Regions

The Season

Nathan Maynard

Families are like seasons: you don’t get to pick them, and when they show up you best be ready.

Somewhere between mainland Australia and its southern-most mate Tassie lies Dog Island. For six weeks every year that’s where you’ll find the Duncans, a mob as funny as they are unforgettable.

They come back to roost for mutton-bird season, and have done for as long as anyone can remember. Amid the threat of snakes and Pop’s explosive temper, the family reunites with a country and culture still very much alive.

But their long memories and smart-arse streak mean it’s not just the birds sticking their beaks where they’re not welcome.

Old secrets are dug from their burrows and fledgling rivalries begin to take flight – it might all fall apart if it wasn’t for the fierce love that holds this bunch together.

Nathan Maynard has crafted a deadly funny portrait of a singular corner of our world. Directed by Isaac Drandic and featuring a stellar cast including Trevor Jamieson, Mathew Cooper and Lisa Maza, this national tour of the original acclaimed production is raucous and rowdy celebration of tradition and the bonds that unite us.

Nathan Maynard’s play has an ebullience and a warmth about it that is utterly endearing”

Seasoned with Spice – The Season, Syd fest – The Australian 120117

Nathan Maynard’s play has an ebullience and a warmth about it that is utterly endearing”

Seasoned with Spice – The Season, Syd fest – The Australian 120117

The Season ends up as both a meditation on culture and the nature of life itself, as birds and humans alike come and go, and pass down their histories to their offspring. It’s quietly moving and surprisingly uplifting”.

THE SEASON REVIEW – Sydney Festival – 120117

Watching, the generosity of his creations was an absorbing, welcoming and familial discussion of much more than race. It’s rich with gender politics, issues of big agriculture, inter-generational dynamics, historical grudge holding”.

The Season Sydney Festival Review – thesydenyartsguide 120117

Nominated for eight Green Room Awards in the Theatre Companies category

Production – WINNER
New Writing: Nathan Maynard – WINNER
Direction: Isaac Drandic – WINNER
Lighting Design: Rachel Burke
Set and Costume Design: Richard Roberts
Music Composition and Sound Design: Ben Grant
Ensemble: Tammy Anderson, Trevor Jamieson Luke Carroll, Lisa Maza, Kelton Pell, James Slee, and Nazaree Dickerson
Male Performer: Kelton Pel

Nominated for five Tasmanian Theatre Awards in the Professional Theatre category

New Writing: Nathan Maynard – WINNER
Direction: Isaac Drandic
Ensemble: Tammy Anderson, Trevor Jamieson Luke Carroll, Lisa Maza, Kelton Pell, James Slee, and Nazaree Dickerson
Male Performer: Kelton Pel – WINNER
Supporting Female Performer: Lisa Maza – WINNER

Credits

Writer
Nathan Maynard

Director
Isaac Drandic

Dramaturg
Peter Matheson

Set and Costume Designer
Richard Roberts

Original Lighting Design
Rachel Burke

Lighting Realisation
Simon Rush

Sound Designer
Ben Grant

 

Tour Cast
Mathew Cooper
Nazaree Dickerson
Trevor Jamieson
Lisa Maza
Della Rae Morrison
Maitland Schnaars
James Slee

Original Cast
Tammy Anderson
Trevor Jamieson
Luke Carroll
Lisa Maza
Kelton Pell
James Slee
Nazaree Dickerson

Production Manager
Peter Ashman

Stage Manager
Simon Rush

Tour Director
Nazaree Dickerson

Head Mech/ASM
Matthew Hobson

Company Managers
Annette Downs & Lucinda Toynbee Wilson

Produced by
Performing Lines TAS
in association with Arts on Tour

Information for Presenters

Presentation History

2018
Alexander Theatre, Monash University
Melbourne, VIC
Geelong Performing Arts Centre
Geelong, VIC
Hopgood Theatre
Noarlunga, SA
Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre
Mt Gambier, SA
His Majesty's Theatre
Perth, WA
Orange Civic Theatre
Orange, NSW
Northern Festival Centre
Port Pirie, SA
Middleback Theatre
Whyalla, SA
Canberra Theatre Centre
Canberra, ACT
Riverside Theatres
Parramatta, NSW
Seymour Centre
Sydney, NSW
View full Presentation History

Full Presentation History for The Season

2018
Alexander Theatre, Monash University
Melbourne, VIC
Geelong Performing Arts Centre
Geelong, VIC
Hopgood Theatre
Noarlunga, SA
Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre
Mt Gambier, SA
His Majesty's Theatre
Perth, WA
Orange Civic Theatre
Orange, NSW
Northern Festival Centre
Port Pirie, SA
Middleback Theatre
Whyalla, SA
Canberra Theatre Centre
Canberra, ACT
Riverside Theatres
Parramatta, NSW
Seymour Centre
Sydney, NSW
2017
Melbourne Festival at Malthouse Theatre
Melbourne, VIC
Ten Days, Theatre Royal
Hobart, TAS
Sydney Festival, Sydney Opera House
Sydney, NSW

Project Partners & Acknowledgements

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals Inc.; by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body; and by the Tasmanian Government through Arts Tasmania. The Season was workshopped at the Performing Lines TAS’ Tarraleah Artist Residency and the Yellamundie Festival.

 

Hero image and production shots by James Henry

In everything we do, we acknowledge that we live on Aboriginal land and constantly learn from the wisdom of First Peoples.

Where we are and the history that precedes us informs how we work and how we move forward.