Catastrophes

Ella Hetherington and Renee Newman

Brutally honest friends juggling imminent global collapse, parenthood and failing bodies.

The leading Boorloo (Perth)-based theatre makers – who are also close friends – spent over six
years creating Catastrophes. The resulting performance sees the audience invited into their shame-
free friendship as they share intimate and often excruciating truths across one chaotic, yet hopeful,
hour of confessions.

Curated from the pair’s text messages and conversations, Catastrophes reminds us that though the
world may be ending you are not alone.

Set beneath the soft, omniscient folds of the billowing, cloud-like set, playing to an evocative soundtrack and grounded by a perimeter of chairs on loan from family and friends, Catastrophes is an absurdist archive of the pair’s friendship as they become first-time mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a soul-bearing tale – as funny as it is poignant.

Reviews

★★★★☆ ‘A piece of theatre that will leave you feeling very satisfied – a warm hug of a show.’

Kimberley Shaw, Stage Whispers

‘Powerful, compelling and the right amount of everything, this hilariously sad show is tragically funny. A celebration of beauty as much as a symptom of angst, this bittersweet dialogue will make mothers cry, and bees rejoice.’

Nanci Nott, Artshub

‘Catastrophes is a succinct piece of theatre that is both sobering and uplifting, a gentle reminder that you are magnificent and worthy despite feeling like you may be falling short of an impossible standard.’

Hannah Fredriksson, Theatre Travels

Technical

Venue Format
Black box
Proscenium arch
Town hall

Artforms

Interdisciplinary or Hybrid
Theatre and Puppetry

Audience

Adults - General
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse People
d/Deaf and Disabled People
First Nations/Indigenous People
LGBTQIA+ People
Men
Older People
People in Regional/Remote Areas
Women

Costs

Remount Cost: $10 - 15k

Weekly Fee: $10 - 15k

Per Performance Fee: $2 - 5k

Company Contacts

Contact Name:

Ella

Hetherington

Email: ellahether@gmail.com

Phone: 0402 774 896

Company Bio

Ella Hetherington is a multidisciplinary performance maker, facilitator and producer with a practice spanning 20 years. As an actor, devisor, writer and collaborator she has worked with all the major Western Australian theatre companies and is a regular collaborator in independent theatre, dance and circus. Ella has performed and created works nationally and internationally with Force Majeure, Legs on the Wall, Erth, Patch, La Fura Del Baus, Look Right Look Left and the Sydney Opera House. She has had work commissioned by Black Swan State Theatre Company, WA Museum, WA Symphony Orchestra and PICA. Her work has toured throughout Australia, Europe and Canada.

Renée Newman has been an educator, actor, writer, director and producer for nearly twenty years. Her performance interests/credits include: producer and performer Those who fall in love like anchors dropped upon the ocean floor 2014; 2015; 2016; Sleeping Beauty 2016; director Public Space 2013; creator, producer, performer, director and writer for writer, performer and producer Virgie 2011; 2012 and Seeking Basic Needs and Other Tales of Excess in 2018. She is a senior lecturer and Associate Dean (Research) at WAAPA.

Company Website

https://www.ellahetherington.me/

Resources

Marketing Pack

Technical Specifications

In proud partnership with:

CircuitWest acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the Country on which we live and work across Western Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.

Catastrophes

Technical

In proud partnership with:

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