War of the Worlds
🌟 Friday, October 6
⏰ Time: 7 pm
📍 Location: Swan Hill Town Hall
Immerse yourself in a new script in development, workshopped by talented young artists from Arena Theatre Company, Riverland Youth Theatre, D'faces of Youth Arts, and the Fairfax Youth Ensemble. Witness their creative journey at this public reading.
What is War of the Worlds
Prepare to embark on an extraordinary journey as you immerse yourself in "War of the Worlds," a groundbreaking collaboration between four regional theatre companies—Arena Theatre Company, Riverland Youth Theatre, D'faces of Youth Arts, and the Fairfax Youth Ensemble. This public reading unveils a new script in development by acclaimed playwright Fleur Kilpatrick and developed by Arena Theatre Company, D'faces of Youth Arts, Fairfax Youth Initiative, and Riverland Youth Theatre.
Imagine the iconic
”War of the Worlds" as you've never seen it before…
Created with four regional ensembles from Bendigo, Renmark, Whyalla, and the Murray Mallee uniting to perform simultaneously. Each live performance is enhanced by streamed scenes from the other regions, resulting in a powerful and immersive theatrical experience. In this gripping adaptation, witness the resilience of Australia's last surviving towns as regional youth confront their circumstances and support each other to survive.
War of the Worlds writer Fleur Kilpatrick is the Creative Producer of Riverland Youth Theatre (RYT) and an award-winning playwright, director and educator. Renmark is home to Riverland Youth Theatre, which sits at the western border of the Murray Mallee region in South Australia. Fleur is deeply committed to working in rural communities and with small schools.
Artists & Mentors supporting War of the Worlds
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Fleur Kilpatrick
Award-Winning Writer & Artistic Director of Riverland Youth Theatre
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Nate Gilkes
Helpman Award-Winning Music Director, Composer & Theatre Visionary
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Christian Leavesley
Artistic Director of Arena Theatre Company
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Morgan Rose
Artistic Director Rawcus Theatre
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Michal Hughes
Creative Producer from D’Faces and Drama Tutor
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Alysha Herrmann
Creative producer, writer, performance-maker and community organiser
Ensembles of young creatives from Bendigo , Renmark, the Mallee, and Whyalla perform for their local audiences while streaming scenes and dialogue into the other two towns.
This work in development will bring together twenty young individuals from Mallee, Renmark, Whyalla, and Bendigo, providing them with the extraordinary opportunity to collaborate on this script with Riverland Youth Theatre Artistic Director Fleur Kilpatrick, Arena Theatre Artistic Director Christian Leavesley, Helpman Award-Winning Music Director Nathan Gilkes, the current co-Artistic Director of the award-winning rawucs theatre Morgan Rose, Michal Hughes the Creative Producer from D'faces of Youth Arts, and creative producer and performance maker Alysha Herrmann.
Christian Leavesley, Artistic Director of Arena Theatre Company
"War of the Worlds" is a text-based community theatre project that will eventually be performed concurrently in four rural Australian towns. In this innovative take, four regional theatre companies present parallel scenes from the classic tale on the night of an alien invasion. As chaos descends upon Australia, these companies discover that their only means of communication with the outside world is with each other. Together, they confront their situation and collaborate to survive.”
The general public is cordially invited to a special reading of the script on Friday, October 6, at the Anglican Church Hall Swan Hill
With the hope that the work will continue to evolve in 2024 and be presented at a future Fairfax Youth Festival across all four towns.
War of the Worlds
🌟 Friday, October 6
⏰ Time: 7 pm
📍Location: Swan Hill Town Hall
Immerse yourself in a new script in development, workshopped by talented young artists from Arena Theatre Company, Riverland Youth Theatre, D'faces of Youth Arts, and the Fairfax Youth Ensemble. Witness their creative journey at this public reading.