Mutation Theatre

Help us create our new work.

2012-01-22T15:57:00.000-08:00

HELP US CREATE OUR NEW WORK

A message from our Artistic Director:

Visit our Pozible campaign page here.

So Blue, So Calm

2011-08-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

Mutation Theatre Presents

As part of the 2011 Melbourne Fringe Festival

So Blue, So Calm

Written and Directed by Patrick McCarthy

Devised and Performed by Matthew Epps and James Tresise

Designed by Ashlee Hughes and Patrick McCarthy

Lighting Design by Sam Mackie

Dramaturgical Support/Mentorship Angus Cerini and Robert Reid

Production Manager Bek Berger

Check out the So Blue, So Calm Trailer

Mutation theatre - So Blue, So Calm from storybottle on Vimeo.

In a dream-like suburban backyard, two young men contemplate the state of the world and their place within it. Multi-award winning company Mutation Theatre (The Arrival, Habitat) present an intimate new work exploring happiness, masculinity, and the nature of coexistence.

A gentle and delicate conversation about everything and nothing, So Blue, So Calm exposes the dreams, anxieties, desires and realities of two young men trying to connect in a brief corridor of time and space.

After winning the People's Choice Award and Theatre Works Award at the 2010 Melbourne Fringe Festival, Mutation Theatre are proud to be presenting So Blue, So Calm as part of Melbourne Fringe 2011.

This production will be the first work created and performed in the company’s beautiful new theatre space in Collingwood.

So Blue, So Calm was developed during Mutation Theatre's time as the first Company in Residence at the MTC's Lawler Studio in June 2011.

"It was as if I suddenly stumbled off the street to find a tiny piece of paradise waiting to comfort me. James Tresise and Matthew Epps transport the audience through an honest and sensitive collection of stories, questions and thought...Tresise and Epps both have a vulnerable quality about them as they lure you into their lazy afternoon in the backyard...Patrick McCathy has crafted a beautiful piece of theatre. It is gentle, raw, heartfelt, exposing - And what a glorious set design!...I found myself thinking about personal memories; ones I hadn’t thought of in years...Time stands still; and has never felt so inviting. You feel a sense of freedom to the soul, listening to conversations and expressions of wonder, heartbreak and happiness."- AussieTheatre.com

"Mutation Theatre's So Blue So Calm is a low key, reflective theatre...Patrick McCarthy's promising script floats through memory and probes labile emotional territory...An ephemeral piece, it creates a quiet sense of male bonding stripped of homo-eroticism. Matthew Epps and James Tresise achieve a winning chemistry. They're both fine actors...a charming show."- The Age

"This is a study in distance...beautifully designed by Ashlee Hughes and Patrick McCarthy...So Blue, So Calm is very much a piece of its time...this is an attempt, stricter than most, perhaps more self-conscious, to provide an index of the moment, to be present, somehow, now. That is to say, with it’s overt references to Beckett, Grotowski and Ranters inter alia, this piece attempts to connect the tradition, or a tradition, with its own moment, to make the tradition present for the present. A study of presence conducted at a distance. It is the great Eastern problem of philosophy, is it not?"- Andrew Fuhrmann (Neandellus)

"It’s like I’m sitting on a cushiony wedge of sun in the audience of So Blue, So Calm. It’s dark and cold outside, and I can hear a lonely weeknight tram rattling past, but I’m not there – I’m in Mutation Theatre’s backyard. I’m sprawled out on a lawn, in on a secret conversation between two guys I’ve never met before but I feel like I’ve always known...you are washed in the warm glow of the performance...Here are two characters breathing the thoughts of the essential twentysomething male, not in hyperboles or terror, but off the cuff and funny. In this one-hour slice of a lazy, utopian afternoon, we get an equally funny and heartbreakingly wistful conversation – and we feel lucky that we’re in on it...Transcendental."- Express Media

"FOUR STARS. Mutation Theatre continue to demonstrate their sensitivity and craftsmanship...(So Blue, So Calm) is good for its exceptional performances, and the contemplative simplicity of its writing. McCarthy has grafted the cadences of what is not simply a conversation, but an interaction, between two young men superbly...In sporting terms, they’re seeing this play like a watermelon; or, as Tresise actually does at one point, they have it on a string...a beautiful and extraordinarily well-made production"- Melbourne Fringe Reviews.

