Past Productions
the bleeding tree
November 2022 @ Anglesea Hall
February 2023 @ Platform Arts Geelong
Written by Angus Cerini
Directed by Iris Walsh Howling
Music by Kirstin Honey
Starring - Lina Libroaperto, Stacey Carmicheal &Julie Fryman
LOVE LOSS AND WHAT I BORE
ANGLESEA PERFORMING ARTS PRESENT 2 ONE ACT PLAYS
May 2022 @ Anglesea Hall
DON'T SAY BUBBA - WRITTEN by Fleur Murphy
LOVE LOSS AND WHAT I WORE - WITTEN BY BYDELIA EPHRON & NORA EPHRON
Directed by NIKKI WATSON
presented by Anglesea Performing Arts
shadows of angels
“Fleur Murphy’s story telling sparkles in this gritty piece about four Australian ‘Femme Fatales’ ... the writing crackles with dark wit and beauty” Theatre People
APRIL 2021 @ Anglesea Hall
Written by Fleur Murphy
Directed by Iris Walshe-Howling
Starring - Joanna Lusty, Lina Libroaperto, Fred Preston & Stacey Carmichael
Original music composed by Kirstin Honey
presented by Anglesea Performing Arts
slipped through the cracks
It seems that trauma needs no words. There is no conscious understanding required. It spares no one and nothing in its immeasurable radius.
SLIPPED THROUGH THE CRACKS is Jules Allen’s debut play. It is a play, first of its kind, in its controversial and daring exploration of children in out-of-home care. It unashamedly delves in to the myriad of complexities faced by all those involved in what is, often, a harrowing journey. There is no escaping the fact that trauma gives birth to such situations. Its implications, at times, beyond measure.
2019 @ Anglesea Hall
Awarded 'Best Production', 'Best Director', 'Best Original Script' and 'Best Supporting Female Actor' at
Anglesea One Act Play Festival
Written by: Jules Allen
Directed by: Iris Walshe-Howling
Cast: Philip Besancon, Stacey Carmichael, Libby Stapleton, Julie Fryman, Janine McKenzie and Morgan Caruana
THE BLOOD CRIES OUT OF THE SOIL
A compilation of Caryl Churchill's 'Seven Jewish Children' plus 'etudes' on the theme ...
Caryl Churchill’s SEVEN JEWISH CHILDREN uses a 'remarkably condensed and direct poetic form' to question the effects of war and peace on our children.
This controversial text has been described as ‘a heartfelt lamentation showing theatre’s power to heighten consciousness and articulate moral outrages’.
It unapologetically sheds light on ‘Israel’s preoccupation with national security leading into acts of indiscriminate slaughter in Gaza’ and how we as adults justify this to our children.
It is this stunning text which becomes the catalyst for further exploration on the theme.
Poems by Israeli children in 1947 and 1974 from 'The Spielberg Jewish Film Archive' are set to hauntingly beautiful original live music specifically created for this production. ‘We throw A Stone’ by Ramzy Baroud and other related texts are combined in a thoughtful riff on the motif: the effects of conflict on children and our responsibility to them.
2019 @ Anglesea Hall
Compiled and Directed by: Iris Walshe-Howling
Text performed by: Lina Libroaperto, Nikki Watson, Janine McKenzie, Maggie Evans, Somerset Arnold and Molly Lesosky-Hay
Music devised/performed by: Kirstin Honey, Kerryn Viner
Projections: Kirstin Honey
The Hope Song
THE HOPE SONG
Can you imagine a bird pecking in your head all the time? And feeling like there is a woman screaming through your insides all the time? That’s what it’s like on a bad day.
Seven actors take us on a journey that attests to the enduring power of hope. In this honest and moving play, souls are bared in a potent piece of Verbatim Theatre, which offers fascinating insights into the people whose portraits make up the Hope Song. These stories help us to understand something powerful not only about the seven, but also about ourselves - that in so many ways they are us.
2017 @ Anglesea Hall
2018 @ La Mama, Melbourne
2018 @ Courthouse, Geelong
Written by Janet Brown
Co –Directors: Iris Walshe-Howling & Janine Mc Kenzie
Cast: Philip Besancon, Stacey Carmichael, Stewart Errey, Simon Finch, Lina Libroaperto, Libby Stapleton, Nikki Watson
Music performed by Tim Hulsman
Image by Rebecca Hosking
Love, Loss & what I wore
It's not about fashion; it is about what clothes really are to us, those moments when we are constantly trying to find our identity.
