, the backdrop resembles the bark of a gum tree. The play is performed in the style of
contemporary Australian realism. Symbolic movement is used to represent the massacre of
Indigenous people at the end of the play.
Advice to schools
The themes of this production are not suitable for younger students and as such it will available to
VCE and senior secondary students (recommended for Years 10 to 12) only.
2. The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
Theatre Company Belvoir Street Theatre Company, presented by Malthouse Theatre
Season Malthouse Theatre18 May–4 June
Venue Merlyn Theatre, The Cooper’s Malthouse, Sturt Street, Southbank
Duration 2 hours 45 minutes (including interval)
Performance times
Previews: Wed 18 May 7.30pm.
Season: Thu 19 May (opening), Fri 20 May 7.30pm, Sat 21 May 1.00pm & 7.30pm, Tue 24 May
6.30pm, Wed 25 May 7.30pm, Thu 26 May 11.30am* & 7.30pm, Fri 27 May 7.30pm, Sat 28 May
1.00pm & 7.30pm, Sun 29 May 5.00pm, Tue 31 May 6.30pm, Wed 1 June & 7.30pm, Thu 2 June
11.30am* & 7.30pm, Fri 3 June 7.30pm, Sat 3 June 1.00pm & 7.30pm, Sun 4 June 5.00pm
© VCAA
Page 7
2016 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist
*VCE Matinee, there will be a half-hour interval during these performances to allow students time to
have their lunch.
Tour For all details on Geelong Performing Arts Centre performances: check the venue website.
Students $15, one teacher free per VCE group. For school bookings contact Kelly Clifford:
kelly@gpac.org.au
Ticket prices Students metro/regional $24.50/22.50, up to two accompanying teachers per school
admitted at no cost, additional teachers $40
Bookings Complete a Schools Booking Form from www.malthousetheatre.com.au or email
education@malthousetheatre.com.au. Contact Vanessa O’Neill, Education Program Manager, on
(03) 9685 5164, or Gemma Cotterell, Schools Booking Manager, on (03) 9685 5157.
Script The script of Tennessee Williams’ play The Glass Menagerie is widely available. This
production, directed by Eamon Flack, is faithful to Williams’ original script, published in 1945.
The Glass Menagerie introduces one of Tennessee Williams’ most legendary characters – the
formidable Amanda Wingfield, a faded Southern belle with delusions of grandeur. The year is 1937,
and she is stuck in a tiny, run-down apartment with her two adult children – the frustrated Tom and
the cripplingly shy Laura. This production explores Williams’ notion of the ‘memory play’. In real
time, onstage, recollections from the Wingfield apartment are converted into moments from a lost
black-and-white film, as Tom Wingfield, ‘narrator and general character’ re-imagines those he left
behind. The Glass Menagerie draws upon Tennessee Williams’ own biography, while also exploring
the idea of peculiarity and its place and difficulty in the world. Formally, the play investigates the way
that memoris are framed, re-edited and manipulated. The ‘images or titles’ mentioned in the script
are realised through use of two large projection screens on either side of the stage. Tom
manipulates cameras setting up specific shots that in turn frame his own memories of events. The
set depicts the Wingfield’s tiny cramped apartment as if it is placed on a soundstage in a film studio.
Much of the action occurs in the small dining room, a space partially obscured by light curtains,
while the rest of the action is played in the family room at the front of the stage. The production uses
the expressionistic style that Williams conceived, so the audience might understand that these are
Tom’s version of events, distorted memories that he is looking back on, and is possibly haunted by,
a number of years later.
Advice to schools
Contact Malthouse Theatre for details of TTT – Time to talk (with the director and cast) and postshow forums following VCE matinees.
3. Miss Julie by August Strindberg
Theatre Company Melbourne Theatre Company
Season 21 April–21 May, previews 16-20 April
Venue Southbank Theatre, The Sumner, 140 Southbank Boulevard, Southbank
Duration 100 minutes, approximately
Performance times Previews 16-20 April: 8.00pm. Season 21 April – 21 May: Mon 6.30pm, Tue
6.30pm, Wed 1.00pm & 8.00pm, Thu 8.00pm, Fri 8.00pm, Sat 4.00pm & 8.30pm
Tickets Students $26, one accompanying teacher free of charge per 10 students, additional
teachers $34
© VCAA
Page 8
2016 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist
Bookings Mellita Ilich, Education Ticketing Officer, (03) 8688 0963 or schools@mtc.com.au
Script Contact MTC for advice about the translation/adaptation that will be used for this production.
In 1888, August Strindberg’s insistence on a strictly naturalistic style of performance for Miss Julie,
whose title character embodied a kaleidoscope of emotions, was in stark contrast to the popular
melodrama of the time. Set against the themes of Darwinism and Paganism, the play’s frank
descriptions of female sexuality were sure to offend its early audiences. This interpretation and
recontextualisation reveals the hidden strength within the character of Miss Julie. The action takes
place over the course of one midsummer’s night when the three characters are confined in the
kitchen of a manor house. There is palpable electricity between Julie (the Count’s daughter) and
Jean (the house valet), despite Jean being promised to the cook, Christine. The pair dream of
running away together, but soon encounter hurdles in their planning when they face the true
limitations of their class and gender norms. Set, costume, music, sound and lighting design will be
used to enhance the sense of instability amid the stoic walls of the manor-house kitchen. The 19thcentury obsession with psychoanalysis, and fear of early feminism, is evident throughout
Strindberg’s script as the character of Miss Juliequickly unravels, and the close quarters of the
setting adds to her looming sense of claustrophobia and paranoia.
Advice to schools
Some students may find the themes of this play confronting.
Contact MTC for details of post-show forums.
4. Boy Out of the Country by Felix Nobis
Theatre Company Larrikin Ensemble Theatre Company and Regional Arts Victoria
Season 11 May–18 June
Venues and performance times

