And the party goes on

We open MTC Season 2011 with the world premiere of Don Parties On, the sequel to David Williamson’s landmark hit Don’s Party. It is especially fitting to present this production on Williamson’s 40th anniversary as a playwright. Robyn Nevin will direct a sensational cast including Diane Craig, Georgia Flood, Darren Gilshenan, Robert Grubb, Frankie J. Holden, Sue Jones, Tracy Mann, Nikki Shiels and Garry McDonald. Don Parties On opens Thursday 13 January 2011 at 8pm at the Arts Centre, Playhouse.

In 1973, Don’s Party was the play in which the young Williamson found his satirical line and length. The original production was set on the night of the 1969 Federal Election at Don’s house, where he, his mates and their long-suffering wives drank and argued through a long night in which the failed promise of their lives uncannily mirrored the thwarted Labor victory.

Don Parties On is set on 21 August 2010, the night of our recent Federal Election and, of course, yet another election night party at Don’s place. Over the decades, as he and his friends watched governments come and go, they have also closely followed the incoming results from each other’s lives: the tallies of luck and misfortune, the unexpected swings for and against. And through it all, the lesson that this crowd of superannuated Baby Boomers never seemed to learn is that politics and strong personalities should never be mixed with alcohol.

Forty years ago, an aggressive young playwright muscled his way onto the scene with a clutch of time-defining plays, including Don’s Party. With his sequel, Don Parties On, Williamson celebrates four decades of telling the tribe their story. “The circumstances of this election alerted my dramatic instincts,” said David Williamson. “The toppling of Kevin, the rise of the Lycra Kid, and the Labor Party’s back-down on just about everything important made me feel big issues were at stake, and that the result was going to be close. It was going to be a night of drama, both for the nation and for Don’s old friends.”

David Williamson is one of Australia’s most loved playwrights and an MTC favourite. His expansive career crosses both theatre and the silver screen. Some of his major works include: Don’s Party, Siren, The Department, Dead White Males, The Club, Travelling North, The Perfectionist, Emerald City, Money and Friends, Brilliant Lies and Let the Sunshine. He has won four AFI awards and the Australian Writers’ Guild AWGIE award 11 times. He has received honorary Doctorates of Literature from the University of Sydney (1988), Monash University (1990), Swinburne University of Technology (1996) and the University of Queensland (2004).

Cast: Garry McDonald (Don), Tracy Mann (Kath), Georgia Flood (Belle), Robert Grubb (Mal), Darren Gilshenan (Richard), Frankie J. Holden (Cooley), Diane Craig (Helen), Sue Jones (Jenny), Nikki Shiels (Roberta). Director: Robyn Nevin; Set Designer: Dale Ferguson; Costume Designer: Jennifer Irwin; Lighting Designer: Matt Scott