Strewth! They’re back! Dad, Dave, Mum, Mabel and the mob from Snake Gully are back in Dad & Dave: Live at the Q – a ripsnorter play of original scripts from Australia’s most popular radio serial.

Over 2500 episodes of Dad and Dave were aired between 1937 and 1952. Dad & Dave: Live at the Q showcases the best-loved episodes - complete with news bulletins, radio advertisements, and dinky-di vernacular.

Curriculum Links - English
As a novel (Steele Rudd’s On Our Selection), radio play, film (starring Joan Sutherland and Geoffrey Rush) and now live theatre, Dad and Dave makes a great study of the ways different mediums of production influence meaning, and is a living history of Australian language.

Curriculum Links – History
1937-1952 saw Australia at war again, Chifley and Menzies in power, the Hills Hoist and Victa Lawnmower invented, Bradman at his best, the Snowy River Scheme and... Dad and Dave taking radio by storm. Be immersed in the sights and sounds of this bygone era of Australian history.

Further Information
Based on the characters created by Steel Rudd in his book On Our Selection, the Dad and Dave radio serial began its marathon run on Sydney's 2UW on 31 May, 1937 and ran for 15 years. Dad and Dave followed the adventures of Dad, Dave, Mum, Mabel and the folk from Snake Gully. The series came about when Wrigleys, the chewing gum manufacturer, asked its advertising agent to create a serial that was Australian in character and would appeal to a national audience. The series was broadcast four nights per week in 15 minute episodes. It quickly became part of daily life for many Australians, resulting in over 2, 500 episodes being produced.

The radio plays harks back to our long history of oral storytelling. Primarily heard only through a radio, this form of audio storytelling depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the story. Radio plays were initially developed in the 1920s and quickly achieved widespread popularity. By the 1940s, it was a leading form of popular entertainment. One of the most famous radio plays was H.G. Wells's The War of the Worlds.

Dad and Dave is arguably one of the most famous and well loved Australian radio plays. No doubt part of its widespread popularity was that it was an Australian story told with Australian accents, at a time when English stories still dominated our stages and screens - it was common practice for radio announcers to speak with an English accent. With the advent of television in the 1950s, the popularity of radio plays declined. However, with the advent of digital media, podcasting and live streaming has seen a revival in radio plays.

At the height of their popularity, radio plays not only provided entertainment at home but also proved to be popular with live audiences. Attending the live recording at a theatre allowed audiences an insight into how actors and sound artists brought the play's world alive. It is this sense of excitement, nostalgia and insight that the Q aims to recreate with this production.

Director: Katrina Douglas
Cast: Annie Byron, Johnny Carr, Rebecca De Unamuno, Philip Dodd, Mark Little & Melle Stewart
Foley Artists / Musicians: Peter Kennard & Marcus Holden
Lighting Designer: Martin Kinnane
Set / Costume Designer: Adrienn Lord
By arrangement with Grace Gibson Productions
 

Q THEATRE AND CHRISTINE DUNSTAN PRODUCTIONS PRESENT A TALL STORIES PRODUCTION

Meet the new star of the stage, the Gruffalo's child, offspring of the moch-loved Gruffalo. Journey with the Gruffalo's child on a wild and windy night as she ignores her father's warning and tiptoes into the snow. After all, the Big Bad Mouse doesn't really exist... does he??

Songs, laughs and fun for children aged 4 and up, and their adults.
Don't miss this magical musical adaptation of the award-winning picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler published by Macmillan Childrens Books.

A GRIFFIN THEATRE COMPANY, HOTHOUSE THEATRE AND AUSTRALIAN THEATRE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE PRODUCTION
“Go on, have a go. Think about the world. When you look around, what makes you angry? What gives you hope?”

In a world of absent mothers and missing fathers, Mrs Petchell battles to keep another year of students out of the ranks of the vanished. The Outsiders is on the syllabus again but instead of Socs and Greasers, this is the world of Speds and Moles. It can be hard to find your own rhythm when everyone is marching to the beat of a different drum.
The winner of the 2009 Griffin Award, Silent Disco exists between the violence of poetry and the music of a fight. Get ready for a frontline exploration of a generation’s disparate dreams in an unpredictable world fuelled by Red Bull and powered by iPods.

Creative Team:
Director Lee Lewis
Designer Alice Babidge
Lighting Designer Damien Cooper
Sound Designer
& Composer Stefan Gregory

Audience Advice: Contains some strong language and sexual references.