Wed 11 May, 8.00pm, Dandenong Ranges Community Cultural Centre, Burinja

Thu 12 May 8.00pm, Fri 13 May 1.00pm & 8pm, Potato Shed, Drysdale

Sat 14 May 8.00pm, Hawthorn Arts Centre Burwood Road, Hawthorn

Sun 15 May 8.00pm, Dunolly Town Hall, Dunolly

Tue 17 May 8.00pm, Ararat Performing Arts Centre

Wed 18 May 8.00pm, Colac Otway Performing Arts and Culture Centre

Thu 19 May 7.30pm, Portland Arts Centre

Fri 20 May 8.00pm, Hamilton Performing Arts Centre

Sat 21 May 8.00pm, Horsham Town Hall Performance Arts Centre

Mon 23 May 8.30pm, Kyneton Town Hall

Wed 25 May 8.00pm, Wyndham Cultural Centre, Werribee

Thu 26 May 8.00pm, Esso BHP Billiton Wellington Entertainment Centre, Sale

Fri 27 May 8.00pm, Forge Theatre & Arts Hub, Bairnsdale

Sat 28 May 8.00pm, Orbost Performing Arts Centre
© VCAA
Page 9
2016 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist

Thu 2 June, Fri 3 June & Sat 4 June 8.00pm, Drama Theatre, Monash Academy of
Performing Arts, Wellington Road, Clayton

Tue 7 June 8.00pm, Kingston Arts Centre, South Road Moorabbin

Wed 8 June 7.30pm, Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre

Thu 9 June 7.30pm, Benalla Performing Arts & Convention Centre

Fri 10 June 8.00pm, The Memo, Healesville

Sat 11 June 8.00pm, Tallarook Mechanics Institute (tbc)

