Home | Shows | Past Productions | TAKING STEPS
A classic comedy
- 23 Nov 2017 - 13 Jan 2018
- Approx. 2hrs 20mins (including interval)
- Recommended for ages 12+
- Wheelchair Accessible
- Hearing Loop
- Audio Described (selected dates)
Overview
TAKING STEPS takes place on one chaotic night in three rooms of a creaky Victorian mansion, ripe for re-development.
Elizabeth wants to leave Roland; Roland wants to buy the house for Elizabeth; Leslie wants to sell the house to Roland; Kitty wants to leave Mark and Mark wants to keep Kitty. Tristram, meanwhile, is extremely worried about seeing a ghost…
The British comic master Alan Ayckbourn shakes up a delicious cocktail of mismatched lovers, dirty dancing, bad hair and real estate, in an ingenious play that entertains on so many levels.
DOWNLOAD THE TAKING STEPS PROGRAM
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: FRANCESCA SAVIGE
LIGHTING DESIGNER: SCOTT ALLAN
STAGE MANAGER: DANIELLE IRONSIDE
WARDROBE: ALANA CANCERI
Reviews
“Frothy yet fiendishly difficult, Alan Ayckbourn's 1979 Taking Steps is farce with the doors off. Ayckbourn conjures a stern test of directorial traffic management and actorly timing. Director Mark Kilmurry's production is well thought-out and choreographically sound. London is appealing …. Kowitz is in growling good form…Livingstone provides the piece with a small beating heart as Tristram.” Sydney Morning Herald
"Mark Kilmurry’s direction is superb...What really makes TAKING STEPS ... a great show, is the cast...TAKING STEPS is a play you should not miss. It is thoroughly enjoyable." Sydney Arts Guide
“In Drew Livingston the production has the absurd yet rock-solid central performance and he is a daft delight. Christa Nicola too is very funny as the dancer with the leastest…her frenetic practice routines and pretensions are pleasurably awful. Simon London brings wide-eyed puzzlement to his role as her boring brother whose aim in life is to open a fishing tackle shop and live happily ever after with Kitty – who sensibly made a run for it, but has inexplicably returned. Emma Harvie carries off this mix of hopelessness and indecision with aplomb and comical gloom. It’s a treat to discover these three talents on the Ensemble stage. Peter Kowitz and Andrew Tighe are the well known vets of the company and do what they do with deceptive ease and skill…The fresh faces are a pleasure, Drew Livingston is splendid and a lot of people in the opening night audience got a lot of laughs. Now much looking forward to The Norman Conquests” Stagenoise
“The production is a sleek one, with good energy from a well-rehearsed cast… a classic farce. Peter Kowitz is particularly credible…effortlessly charming. Emma Harvie and Drew Livingston are refreshing presences” Suzy Goes See
"...physical humour abounds...All the performances are strong..." Oz Baby Boomers