Awarded 'Best Production'
2018 @ Anglesea Hall - One Act Play Festival
Awarded 'Best Director' and 'Best Production'
2018 @ Kyneton - One Act Play Festival
Written by Nora and Delia Ephron
Director: Nikki Watson
Ensemble: Lina Libroaperto, Libby Stapleton, Julie Fryman, Melinda Chapman, Stacey Carmichael, Kirstin Honey
RE[ve]LATIONS
Some Girls, by Neil LaBute.
Directed by Iris Walshe- Howling
Design Iris walshe-Howling
One man’s attempt to heal relationship damage proves to be even more complicated than he first expected. Set in various hotel rooms, the man meets four ex-lovers, hoping to clear the air with each of them before his up-coming wedding. Some Girls is a riveting dark comedy, which captures the awkward and amusing dynamics that are created when we fall in and out of love.
Performed by: Steven Georgiadis, Nikki Watson, Lina Libroaperto, Natalie Parker, Julie Fryman.
Just Far Enough by Melinda Chapman...
Directed by Janine McKenzie
Design Melinda Chapman
Explores the boundaries that are observed and ignored between three friends. Over the years, three neighbours have negotiated the shifting fence-lines that separate their lifestyles, desires and identities. Just Far Enough deals with the moment when one of the neighbours wants out of the ‘hood. This witty comedy puts under the spotlight friendships that are based on lies, betrayal and a lack of basic respect for personal space!
Performed by: Lina Libroaperto, Janine McKenzie, Melinda Chapman.
The Rain
The Rain - An old woman tells of her past when she would stand in a field and hundreds of people filed past. The Violin - A father ,a mother and a child fearing the day when they will be taken away. Neither Lost Nor Found - A mother has reclaimed her daughter whom she was forced to relinquish. Kaddish - A fascinating and profound study of a lost relationship.
2013 @ Anglesea Hall, Courthouse Geelong
Directed by Iris Walshe-Howling & Janine McKenzie
Written by Daniel Keene
Set Design: Iris Walshe-Howling
Cast – Philip Besancon, Janine McKenzie, Iris Walshe-Howling, Rose Musselwhite, Maddie Field. Crew - Melinda Chapman, Kirstin Honey
Golden leaves - the story of eternity in 3 acts
An exploration of chaos to calm, following one souls journey through the perpetual cycle of existence.
2011 @ Melbourne Bella Union, Anglesea Hall, Aireys Inlet Festival of the Word
Directed by Kirstin Honey
Written by Kirstin Honey
Composed by Kirstin Honey
Choreography: Jess Lesosky
Projections: Kirstin Honey
Costumes: Liz Gustus, Kirstin Honey
Cast – Lina Libroaperto, Philip Besancon, Nikki Watson, Steven Georgiadis, Simon Egan, Kim Bingham, Kirstin Honey. Crew - Bruce Stebbins, Barry Browning, Melinda Chapman
The Medea Project
MEDEA, a scorned woman exiled and betrayed, takes her revenge in the only way left open to her. In a world where ambition for power has no bounds, love and life can easily be sacrificed.
2010 @ Potato Shed, Anglesea Hall, Aireys Inlet ‘Festival of the Word’
Directed and compiled by Iris Walshe-Howling
Written by Jean Anouilh, Euripides, Sylvia Plath, Franc Rame & Dario Fo
Choreography by Lyndel Quick and Jess Lesosky
Composition by Kirstin Honey
Film imagery by Sue Roberts
Dramaturge: Genevieve Roberts
Costumes Liz Gustus, Iris Walshe-Howling
Cast – Genevieve Roberts, Lina Libroaperto, Philip Besancon, Nikki Watson, Liz Gustus, Steven Georgiadis, Kirstin Honey, Jess Lesosky, Valda Connelly. Crew - Bruce Stebbins, Barry Browning, Sue Roberts, Bronwyn Beard, Barbara Morrissey
PHILLIPA'S SONG
Her voice, an inarticulate howl of the disenfranchised, is carried by the night to others, awake & adrift who are struggling to find love, face death & give their life meaning.
2009 @ Anglesea Hall, Qdos @ Lorne, Dantes @ Melbourne, Ceres Hall, Martians @ Deans Marsh, Dog Theatre “Big West Fest” @ Melbourne
Directed by Iris Walshe-Howling and Genevieve Roberts
Written by Daniel Keene, compiled from 'All Souls'
Composition by Kirstin Honey
Cast - Iris Walshe-Howling, Kirstin Honey. Crew – Steven Georgiadis, Fleur Rubens
SELF ACCUSATIONS
This piece is a Sprechstuck. It has no roles. Voices are attuned to each other, alternate or speak together, quiet or loud with abrupt transitions, thus producing an acoustic order.