Tue 14 June 8.00pm, Clocktower Centre, Moonee Valley

Wed 15 June & Thu 16 June 8.00pm, Frankston Arts Centre

Fri 17 June 8.00pm, Sat 18 June 2.00pm & 8.00pm, Whitehorse Performing Arts Centre,
Nunawading
Duration 100 minutes
Bookings & tickets Contact venues.
Script The script of Boy Out of the Country is available from bunworth@gmail.com
Boy out of the Country tells an Australian story that is timeless, but also as immediate as the stories
we read in our daily papers: stories about family disputes, love, real estate; stories about urban
sprawl, lost traditions, and people making a quick buck. The play asks how we as a society can
balance the values of tradition with the potential of development. It asks questions about what gets
lost between the cracks when farmland turns to housing estate: the loss of traditions, a sense of
community … the elderly. It is also a play about language, embracing the Australian idiom and
mining the Australian vernacular for all its humour, majesty and poetry. Using naturalistic and nonnaturalistic performance styles, the play features use of idiom, verse, storytelling and direct address.
The set design is minimalist and live music serves as a ‘character’. The lighting design features an
image of dead trees to symbolise the destruction of the rural landscape and mirror the lives of the
characters. Tension is inherent in the plot and this enhances interpersonal tension between the
brothers as the key protagonists.
Advice to schools
Some students may find some of the language in this play confronting.
Contact RAV for details of post-show forums.
© VCAA
Page 10
2016 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist
Theatre Studies Unit 4 Playlist
The following plays have been selected for study in 2016. This list should be considered in
conjunction with the requirements set out in Unit 4 Outcome 3 in the VCE Theatre Studies Study
Design 2014–2108. Students will undertake an assessment task based on the performance of a
play on the Playlist. Question/s will also be set on the performances of the plays in the end-of-year
Theatre Studies written examination.
While the VCAA considers all plays on this list suitable for study, teachers should be aware that in
some instances sensitivity might be needed where particular issues or themes that are explored
may be challenging for students. Teachers are advised to familiarise themselves with the play’s
treatment of these issues and themes prior to students viewing the play and/or studying the
playscript. This might involve reading the playscript, talking with the theatre company, researching
the playscript, the work of the playwright or theatre company, attending a preview performance
and/or discussing the matter with the school administration. Information provided in this notice about
themes and/or language used in specific plays is a guide only.
Schools should note advice provided regarding Jasper Jones, Dangerous Liaisons and Othello.
1. The Servant of Two Masters, by Carlo Goldoni, translated by Rosa
Campagnaro, in collaboration with company members
Theatre Company Make A Scene
Season Wed 13- Sun 31 July
Venue La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond Street, Carlton
Duration 100 minutes
Performance times Wed 6.30pm, Thu–Sat 7.30pm, Sun 4.00pm Wed 1.00pm & Thu 11.00am
Tickets Students $30, teachers $30 (including show, forum, program notes)
Bookings Maureen Hartley, Learning Producer, (03) 9347 6948 or maureen@lamama.com.au
Goldoni’s comedy of misunderstandings, cross-dressing and aristocratic decadence has been
recontextualised into the 21st century. Featuring non-naturalistic conventions including the use of
masks, physical stylised humour, slapstick, exaggerated movement audience interaction in the
absence of a fourth wall, this adaptation will maintain the 16th-century spirit of play inspired by
traditional elements such as exaggerated and stylised make-up, wigs and costumes.
Advice to schools
Contact La Mama for details of post-show forums.
2. The Honey Bees by Caleb Lewis
Theatre Company Red Stitch Actors Theatre
Season 13 June–16 July
Venue Red Stitch Actors Theatre, Chapel Street, East St Kilda
Duration 100 minutes
Performance times Wed-Sat 8.00pm, Sun 6.30pm, Sat 3.00pm, Wed 11.00am, matinees subject
to demand
© VCAA
Page 11
2016 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist
Tickets Students $15 for groups of 10 or more (one accompanying teacher per 10 students
admitted at no cost), students $20, adults $45
Bookings Kieran McNamara boxoffice@redstitch.net