BEST FOR:

If you’re looking for a performance that completely engages Years 9 and 10, this is it! And…
STAGE 5 PDHPE:
Self & Relationships

STAGE 5 & 6 DRAMA:
Appreciating; Experiences of Dramatic Performances; Contemporary Australian Theatre Practice; Critically Studying

STAGES 4, 5 & 6 ENGLISH:
Drama Texts; Area of Study: Belonging

It’s the Q’s Annual Theatre Festival for Secondary Students. Writers, actors and directors work with local high school students, teachers and school communities, to create at least eight new short performances, each from a different theatrical tradition. It might be musical, physical, absurd and comical... but it won’t be boring.

A Q THEATRE COMPANY PRODUCTION
“You feel the time coming when, no longer a maid, you become vengeance itself.”
Embittered and enraged by their abusive mistress, domestic servants Solange and Claire plot her murder – each night imagining the ‘deed’.
Written by Jean Genet, acclaimed by many as the greatest French writer of his era, the Q presents The Maids with an all-Aboriginal cast and a design by the acclaimed contemporary Aboriginal visual artist Brook Andrew.
With many of the Stolen Generation taken and trained as domestic servants, this unique interpretation of Genet’s psychological thriller explores a controversial chapter of Australian history as never before.

BEST FOR:
If you’re looking for a truly unique theatre experience for Years 7 to 12 that tackles colonialism and racism, this is it. And…
STAGES 4, 5 & 6 HISTORY:
Australian History; Aboriginal & Indigenous Peoples; Colonialisation; Changing Rights & Freedoms
STAGE 6 ABORIGINAL STUDIES:
Heritage & Identity; Colonialism, Racism & Prejudice; Social Justice & Human Rights
STAGES 4, 5 & 6 ENGLISH:
Drama Texts; Representation & Text
STAGES 5 & 6 DRAMA:
Dramatic Forms (Black Comedy); Experience of Dramatic Performances; Critically Studying

This popular annual event features a series of dance workshops for students of all skill levels, as well as a specially choreographed on-stage presentation in which students can observe a range of dance styles performed by highly skilled professionals. Also available are inspiring professional development workshops for generalist teachers and dance teachers within the education system.

For further information contact Victoria Harbutt on (02) 4735 1100 or vharbutt@penrithcity.nsw.gov.au

A MONKEY BAA PRODUCTION

Australia's leading theatre company for young people, Monkey Baa, are back with their brand new show.

The makers of Milli, Jack and the Dancing Cat and Fox now bring to life the adventures of Duncan Ball's Emily Eyefinger - the girl with an eye on the end of her finger! Mystery, madness and mayhem for 5 to 10 year olds and their families. Book early.

Creative Team
Adapters Eva Di Cesare
Sandra Eldridge
and Tim McGarry
Director John Saunders
Designer Mark Thompson
Lighting Designer Martin Kinnane
Dramaturg Caleb Lewis

A free program of short films by Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island directors, writers, cinematographers, actors and crews, specially curated for primary and secondary students.

The secondary program will include Ralph, a delightful new film directed by acclaimed actor Deborah Mailman, with the primary program featuring Auntie Maggie & The Womba Wakum, a comedy directed by acclaimed actor Leah Purcell. Other films to be shown are from the National Film & Sound Archive, Screen Australia, Blackfella Films, Top End Aboriginal Bush Broadcasting, Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival and independent film-makers.

Contact Zona Wilkinson on (02) 4735 1100 or zwilkinson@penrithcity.nsw.gov.au for further information.

AN ERTH PRODUCTION

See Australia's indigenous folklore come to life like never before with iBunyip. Introduce today's children to the mythical creatures from Australia's oldest stories - you can swim with a yawk yawk, clamber with a turong or surprise a nyol in this one-of-a-kind interactive adventure. The latest sensation from creators of the Dinosaur Petting Zoo, discover iBunyip first before it takes to the world.

‘Intelligence, strength and a significant wow factor… astonishing.’ The Guardian

Three acrobats are pushed to the extremes of their physical boundaries by a mysterious scientist and his curious instruments as they explore physics and challenge gravity.

Controlled Falling Project is a mesmerising balance of action and energy, and is bursting at the seams with physical skill, visual delight and unconventional vitality.

BEST FOR:

Heart-stopping and audacious circus theatre, suitable for all ages and backgrounds.
Created and performed by ThisSideUp Acrobatics:
James Brown, Casey Douglas, David Joseph and Christian Schoneveldt-Reid
Director Robin Laurie
Musical Director/Drummer David Joseph
Photo credit Michael Whiteman
Running time: 1 hour, no interval