Synopsis
The world is in a state of climate collapse. Countries are sinking, burning, closing their borders, and six Australian tourists travel the world, seeing all that they can before it is gone. Bleached follows the journey of these ‘Final Flyers’, these ‘Disaster Tourists’, these ‘Lockdown Leapers’, as their relationships blossom, fall apart and fracture.
Hen leaves her family behind to embark on a journey of discovery, trying to find meaning in this disappearing world. Her wife, Santa, follows a few steps behind with their young child, searching in vain. And Bodhi, just looking for an authentic adventure (that photographs well) becomes emotionally entangled with Hen .
Anika can do nothing but watch as her career, her life’s ambition, and her relationship all disintegrate before her eyes. Gab tries to hold their relationship together, as he struggles with the growing madness of his sister, Nima. Nima feels the destruction of Mother Earth the keenest, keeping count as countries close, colours disappear and time runs out.
Our band of travellers party at Berlin clubs, eat escargot in Paris, visit the last two Auks on Eldey Island, camp under the Aurora Borealis and swim in rivers of rubbish, trying to fit in as much ‘life’ as they can before it ends.
But the big question is, can humanity survive a failing world? What happens next? The rats are waiting keenly in the wings.
The Writer
Laura Collins
laura collins
Using performance writing, Laura Collins (she/her) explores the way we interact with the natural world and each other. Currently, her work is focussed on the climate crisis, the reality of living with chronic pain, and eco-feminism. Her creations are whimsical, poetic, and absurd, but firmly grounded in contemporary issues.
Collins’ playscripts include: The Cave of Spleen (Theatre Works, 2023), A Dog Called Monkey (Northcote Town Hall, 2017), and Kick-Ons (Ormond College, 2016). She has also contributed monologues and/or performance text to Alternative Futures (Theatre Works, 2021), Stargazers (Online, 2020) and FREEFALL (The Burrow, 2018). Collins’ experimental and immersive installation Plastisphere was presented at Grant St Theatre (2019), Melbourne Fringe (2019), Zero Waste Festival (2019) and Adelaide Fringe (2020) where it received the BankSA award for Visual Art and Design.
Collins is an alumna of Theatre Works’ She Writes Collective (2020-2021), Hospitalfield’s Interdisciplinary Residency Programme in Arbroath, Scotland (2022), and the Masters of Writing for Performance at VCA (2018).
The Director
Ruby Rees
Ruby is a female-identifying multi-disciplinary artist based between Sydney & Melbourne. She undertook intensive acting, playwrighting and directing training at the world-renowned Herbert Berghof studio in New York city. She earned her professional writing and editing degree at RMIT university, Melbourne.
Ruby was the youngest recipient of the national St Martin’s playwriting award in 2010 for her first play Serpents. She completed a residency at the manhattan repertory theatre company in 2016. She was commissioned by the company to write and direct an original work for their 10th anniversary season.
Upon her return to Australia, Ruby directed a series of plays for independent Melbourne companies including Simon Stephens’ Punk Rock at renowned Melbourne theatre fortyfivedownstairs, which saw a sold-out season and rave reviews. while at NIDA, Ruby expanded her practice to include theatre-making, devising, and the adaptation of new works.
Ruby is currently in development with her debut feature film, that will be the first to come out of Australia employing only female- identifying cast, crew and creatives.
From the Director
Ruby Rees
“Bleached” is about people. The world Laura dreamt up for us to go traveling and exploring inside of is ending - climate change has reached it’s peak - and it’s occupants are a group of bedraggled complex people who are intertwined in different kinds of relationships. There is a humanity that rises to the surface of this play and I wanted to stage it in a way that let the “humans” shine. The cast worked tirelessly to inform the piece with their own bodies & the chemistry between each pair who cross paths became palpable in the space. “Bleached” tested me in the way only truly brilliant writing can. Our audiences will be tested too and I hope come face to face with the question posed by this play that obsessed me as we worked; “will human relationships survive the end of the world?”
- Ruby Rees, 2023
The Artists
Core creative team
Director: Ruby Rees
Writer: Laura Collins
Cast
Nima - Lansy Feng
Hen - Madeleine Magee Carr
Anika - Megan Mitchell
Gab - Anthony Pontonio
Santa & Bodhi - Eva Rees
Crew
Director: Ruby Rees
Production Manager/Stage Manager/First Director: Zadie Kennedy McCracken
Stage Manager/Tech Operator: Jarman Oakley
Sound Designer: Ethan Hunter
Set Designer: Moya Lucy
Lighting Designer: Oliver Ross
FoH Manager: Sophie McCrae
Other contributors
Photographer (hero image): Ashleigh Coleman
Photographer (promo shoot): Kristen Augeard
Photographer (production): Sarah Clarke
Special thanks: Niamh Jolly, An Dang, Sass Pinci, Emma Drysdale
The Company
Wit Incorporated is a vibrant and inclusive professional theatre community championing diverse and engaging work that inspires artists and audiences alike.
Our mission is to forge artistic connections in Melbourne's West by sharing stories that are culturally rich and representative of humankind as a whole.
The company began in Footscray in 2014, by Jennifer Piper and Belinda Campbell, from a desire to enrich and contribute to the arts in Melbourne’s inner-west and foster a culture of theatre-going within the community.
In 2020, after years of hard work establishing Wit Incorporated, Jennifer and Belinda handed over leadership of the company to Lansy Feng and El Boydell.
The same year, Wit Incorporated became a City of Maribyrnong Triennial Arts Partner.
In 2022, a few new members joined the company. Our team is currently lead by Lansy Feng, Emma Drysdale, Madeleine Magee Carr, Megan Mitchell and Sophie McCrae.
Wit Incorporated values inclusivity, joy, bravery, sustainability and respect.
We run a series of programs, including our Sundays Creative Workshops and Wit Kids children's drama classes.
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We love theatre, and we’d love your support
Theatre is a vital part of a healthy, growing society. Sharing stories helps us to grow, learn and connect. Since 2014, we have worked to create accessible, sustainable theatre that reflects the experience of our people.
We value creativity, accessibility, sustainability, inclusion and kindness.
Wit Incorporated Inc is a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) so any donation over $2 is tax-deductible. Your financial contribution makes our artistic contribution possible.
