Arts / Pike promises treats aplenty

“CHOOSING what you want to see in a theatre season can be like a box of chocolates, you will often have your favourites but sometimes like to try something new,” says Stephen Pike.

Pike, the artistic director of The Q, The Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, was introducing his theatre’s 2015 season.

The tastiest item is a production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company”, directed by Duncan Ley and choreographed by James Batchelor with an all-star local cast of Jarrad West, Jordan Best, Laura Dawson, Vanessa De Jager, Duncan Driver, Amy Dunham, Max Gambale, Will Huang, Hannah Ley, Helen McFarlane, Michelle Norris, Stephen Pike, Karen Vickery and Christopher Zuber.

That is joined by two other local productions, “Tuesdays with Morrie”, directed by Liz Bradley and starring Graham Robertson, and Pike’s own production of “Grease”, billed as “the No. 1 party musical”.

The generous choice of musicals is augmented with “Mother, Wife and the Complicated Life”, the new hit Australian musical written by and starring Amity Dry of the TV show “The Block”.

There’s circus with a difference in “360 Allstars”, which Pike says replaces acrobats with break dancers, jugglers with a basketball freestyler and a unicyclist with a BMX flatlander. For dance lovers there is “Carmen Sweet”, a look by Expressions Dance Company’s choreographer Natalie Weir at Carmen’s psyche.

As for “straight” theatre, we’ll see “Flak”, Michael Veitch’s stories collected from more than 50 RAAF veterans about their experiences of combat. Alex Ellis plays a “difficult” Hollywood star’s battle with the film studios, alcohol, men, and herself in “Drowning in Veronica Lake”.

In the comedy “Reserved Seating Only”, David Ross Paterson plays a loud, burly football fan and Cecelia Specht a recently divorced football widow.

Outside the subscription program, Pike has not forgotten the kids, with “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, “I am Jack” and “The 26-Storey Treehouse”.

“Morning Melodies” returns and there’s a rare classical music inclusion when composer and pianist Chris Jarrett meets Italian improviser and violin virtuoso, Luca Ciarla.

Pike’s chocolate box could hardly be more enticing.

“Treat Yourself”, the 2015 season at The Q. Program bookings and subscriptions to 6285 6290 or theq.net.au

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