Season Details

September 27^th- October 8^th 2011

Tues-Sat 8pm

Mutation Theatre

294 Smith St, Collingwood

Enter through Travellers Bookstore

Adult $20

Conc $15

Bookings: Online- http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/so-blue-so-calm

Fringe Tix- 03 9660 9666

Developed with the support of:

Production Shots- Photo's by Sarah Walker (click to enlarge):

News

2011-05-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Hello.

We thought we'd just place a quick post to let you know about some things we're doing at the moment:

Throughout 2011 Mutation Theatre will be developing a new work as part of the Next Wave Festival's Kickstart program. You can read about Kickstart, and all the other lovely artists involved here .

Also, in May/June we'll be undertaking a residency at MTC. We'll be inhabiting the Lawler Studio for two weeks, developing a new work- which we're very excited about.

We'll also have a new show on later this year- for your viewing pleasure.

Check back soon for more news about upcoming projects. You can also stay in touch by signing up to our mailing list, which you can do by clicking the tab at the top of this page.

Love always,

Mutation Theatre

Return Season: These are the isolate

2011-02-03T06:23:00.000-08:00

These are the isolate

Theatre Works Presents

A Mutation Theatre Production

As part of the 2011 Selected Works Season

Written by Katy Warner

Directed by Marcel Dorney

Co-Devised and Performed by Katy Warner and Tim Wotherspoon

Lighting Design by Katie Sfetkidis

Produced by Patrick McCarthy and James Tresise

Check out the These are the isolate trailer!

Mutation Theatre - these are the isolate from storybottle on Vimeo.

We're very excited to announce that our multi-award winning production These are the isolate will be having a return season at St Kilda's Theatre Works in March. Premiering in the 2010 Melbourne Fringe Festival, These are the isolate received rave reviews and won both the Theatre Works Melbourne Fringe Award and the Victorian Writers Centre Award for Best Emerging Playwright.

Written by Katy Warner, These are the isolate is a moving and uncompromising exploration of grief and social isolation.

Ed McCallister is a happily married man who is neither happy nor married. When overlooked for a promotion at work he returns home to find a woman, possibly his wife, baking cakes and contemplating suicide…all he wanted was someone to remember his birthday.

"FOUR AND A HALF STARS. These are the Isolate is a devastating two-hander… a compelling construction of a fractured interior nourished by Beckett.… How did a company as strong as Mutation Theatre escape my notice until now?... this is astonishing theatre"- The Age (Sept 2010)

"See this show and snap to it."- John Bailey (A CAPITAL IDEA)

Performance Details

16th-27th March, 2011
Tues-Sat 8pm, Sun 5pm
Preview: Wed 16th March 8pm

Full $25
Conc $15
Preview, Tuesdays, Group of 10+ all $10

Theatre Works
14 Acland St, St Kilda

Bookings: Phone- 03 9534 3388

Online- http://www.theatreworks.org.au/

The Arrival and the ASRC

2010-12-27T23:51:00.001-08:00

We are very proud to announce that our production of Shaun Tan's The Arrival in the 2010 Melbourne Fringe Festival has raised $3,286.55 for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne.

The ASRC is an incredible organisation that is the leading provider of aid, healthcare and advocacy to asylum seekers in Australia.

These funds are enough to fund the ASRC's Community Meals Program for over three months!

The Arrival had a hugely successful season, receiving both the People's Choice Award and the TheatreWorks Award at the Melbourne Fringe Awards Ceremony. It was described by The Australian and Theatre Notes critic Alison Croggon as "an ambitious piece of physical theatre that is often completely enchanting".

Thank you to everyone who worked on and supported The Arrival, and to everyone who came to see the show and supported the cause.

Visit our website again soon for news about Mutation Theatre's plans for 2011.

Fringe Wrap-Up

2010-11-07T04:32:00.000-08:00

Mutation Theatre presented two shows as part of the 2010 Melbourne Fringe Festival: The Arrival and These are the Isolate.

Both shows had fantastic seasons, and received glowing praise from both audiences and critics. You can read reviews for both shows by following the links above.

We're also very pleased to announce that we received three Melbourne Fringe Awards: The People's Choice Award (The Arrival), The Victorian Writer's Centre Award for Best Emerging Playwright (Katy Warner for These are the Isolate) and the Theatre Works Award (both shows).