The Honey Bees is a richly layered text that explores the potential consequences of what happens
when humans seek to industrialise nature The play draws on the Australian bush setting and the
internal turmoil of the characters and uses rich symbolic imagery to create a world that is both poetic
and recognisable to its audience. Stylistically, the work is a complex fusion of Australian Gothic
drama, poetic language and naturalism. The plot explores themes of family, power, empire and
ambition through four complex roles for women. The ‘colony collapse disorder’ that provides a
background for the narrative is a real environmental disaster that has been spreading across the
globe since 2007, laying waste to bee populations wherever it strikes and it’s still not known why. In
the play, the only country untouched is Australia. This is a vitally important story of human
relationships set against a backdrop of an almost invisible worldwide catastrophe happening right
now. As two women fight for control and a family comes to blows, each of them will have to reckon
with a future of their own making.
Advice to schools
This production contains some low-level coarse language and one scene of a sexual nature. This is
not overt and will be handled with sensitivity by the creative team. For further information, contact
Red Stitch.
3. The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht
Theatre Company Phillip Rouse and Co, presented by Theatre Works
Season 24 August–10 September
Venue Theatre Works, Acland Street, St Kilda
Duration 130 minutes
Performance times 25 & 26 August previews, Wed–Sat 7.30pm, Tue & Thu 1.00pm, Sun 4
September 5.00pm
Tickets Students $26 plus $1.00 booking fee, one teacher admitted at no cost for every 10
students, full ticket price $35, concession/under 30 $26, groups of eight-plus $26, preview $20 (plus
booking fees)
Bookings Paula Philip at Theatre Works, (03) 9534 3388 or admin@theatreworks.org.au
The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui is Brecht’s satirical allegory about the rise of Hitler in the lead up to
WWII. Written while in exile from Nazi persecution, this play contains all the hallmark aspects of
Brecht’s epic theatre. He set his play in gangland Chicago of the 1920s, the home and playground
of Al Capone, and casts Hitler as Arturo Ui – a small time criminal who becomes the head mob boss
of Chicago. This production will be performed in the epic theatre style of parable. Each scene will be
its own set piece, demonstrating a particular aspect of Arturo’s rise and highlighting how that
moment corresponds with the historical rise of Hitler. This production draws connections between
the events of the play, Hitler’s ascension to power, and the current waves of conservative politics
spreading across the western world. The production will incorporate clowning and grotesque
performance styles to heighten Brecht’s parable. The design will feature simple sets, props and
costumes to allow a focus on the actors’ work and gestures. The production will use signage,
© VCAA
Page 12
2016 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist
microphones and obviously theatricalised sound, lighting and stage effects to remain true to
Brecht’s Epic Theatre form.
Advice to schools
Contact Theatre Works for details of post-show Q&A sessions and workshops
4. Jasper Jones by Kate Mulvany, after the novel by Craig Silvey
Theatre Company Melbourne Theatre Company
Season 5 August–9 September, previews 1 August-4 August
Venue Southbank Theatre, The Sumner, Southbank Boulevard, Southbank
Duration 120 minutes approximately
Performance times Previews 1-4 August, 8.00pm; Season 5 August – 9 September: Mon 6.30pm,
Tue 6.30pm, Wed 1.00pm & 8.00pm, Thu 8.00pm, Fri 8.00pm, Sat 4.00pm & 8.30pm
Tickets Students $26, one accompanying teacher per 10 students admitted at no cost, additional
teachers $44
Bookings Mellita Ilich, Education Ticketing Officer, (03) 8688 0963 or schools@mtc.com.au
Jasper Jones is set in Corrigan, a fictional, dusty Western Australia mining town, during 1965.
Against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the story is told through the eyes of adolescent
protagonist and dreamer, Charlie. Then along comes Jasper, the town rebel. Now Charlie’s dreams
are no longer confined to the pages of a book. Nor are his nightmares. As Charlie and Jasper
grapple with a deathly secret, they soon discover that they aren’t the only ones dissatisfied with the
hand life has dealt them. Charlie’s nightmares draw ever closer and Jasper vanishes into the bush
