The Man from Mukinupin @ Newtown Theatre, July 2007
THE MAN FROM MUKINUPIN is a musical celebration of life in a Western Australian wheat-belt town at the time of the Great War.
Dorothy Hewett's wonderful play has it all: star-crossed lovers; rivalries and feuds; dark secrets; hidden lies; and many sets of twins. A travelling carnival arrives, a town divides and a foreign war calls.THE MAN FROM MUKINUPIN sparkles with the verve and innocence of 'the good old days' but it also reveals the prejudices and ignorance of a less forgiving time, serving as a reminder that our nation was founded as much upon repression and hate as it was on enterprise and optimism.
This delightful musical play charts the story of the young heroine Polly Perkins, of Jack and Cecil, the rivals for her hand, and the quest for that elusive happy ending. This town might have more than its fair share of eccentrics, but Hewett doesn?t simply tell a folksy tale. There are serious themes running underneath to earth the humour, charm and quirkiness: the clash of European and indigenous cultures, the tensions and differences between city and country people, the effects of outsiders on a tight-knit community, and the profound changes wrought on a community by the experience of war.
Directed by Mary-Anne Gifford
Musical Director: Michael Huxley
Choreographer: Celeste O'Hara
Set Design: Pia Leong
Lighting Design: Spiros Hristias
Cast: Louise Fischer, Peter Flett, Danny Green, Michael Gupta, Elaine Hudson, Patricia Jones, Romy Temperson and Deborah Thompson
19 JULY to 18 AUGUST 2007
Thursday - Saturday 8pm, Sunday 5pm
$27 full / $22 concession / $15 school groups
Bookings: 1300 306 776 / www.mca-tix.com