Thanks to everyone who came to see our work, we had a blast.

We'd also like to congratulate our good friends Grit Theatre on winning Best Performance and the PACT Award for their work Us.

Stay tuned for more Mutation Theatre news soon.

THESE ARE THE ISOLATE

2010-11-07T03:48:00.000-08:00

Mutation Theatre Presents

THESE ARE THE ISOLATE

Written by Katy Warner

Devised and Performed by Katy Warner and Tim Wotherspoon

Produced by Patrick McCarthy

Outside Eyes: Matt Scholten and Patrick McCarthy

As part of the 2010 Melbourne Fringe Festival

Winner: Victorian Writer's Centre Award for Best Emerging Playwright- 2010 Melbourne Fringe Festival

Winner: Theatre Works Award- 2010 Melbourne Fringe Festival

Ed McCallister is a happily married man who is neither happy nor married. When overlooked for a promotion at work he returns home to find a woman, possibly his wife, setting up an elaborate suicide machine…all he wanted was someone to remember his birthday.

A collaboration between Mutation Theatre’s associate directors Katy Warner and Tim Wotherspoon, These are the isolate is an unsettling, darkly humorous and tragic tale of the destruction of isolation.

"FOUR AND A HALF STARS. How did a company as strong as Mutation Theatre escape my notice until now? These are the Isolate is a devastating two-hander. Loner Ed McCallister (Tim Wotherspoon) keeps up appearances at work, but the private cost is crushing. One day, the torment of depression- in the guise of a fantasy of happy marriage- lures him to the edge of an abyss. Katy Warner’s play is full of rapid-fire word games- a compelling construction of a fractured interior nourished by Beckett. Albee might be another spoke in its wheel. I kept imagining Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? where both Martha and the absent child are phantoms. Wotherspoon’s sublime histrionic talents bring precision and subtlety to the performance; every inflection is calculated into an unfillable matrix of unhinged comedy and pathos...this is astonishing theatre. It knows the song the sirens sang was a lullaby"- Cameron Woodhead (The Age)

"See this show and snap to it...It really is one helluva piece of work...what makes it worth seeing is the experience of discovering it for yourself. The writing is outstanding, with a kind of Schroedinger's Cat quality...unlike your standard narrative mystery which involves the withholding of vital facts, this one presents incommensurate realities simultaneously so the mind is forced to switch back and forth between possibilities that can't be reconciled. It's a bit like those pictures that are both a lamp and a pair of faces but the brain can't register both at once...it's a rare sight. Make this one a priority, folks"- John Bailey (A Capital Idea)

"These are the Isolate is alarmingly sophisticated...comically tragic...thrilling to experience...an inventive and engaging theatrical work that exposes the condition and anxieties of contemporary relationships...As Audrey admits herself, ‘I’ve run out of things to say’, and when you see this performance you’ll understand why"- Autumn Royal (Express Media/Buzzcuts)

"These Are the Isolate is the latest work from prolific new Melbourne company Mutation Theatre...It’s an interesting two hander on the theme of suicide...Wotherspoon turns in another captivating performance. He was great in Prelude to a Cottage and confirms his command of intimate spaces here. His is a fluent running style, but terrifyingly nimble, too, being able to turn his character on the smallest gestures"- Andrew Fuhrmann (Neandellus)

Performance Details
24th September- 9th October 2010
Tues-Sat 8.45pm, Sun 7.45pm

Fringe Hub- Upstairs at Errol's Cafe.
69 Errol St, North Melbourne (opposite Nth Melb Town Hall)

Adult- $18.00
Conc- $14.00
Tightarse Tues- $12.00
2 for 1 tickets on Friday 24th of September and Saturday 2nd of October.

Bookings: Festival Tix- 03 9660 9666
Online- http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/mutation-theatre-presents-these-are-the-isolate/

THE ARRIVAL

2010-11-07T03:24:00.001-08:00

Mutation Theatre Presents

THE ARRIVAL

Based on the book by Shaun Tan

Directed by Sam Mackie and Patrick McCarthy

Performed by Shae Cottrell, Ayla Erdogan, Mel Gleeson, Lucinda Graff, Matilda Heggie, Alex Hipwell, Christy Hochegger, Mitch Holland, Bart Mangan, Abby McCarthy, Kieran McGrath, Elizabeth Moroney, Mikey Nedelko, Jackson Rouse, Lloyd Simmons, Jackson Thornton, James Troutbeck and Jess Zintschenko.