with only a bottle and a pack of smokes for company. Jasper Jones is a naturalistic telling of fictional
events with moments of non-naturalism during the dream/nightmare sequences. Lighting and sound
design will contribute to a sense of the searing Western Australian summer, and the set and
costume designs will reflect the era in which it is set.
Advice to schools
The themes and narrative of this play may be confronting for some students. Teachers are advised
to read the script, and discuss the issues with their school leadership group, before making a
booking, and, as required, seek further information from MTC.
Contact MTC for details of post-show forums.
5. Dangerous Liaisons by Christopher Hampton after Laclos
Theatre Company Little Ones Theatre presented by Theatre Works
Season 16 August– 20 August
Venue Theatre Works, Acland Street, St Kilda
Duration 100 minutes
Performance times Tue 7.30pm, Wed 1.00pm & 7.30pm, Thu 1.00pm & 7.30pm, Fri 1.00pm &
7.30pm, Sat 7.30pm
© VCAA
Page 13
2016 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist
Tickets Students $26 plus $1.00 booking fee, one teacher admitted at no cost for every 10
students, full ticket price $35, concession/under 30 $26, groups of eight-plus $26, preview $20 (plus
booking fees)
Bookings Paula Philip at Theatre Works, (03) 9534 3388 or admin@theatreworks.org.au
This presentation of Dangerous Liaisons utilises cross-gendered performance, bouffon clowning,
grotesquery and a high-camp aesthetic. Genders are flipped to emphasise the satirical nature of the
text; there is exaggerated physicality and musical interludes. Hampton’s dissections of sexism,
sexuality and the role of gender in warfare are potent as he takes a classic text and brings a superfeminist and contemporary approach to the material. This production acknowledges and exploits the
role of women in the ‘clandestine’ theatre movement of Laclos’ time to explore the possibility of a
post-gendered society, one where the divide between male and female is not so black and white.
These concepts are explored through casting, costume, and the way in which the comedy is
pitched. The irreverence is continued in the design elements of the work where the traditional period
dress of the Ancien Regime in France is presented in pink and the decadent nature of the Rococo
period emphasised through a luxurious, grotesque and hedonistic set design that highlights the
paper-thin nature of pre-revolutionary France’s social hierarchy.
Advice to schools
Schools wishing to discuss the theatrical style of this production are advised to contact Theatre
Works.
Contact Theatre Works for details of post-show Q&A sessions.
6. Othello by William Shakespeare
Theatre Company Bell Shakespeare
Season 12–23 July: Tue 12 July–Fri 15 July 7.30pm, Sat 16 July 2.00pm & 7.30pm, Sun 17 July,
4.00pm, Tue 19 July 6.30pm, Wed 20 July 11.00am (school matinee) & 6.30pm, Thu 21 July & Fri
22 July 7.30pm, Sat 23 July 2.00pm & 7.30pm
Venue Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne, St Kilda Road, Southbank
Duration 150 minutes
Tour Regional venues and dates. Contact venues for bookings and ticket prices:

28 July, 7.30pm Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat

30 July , 7.00pm, Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre, Wangaratta

2 August, 7.30pm, West Gippsland Arts Centre, Warrugal

4 August, 7.30pm, Frankston Arts Centre, Frankston

6 August, 8.00pm, Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo
Tickets Students $30 (at student matinee, one teacher admitted free of charge per every 20
students, additional teachers at student price).
Bookings Arts Centre Melbourne performances: learning@bellshakespeare.com.au or 1300 305
730
A violent exploration of the thin line that separates love and jealousy, Othello is a relentless journey
of vicious passion. A warrior on the fields of war, felled by the sharpness of whispered words,
Othello is a man swept up in desire, quickly turned to murderous rage when he is betrayed by his
© VCAA
Page 14
2016 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist
military brother-in-arms, the cynically destructive Iago. This revisioning of Shakespeare’s text will
remain in Shakespeare’s original language. Rich in drama and dark intentions, Othello traverses
themes of jealousy, revenge, honour, prejudice and love. The set for this touring production is
designed with a focus on flexibility to accommodate its use across multiple performance spaces.
Advice to schools
The themes of this play include violence, murder and racism.
© VCAA
Page 15