How’d I get so wise? I watched my dreams die. And then I kept going.
Kelly Sheppard, a naive but excited junior staffer in the Electorate Office of Ruth Mandour, a first-term Member of Parliament, unexpectedly gets the chance to travel to Canberra with the passionate MP she idolises and Ruth’s brilliant-but-exhausted Chief of Staff, Anna Cooper.
Anna’s juggling Ruth’s new policy proposal, a sick media advisor, a husband who struggles to deal with their daughter back home, and the intricacies of selecting the correct pastries her Member requires for breakfast. Meanwhile, Kelly’s over the moon to get behind the scenes at Parliament and watch her hero in action. But getting what you want in the nation’s capital requires some fancy footwork. What they all experience in that week makes them question their ambitions, their ideals and the value of democracy itself.
A whip smart, gaspingly funny and incisive deep dive into the corridors of power with shades of Veep, The Thick of It and The Hollowmen, celebrated South Australian playwright Emily Steel (Euphoria) blows open the doors of Parliament House to unlock some devilish and dangerous truths in this bold new black comedy, Housework.
“Housework tells a fictional story, populated by fictional characters, but it’s inspired by conversations I had with Parliamentary staff, political staff and politicians themselves,” Emily said. “I won’t tell you who they were or exactly what they said, but I will say that what they told me surprised me, infuriated me, impressed me and moved me. I heard how parents have to leave their kids when they fly off to Canberra, how women come up with tactics to protect other women, and what keeps people working in that world – sometimes it’s idealism, sometimes it’s ego, sometimes it’s a sense of ‘If not me, then who?”
Two of Australia’s greatest comic actresses take to the stage in this thrilling world premiere
– acclaimed actress and comedian Susie Youssef, star of The Project, Deadloch and The Appleton Ladies Potato Race takes on the role of MP while Emily Taheny, she of a thousand characters from Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell, is set to juggle a plethora of political hot potatoes as Anna, with direction from State Theatre Company South Australia Artistic Associate Shannon Rush (Cathedral, The Puzzle).
“At State Theatre Company South Australia, we’re huge advocates for new South Australian playwriting and I’m humbled that this will be the fourth new SA play l’ve directed for the Company. Working with playwrights is one of my favourite things to do – I’m always in awe of them – writing a play is extremely challenging,” Shannon said.
“Emily Steel is one of the best. She’s developed this brave, whip-smart, comedic insight into the great corridors of power in Parliament House. She explores how women navigate and operate within a system originally designed for, and still dominated by, men. Her writing is incredibly intelligent and sharp, and the characters leap off the page. It’s very much a play for now, a story that captures the zeitgeist.”
Housework gives you unprecedented parliamentary privilege into the sacrifices made to walk the halls of power. Sex scandals, betrayals, culture wars, the price of power, motherhood and Machiavellian manipulation – it’s all in a day’s work inside the House.
Presented by State Theatre Company South Australia
7-22 February, Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre.
Grab your TICKETS here!