As part of the 2010 Melbourne Fringe Festival

Winner- People's Choice Award: 2010 Melbourne Fringe Festival

Winner- Theatre Works Award: 2010 Melbourne Fringe Festival

Mutation Theatre's production of The Arrival raised $3,286.55 for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne. Thank you to everyone who worked on and supported the show.

In the ruins of a circus tent, a troupe of actors gather to tell the story of an asylum seekers journey to a new country. Based on the multi-award winning picture book by Australian illustrator Shaun Tan, The Arrival is a new, large-scale theatrical work from acclaimed independent company Mutation Theatre.

The Arrival tells the story of a man who travels from his oppressive homeland, leaving his wife and child behind, to find a new life for them in a far away country. It is a captivating and heartfelt tale about the journey of an asylum seeker, and the challenges they face after arriving in a new country.

Directed by Sam Mackie and Patrick McCarthy, The Arrival will be presented as part of the 2010 Melbourne Fringe Festival and performed in the atmospheric Shed 4 in Docklands. Featuring a cast of twenty, supported by four projection screens, haunting lighting and an eclectic soundtrack; this show will be a sensory feast for audiences. Performed in the round, the show features large scale projections of images from Tan’s book.

All proceeds from The Arrival will be donated to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne, an amazing organisation that provides support to asylum seekers trying to reach Australia, in detention centres, and settling in the community.

"(The Arrival) had me wiping away tears...a moving and engaging piece of theatre"- Richard Watts (Smart Arts-3RRR, Man About Town)

"The show takes place in a gigantic metal warehouse, in which is erected a tent-like structure. 18 bowler-hatted young actors enact - first with carnivalesque excess, then with lyrical poignancy – Tan’s simple story of a man arriving in a strange country, having left his family behind. Tan's drawings are projected onto the ceiling of the tent, as a counterpoint to the performances on stage. The result is an ambitious work of physical theatre that is often completely enchanting...If this is the new generation of theatre makers, the future is looking good"- Alison Croggon (Theatre Notes/ The Australian)

Performance Details
22nd-26th September 2010
Wed-Sat 7.30pm, Sun 4pm

Shed 4
North Wharf Rd, Docklands
(Get train to Southern Cross, walk around other side of Etihad Stadium and walk out along the wharf on the left)

Tickets: Adult $20 Concession $15
All ticket sales donated to Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne

Production Photo's

New Shows: The Arrival and These are the Isolate

2010-08-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

Mutation Theatre will be presenting two shows as part of the 2010 Melbourne Fringe Festival.

THE ARRIVAL

Based on the picture book by Shaun Tan

Directed by Sam Mackie and Patrick McCarthy

Performed by Shae Cottrell, Ayla Erdogan, Mel Gleeson, Lucinda Graff, Matilda Heggie, Alex Hipwell, Christy Hochegger, Mitch Holland, Luke Howle, Bart Mangan, Abby McCarthy, Kieran McGrath, Elizabeth Moroney, Mikey Nedelko, Jackson Rouse, Lloyd Simmons, Jackson Thornton, James Troutbeck and Jess Zintschenko.

In the ruins of a circus tent, a troupe of actors gather to tell the story of an asylum seekers journey to a new country. Based on the multi-award winning picture book by Australian illustrator Shaun Tan, The Arrival is a new, large-scale theatrical work from acclaimed independent company Mutation Theatre.

The Arrival tells the story of a man who travels from his oppressive homeland, leaving his wife and child behind, to find a new life for them in a far away country. It is a captivating and heartfelt tale about the journey of an asylum seeker, and the challenges they face after arriving in a new country.

Directed by Sam Mackie and Patrick McCarthy, The Arrival will be presented as part of the 2010 Melbourne Fringe Festival and performed in the atmospheric Shed 4 in Docklands. Featuring a cast of twenty, supported by four projection screens, haunting lighting and an eclectic soundtrack; this show will be a sensory feast for audiences. Performed in the round, the show features large scale projections of images from Tan’s book.

