What’s On: L’Appartement (Queensland Theatre)

L’Appartement

August 3 – 31, 2019

Cremorne Theatre, QPAC

It’s a dream holiday for Aussie couple Meg and Rooster – a decadent getaway in Paris in a swanky Airbnb, with fine wine, lavish food, and best of all, no three-year-old twins in tow – a chance for these parents to look after themselves, kick back and reconnect. But when they pick up the keys from their departing hosts – an achingly cool, overachieving young French couple – all it takes is 15 minutes for the trip to be derailed. And when they crack open a mysterious package that arrives on the doorstep, it throws up the biggest ethical dilemma they’ve ever faced.

Queensland Theatre present another world premiere season with Joanna Murray-Smith’s comedy L’Appartement, which asks if good intentions are the ultimate crime of the middle class. Inspired by her three-month holiday in Paris with her daughter, this work is also the playwright’s directorial debut.

“Once I knew I was directing, and got over the nervous breakdown, I started redrafting the play in an entirely different way to the way I usually write new drafts,” Murray-Smith said. “In the past, the scenic problems of telling the story were never my problem. I could write what I wanted to and give it to the director with the responsibility on them to make it work. Suddenly all the problems were my problems to solve. It was terrifying but also quite wonderful because I was feeling the play as a complete universe instead of a conversation. I owe a debt to Artistic Director Sam Strong for asking me to do something I never intended to do because, if nothing else, he has made me a better writer.”

Multi award-winning Queensland actor, Andrew Buchanan (QT’s Macbeth, Water Falling Down, TV Harrow, The Family Law, Sea Patrol) joins fellow Matilda Award-winner (and Andrew’s real-life wife) Liz Buchanan (Long Gone Lonesome Cowgirl, Twelfth Night, The 39 Steps) and Melanie Zanetti (QT’s Pygmalion, Little Dog Laughed, Jasper Jones and TV Bluey) as well as Green Room award-winner (Prize Fighter) Pachero Mzembe (The Mountaintop TV Underbelly:Razor, Here Come the Habibs). Helpmann, Green Room and Matilda Award-winning and Tony-nominated Designer, Dale Ferguson leads an impressive team of creatives for the production, including Lighting Designer Ben Hughes and Composer/Sound Designer Guy Webster.

For ticketing and further information, visit the Queensland Theatre website.

You can read my review of L’Appartement online for Limelight Magazine.