New Theatre ends year with Aussie musical
Sydney’s New Theatre ends a great year with the toe-tapping fun of Linda Aronson’s musical Dinkum Assorted.
During the wartime winter of 1942, in the remote (and fictional) country town of Warrabadanga, the female workers at the Dinkum Biscuit Factory are battling to keep the biscuits baking.
For these ordinary Aussie women in a town devoid of men, life is challenging. Not only are they fighting to save the factory machinery from being sold for scrap, they’re running a ‘Mum’s Army’ Civil Defence Unit, putting on a show for the War Effort – and coping with the sudden arrival of two thousand American airmen who’ve been stationed just outside town.
This musical comedy about a group of ordinary women in extraordinary times, striving for personal and professional freedom against the backdrop of a changing world, serves up a slice of Australian social history with laughter, tears, songs, tap dancing – and Rita, the regimental goat!
At the helm, making her mainstage debut is Sahn Millington. “I am always attracted to human struggle and how amazing we are at finding ways to get through it,” she says. “Dinkum Assorted has at its heart stories of struggle and determination. The determination of these women to keep their factory alive; the determination to remain positive when faced with great odds; the struggle to say strong when you are hollow inside; the constant struggle with the fear that you may never see ‘your boys’ again; and the determination to keep going in the face of that fear.
“We’re aiming to give our audiences a great evening’s entertainment however it is also our hope that they delve deeper and connect with at least one of these amazing, determined, talented, gutsy and flawed women,” says Sahn.
“Linda Aronson’s play presents a very ‘assorted’ bunch of colourful ladies. These are recognisable women who transcend time. It doesn’t matter in what era you live, there are always dreams and aspirations, goals to achieve, people to love, laughs to be had and tears to be cried. And if that doesn’t grab you, there’s always the goat…”
Director Sahn Millington, Musical Director Fabian Ceccato .Choreographer Alyssha Clarke/
Cast: Debra Bryan, Melissa Burgess, Colleen Cook, Emily Crotti, Bodelle de Ronde, Alison Eaton, Sonya Kerr, Denise Kitching, Gemma Laffan, Amanda Laing, Cassady Maddox, Lois Marsh, Patricia McLoughlin, Hannah Raven Smith, Alizon Vosburgh
Season 17 November – 19 December New Theatre, 542 King Street Newtown. Ticket prices $17 - $32 Bookings: www.newtheatre.org.au (no booking fee).
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