All proceeds from The Arrival will be donated to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne, an amazing organisation that provides support to asylum seekers trying to reach Australia, in detention centres, and settling in the community.

Performance Details

22nd-26th September 2010

Wed-Sat 7.30pm, Sun 4pm

Shed 4

North Wharf Rd, Docklands

(Get train to Southern Cross, walk around other side of Etihad Stadium and walk out along the wharf on the left)

Tickets: Adult $20 Concession $15

All ticket sales donated to Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne

Bookings: Call- 9660 9666

Online- http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/mutation-theatre-presents-the-arrival/

THESE ARE THE ISOLATE

Written by Katy Warner

Performed by Tim Wotherspoon and Katy Warner

Ed McCallister is a happily married man who is neither happy nor married. When overlooked for a promotion at work he returns home to find a woman, possibly his wife, setting up an elaborate suicide machine…all he wanted was someone to remember his birthday.

A collaboration between Mutation Theatre’s associate directors Katy Warner and Tim Wotherspoon, These are the isolate is an unsettling, darkly humorous and tragic tale of the destruction of isolation.

Since 2008, Mutation Theatre has been creating contemporary, experimental work. These are the isolate is their fifth full length piece following Fluorescent Façade (2008), The Corpse of Hamlet (2009), Habitat (2010) and Prelude to a Cottage (2010).

"Intense, unsettling and in every way exceptional"- Express Media (on Fluorescent Façade)

"Assured, composed, relaxed and engaging...the overall effect is one of impressive craftsmanship"- Neandellus (on Habitat)

Performance Details

24th September- 9th October 2010

Tues-Sat 8.45pm, Sun 7.45pm

Fringe Hub- Upstairs at Errol's Cafe.

69 Errol St, North Melbourne(opposite Nth Melb Town Hall)

Adult- $18.00

Conc- $14.00

Tightarse Tues- $12.00

2 for 1 tickets on Friday 24th of September and Saturday 2nd of October.

Bookings: Festival Tix- 03 9660 9666

Online- http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/mutation-theatre-presents-these-are-the-isolate/

News

2010-08-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled to announce the appointment of James Tresise as an Associate Director of Mutation Theatre. James co-devised and performed in our production Habitat earlier this year, and brings a wealth of experience in acting and theatre making to the company. James will make an ongoing contribution to the artistic output of Mutation Theatre. Stay tuned for more news soon.

Prelude to a Cottage

2010-05-31T08:42:00.000-07:00

Mutation Theatre Presents

Prelude to a Cottage

Written by Tim Wotherspoon
Performed by Katy Warner and Tim Wotherspoon

Outside Eye- Kirstin Von Bibra
Produced by Patrick McCarthy

"What was the name of that great civil libertarian who ate all those children?

Lombard DePaussant Fute. Strong Leader.

Everyone has peccadilloes.

They were his children..."

In a Brave New World of Has-to's, Caspi conscientiously buys the Department Water, eats the Department Porridge and works diligently for the Department Minister. To the outside world, Caspi is an upstanding citizen of the Department- not the sort to indulge in dangerous thought and wordplay...But at home, Caspi speaks with Lois; they sift through memories of history, revolution and the colonel. Such shameful and divergent interests must remain hidden. But hiding the truth is easier before someone notices it's missing.

Prelude to a Cottage is a dark, comedic exploration of control and microscopic freedoms attempting to summate. A poetic and acerbic battle of wits from one of Melbourne's most exciting young companies- Mutation Theatre (Habitat, The Corpse of Hamlet).

Performance Details
June 16th-26th, 2010
Wed-Sat 8pm

The Function Room
129a Smith St, Fitzroy (Enter through Cafe Coco)

Adult $20
Concession $15

Bookings: Phone- 0410 304 226
Email- mutationtheatre@hotmail.com

Production Shots

A Grave Decision

2010-05-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

A Grave Decision is a work of astounding idiocy. Filled with bad puns and jokes that don't make sense, it's a cowardly attempt to justify comedy as real art- to turn jam into blood!

Around an open grave that isn't really a grave a bald man and his sidekick try to cover up an act of blatant murder, only to be distracted by their own tails. All unravels despite their best efforts- the victim is a an angry actress and they have to contend with a mysterious kiwi. If only Clive Owen were here...