2009 @ Anglesea Hall, Torquay Theatre
Directed by Iris Walshe-Howling
Written by Peter Handke
Design: Iris Walshe-Howling
Projection: Kirstin Honey
Cast - Genevieve Roberts, Kirstin Honey, Valda Connolly, Liz gustus, Janine McKenzie, Nikki Watson, Lina Libroaperto
All SOuls
“...Listen. It’s night. Of all souls. Here live those not yet in heaven nor sent to hell. All souls they are. And this night’s named for them…”
Phillipa, an ageing homeless visionary, hovers between the living & the dead
2009 @ Anglesea Hall, The Potatoe Shed
Directed by Iris Walshe-Howling & Janine McKenzie
Written by Daniel Keene
Composition by Kirstin Honey
Set design: Iris Walshe-Howling
Projection: Kirstin Honey
Cast and Crew – Genevieve Roberts, Lina Libroaperto, Philip Besancon, Janine McKenzie, Iris Walshe-Howling, Nikki Watson, Steven Georgiadis, Kirstin Honey, Bruce Stebbins, Barry Browning
Picnic at Hanging Rock
On Valentine's Day 1900 a group of school girls accompanied by two teachers went on a picnic to hanging rock. During the afternoon two of the girls and one of the teachers disappeared and were never found again.
2008 @ Anglesea Hall
Directed by Iris Walshe-Howling
Written by Matthew Lynden-Jones Math
Set Design: Iris Walshe-Howling
Choreography: Nikki watson
Costumes: Chris West, Trish Edwards
Set Construction: Barry Browning, Bruce Stebbins,Tim Watson
Set painting: Alex Lorenzi, Vonnie Pilgrim, Marie Fiske
Cast - Lina Libroaperto, Valda Connelly, Janine McKenzie, Nikki Watson, Nerida Munro, Amy Rowe, Maddi Field, Kaylene Bielecki, Christo McCray, Rob Phillips, Ryan Parker, Tegan Barnes, Gen Tobin, Tenneille Linehan-Downs, Bridget O'Hallaran, Rosa Napoli
The House of Bernarda Alba
Five Daughters of a marriageable age are confined together by a tyrannical mother for the traditional eight years of mourning for a dead father. The play written during Franco's regime speaks as powerfully as a political metaphor of oppression, as it does as a domestic drama.
2006 @ Anglesea Hall
Directed by Iris Walshe-Howling
Written by Federico Garcia Lorca
Set Design: Iris Walshe-Howling
Spanish Choir: Belinda McCardle
Spanish Guitarist: Gavin Cross
Flamenco Dancer and teacher: Natalia Garcia
Set Construction: Tim Watson
Producer: Barbara Morrissey
Photography Craig McGee
Cast - Lina Libroaperto, Janine McKenzie, Valda Connolly, Nikki Watson, Deb Del Grosso, Fiona Paul, Genevieve Roberts, Nerida Munro, Trish Edwards, Deidre pike
Mourners/Choir - Rachel Lowe, Aurora Williams, Liz Gustus, Louise Jarret, Allison Lowe
Baby With the Bath Water
This is a dark comedy about how difficult it is to be a parent and how scary it is to be a baby and a child. This absurdist play is playful in style and for all its dark topic has a hopeful ending
2005 @ Anglesea Hall, Qdos
Directed by Iris Walshe-Howling
Written by Christopher Durang
Set design: Iris Walshe-Howling
Graphics: Genevieve Roberts
Set Images designed and painted by Jeff Raglus and Eliza Feeley
Set contruction: Tim Watson
Producer Barbara Morrissey
Cast - Lina Libroaperto, Vikki Phillips, Vlada Filipovski, Tom Halls, Tim Gibson, Valda Connolly, Heather Weiss, Genevieve Roberts, Nikki Watson, Kerryn Viner, Lisa
Mrs Thally F
This hilarious, quirky black comedy is based on the real life trial in Australia of Yvonne Gladys Fletcher, a woman convicted of murdering two husbands using rat poison.
2004 @ Anglesea Hall, Qdos
Directed by Iris Walshe-Howling
Written by John Romeril
Set Design: Iris Walshe-Howling
Stage manager: Rosemary Kvits
Set contruction: Tim Watson
Producer: Barbara Morrissey
Cast - Nikki Watson, Lina Libroaperto, Valda Connelly, Heather
Swing Band - Tim Gibson, Kevin Connelly, Kerryn Viner