“Powerful” storytelling is the driving force that will draw Canberra audiences into ACT Hub’s latest production, the assistant director says.
The Tony and Olivier-award winning play The Inheritance will grace the stage at ACT Hub at Causeway Hall, Kingston from 12 October to 2 November.
Performed in two parts and inspired by E. M. Forster’s beloved novel Howard’s End, The Inheritance is “an epic examination of survival, healing, class divide, and what it means to call a place home”.
The play is directed by Jarrad West, with assistant directing by Lachlan Houen.
Mr Houen said while each part of the show lasted three hours, the most important thing was the storytelling, from its rawness to the lack of flashy tech.
“It draws you in and makes you forget how long you’ve been in the theatre,” he said.
Mr Houen said the feeling of time travelling while in the theatre was a credit to playwright Matthew Lopez, the original man behind the show.
“His storytelling and writing are so powerful. It just paints a picture in your mind you get lost in,” he said.
Theatregoers can watch both parts of the play in the one day (with several hours in between each sitting) or across two.
Mr Houen likened watching the play to a binge-watching experience.
“In the way it’s essentially watching a whole season of Netflix in the one day,” he said.
“That’s probably the most unique thing of the show, it’s the A to Z of the characters’ lives throughout an incredible journey.”
Mr Houen said preparing the performers for the show was like training for a marathon.
“When you have a three-week run of a show, that is quite lengthy,” he said.
“It’s about getting yourself used to the endurance of it rather than a sprint. Making sure the actors are taking care of themselves, resting and putting the hard yards in to reap the rewards, which is super important.
“A lot of them are full timers (at work) and we’ve got a few coming from different states and (one) from the UK – so they’ve taken time off their jobs – so it’s a big level of commitment.”
Tickets for the show, which runs at Causeway Hall from 12 October to 2 November, are available here: acthub.com.au/production/the-inheritance/
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