A Grave Decision is a short play that was slapped together in two hours by writer Patrick McCarthy, and salvaged over a weekend by director Matt Scholten (If Theatre) and performed by Tim Wotherspoon, Katy Warner, James Tresise and Matt Epps at The Malthouse Theatre on Sunday the 23rd of May 2010.

Created and presented as part of the 2010 Melbourne Emerging Writers Festival's 48 Hour Play Generator.

Emerging Writers Festival

2010-05-11T01:30:00.000-07:00

Artistic Director Patrick McCarthy will be writing a new piece for the Melbourne Emerging Writers Festival's 48 Hour Play Generator at the Malthouse Theatre on Sunday May 23rd at 5.30pm. It will be directed by Matt Scholten and performed by Associate Directors Tim Wotherspoon and Katy Warner, as well as James Tresise and Matthew Epps who were last seen in Mutation Theatre's production Habitat. Check it out here- http://www.emergingwritersfestival.org.au/program/program-by-event/#playgen

NEWS

2010-04-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

Mutation Theatre is thrilled to announce the appointment of Tim Wotherspoon and Katy Warner as Associate Directors of the company. Both bring a wealth of experience to their positions, and will be heavily involved in the development of new work by Mutation Theatre. Watch this space!

Habitat

2010-02-21T08:13:00.000-08:00

Mutation Theatre Presents

HABITAT

Written and Directed by Patrick McCarthy

Co-Devised and Performed by James Tresise and Matthew Epps

Habitat is a place. It is a moment in time between two people. It is an abstraction of the spaces between us, of the words and actions that bring us together and keep us apart. It is a place where people connect, hide, fight and wonder. It is turning off the lights and waiting to fall asleep.

In the living room of an inner city share house, two young men contemplate the state of the world and their place within it. Habitat is a new production from Mutation Theatre, written and directed by Patrick McCarthy (The Corpse of Hamlet, Fluorescent Facade) and co-devised and performed by James Tresise and Matthew Epps. It is an intimate contemporary performance that explores the nature of co-existence, masculinity and the identity of young Australia.

Habitat will be performed at Melbourne's newest contemporary performance space- The Function Room.

"A gentle, introspective exploration of what it means to be a young man in the 21st century...the charm in this raw yet engaging production lies in the way we get to know its characters...moments of true emotion...alternate with scenes of simple, unfettered glee"- Richard Watts (Smart Arts 3RRR, Man About Town)

"Assured, composed, relaxed and engaging...compelling moments of emotional honesty and really sweet and endearing and heart-leakingly sad recollections...an original kind of optimism, which is, for lack of a better word, refreshing...the overall effect is one of impressive craftsmanship"- Neandellus

Performance Details

10-20 March, 2010

Wed-Sat 8pm

The Function Room

129a Smith St, Fitzroy

(Above Cafe Coco)

Adult $20

Concession $15

Bookings: email- mutationtheatre@hotmail.com

phone- 0410 304 226

Production Shots

The Corpse of Hamlet

2009-12-13T06:40:00.000-08:00

Mutation Theatre's second production, The Corpse of Hamlet, was presented from the 4th-14th of November, 2009. It was performed in The Old Council Chambers at the Victorian Trades Hall, Carlton.

The Corpse of Hamlet

Written by Patrick McCarthy after William Shakespeare
Directed by Laura Hughes
Performed by Patrick McCarthy
With the voice of Tim Wotherspoon
Lighting Design by Tom Browne
Sound Design by Tim Wotherspoon
Produced by Gina Burton
Outside Eye: Andrew Grey

Bill is a shadow of a man, an echo and refraction of a hero that never was. Tired of Hell, he dresses himself in the corpse of Hamlet in the hope of finding meaning and salvation. An aggressive and unapologetic contemporary re-envisioning of one of theatre’s great characters; The Corpse of Hamlet is a darkly comic exploration of masculinity, love, language and solitude. A new work from Mutation Theatre, written and performed by Patrick McCarthy [Fluorescent Façade: Howard Arkley and Suburbia, 2008] and directed by Laura Hughes [Maelstrom-Grit Theatre, 2009].

"It's highly original"- Spark Online

"interesting, original and deeply thoughtful...a kind of progress, without doubt, replete with the ruin and rubble such progress entails"- Neandellus

Fluorescent Facade: Howard Arkley and Suburbia

2009-12-13T05:58:00.000-08:00

Mutation Theatre's first production, Fluorescent Facade: Howard Arkley and Suburbia, was presented from the 23rd-27th of September, 2008. It was performed as part of the 2008 Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Fluorescent Facade: Howard Arkley and Suburbia

Written and Performed by Patrick McCarthy

Directed by Louise Daly

"It's where 95% of Australian's actually live"- Howard Arkley on Suburbia

Howard Arkley, one of Australia's greatest artists, was made famous by his psychedelic paintings of Australian Suburbia. In 1999 he was found dead, from a heroin overdose, in his Oakleigh studio. This powerful solo performance takes you inside the mind of the troubled Melbourne artist, and explores the events that lead to his fascination with suburbia.

Be taken into Arkley's Suburbia, and hear the stories of those who may have lived behind the dark windows of his fluorescent houses.

Patrick McCarthy transforms from Arkley himself, to a variety of characters that will make you laugh, break your heart, and then invite you inside for a cup of tea.

2008 Melbourne Dramatists New Writing Award- High Commendation

"Strolling past some of Melbourne’s proudest preservations of the adorned Victorian terrace tradition on route to St Martins Theatre, I’m unsure of just how fluorescently Howard Arkley’s Surrey Hills suburbia will glow in the middle of South Yarra. Inside the intimate black box theatre, a solitary chair – quaintly airbrushed to an Arkley-esque colour scheme – and an unassuming projection screen go no further to reveal how a one man performance, anticipated tonight by a full house, might present the life-story of one of Australia’s most important painters and the “spirit” of one of its most intriguing cultural traditions. The response to this meditation, quite simply: Patrick McCarthy is how...

…The precision with which McCarthy juggles his complicated procession of personas is in itself a feat, yet undeniably, it is in the role of Arkley that he truly thrives…Evidently the subject was well studied - Arkley’s quavering, yet intense speech, jittery hunch and overall fragility are crafted meticulously – yet the achievement well surpasses skilled imitation. McCarthy plays Arkley desperately, as though there could be life staked on it. The young actor’s authoritative transformation into the neurotic and consumed artist is intense, unsettling and in every way exceptional…an exceptionally acted performance from a talented young actor, who makes the humble fly-screen door glow in a new light and the streets of South Yarra pale to an unaccustomed dullness"-Express Media/Buzzcuts

"an absorbing melee of malevolence, humour and spiritual bliss...a remarkable young Australian talent"- Art Monthly Magazine

Welcome to Mutation Theatre

2009-12-03T00:22:00.000-08:00

This is the blog of Mutation Theatre, an independent theatre company based in Melbourne, Australia. The company is run by its Artistic Director, Patrick McCarthy, and has a focus on new and experimental works. Mutation Theatre works from its studio in Fitzroy, and works collaboratively with other Melbourne theatre makers to create work that is challenging, engaging and contemporary.

This blog will act, for the time being at least, as both a website for the company and a place for occasional comments on other things.

Mutation Theatre was founded in early 2008 by Patrick McCarthy. It presented its first production, Fluorescent Facade: Howard Arkley and Suburbia, as part of the 2008 Melbourne Fringe Festival. Fluorescent Facade was written and performed by Patrick McCarthy and directed by Louise Daly.

High Commendation: 2008 Melbourne Dramatists New Writing Award

"Intense, unsettling and in every way exceptional"- Express Media

"an absorbing melee of malevolence, humor and spiritual bliss"- Art Monthly Magazine

Mutation Theatre presented its second work, The Corpse of Hamlet, in November 2009. The work was presented from the 4th-14th of November in The Old Council Chambers, Trades Hall, in Carlton. The Corpse of Hamlet was written and performed by Patrick McCarthy, directed by Laura Hughes, with the voice of and sound design by Tim Wotherspoon, lighting design by Tom Browne and produced by Gina Burton.

"It's highly original"- Spark Online

"interesting, original and deeply thoughtful...a kind of progress, without doubt, replete with the ruin and rubble such progress entails"- Neandellus

At some point I will add more info about the previous shows, such as blurbs and photo's etc.

Check back soon for news on the next production, coming early 2010.

Patrick McCarthy