Brink Productions is an Australian

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

company based in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, specialising in the ensemble-development of new writing.

History

Brink was established in 1996 as a collective of seven actors, primarily graduates from the drama school of

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

, in order to "improve artistic production" in Australian theatre. Brink's founding members were Michaela Cantwell, Michaela Coventry, Lizzy Falkland,

Victoria Hill Victoria Hill (born 18 February 1971 in Adelaide) is an Australian actress, writer and producer. She is now based between Los Angeles, New York City and Sydney. Early life and career Victoria Hill is the daughter of Robert Hill, a former ...

, Richard Kelly, David Mealor, John Molloy and Paul Moore, joined soon after by director Benedict Andrews. Director Chris Drummond was appointed artistic director in 2004. One of Brink's most successful collaborations was ''When The Rain Stops Falling'', written by

Andrew Bovell Andrew Bovell (born 23 November 1962) is an Australian writer for theatre, film and television. Life Bovell was born on 23 November 1962 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia and completed his secondary school education in Perth. He graduated from t ...

with designs by visual artist

Hossein Valamanesh Hossein Valamanesh (2 March 1949 – 15 January 2022) was an Iranian-Australian contemporary artist who lived and worked in Adelaide, South Australia. He worked in mixed media, printmaking, installations, and sculpture. He often collabora ...

and music by Quentin Grant. During 2008-2010 the Brink cast performed the play to over 60,000 people in Adelaide (2008, 2010),

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

(2009),

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre compa ...

(2009),

Queensland Theatre Company Queensland Theatre, formerly the Queensland Theatre Company and Royal Queensland Theatre Company, is a professional theatre company based in Brisbane, Australia. It regularly performs in its own Bille Browne Theatre and the Queensland Performi ...

(2010), Canberra Theatre Centre (2010) and the

Araluen Arts Centre The Araluen Cultural Precinct, formerly the Araluen Centre for Arts & Entertainment, in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia, is a cultural precinct which includes the Araluen Arts Centre, the Museum of Central Australia (incorpo ...

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

(2010). The script has been performed all over the world including seasons at the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...

in London and the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

in New York City. In 2016–17, Brink worked in association with Far & Away Productions to produce ''Ancient Rain'', created with songwriter Paul Kelly, singer

Camille O'Sullivan Camille O'Sullivan is an Irish musician, vocalist, and actress. O'Sullivan is known for her unique, dramatic musical style and covers of artists such as Radiohead, Tom Waits, and David Bowie. As an actress, O'Sullivan has appeared in Mrs Hende ...

and musician Feargal Murray. The theatrical song cycle featured the poems of

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

Patrick Kavanagh Patrick Kavanagh (21 October 1904 – 30 November 1967) was an Irish poet and novelist. His best-known works include the novel '' Tarry Flynn'', and the poems "On Raglan Road" and "The Great Hunger". He is known for his accounts of Irish life t ...

Paula Meehan Paula Meehan (born 1955) is an Irish poet and playwright. Life and work Paula Meehan was born in Dublin in 1955, the eldest of six children. She subsequently moved to London with her parents where she attended St. Elizabeth's Primary School ...

Padraic Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ga, Pádraig Anraí Mac Piarais; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary who ...

and

WB Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish litera ...

and was presented at the 2016

Dublin Theatre Festival The Dublin Theatre Festival is Europe's oldest specialised theatre festival. It was founded by theatre impresario Brendan Smith in 1957 and has, with the exception of two years, produced a season of international and Irish theatre each autumn. ...

, 2016

Melbourne Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

, Canberra Theatre Centre, Merrigoing Theatre, 2017

Dark Mofo Dark Mofo is the winter version of the MONA FOMA festival, also held in Tasmania. With many of its events taking place at night, it celebrates the darkness of the southern winter solstice and features many musical acts, large scale light insta ...

, QPAC and the 2017 Adelaide Cabaret Festival. In 2018, Brink premiered ''Memorial'' at the 2018

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

, before touring it to the 2018

Brisbane Festival Brisbane Festival is one of Australia's leading international arts festivals, and is held each September in Brisbane, Australia. Its presence dominates the city for three weeks in September and its line-up of classical and contemporary music, ...

and the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

. Memorial was a stage adaptation of

Alice Oswald Alice Priscilla Lyle Oswald (née Keen; born 31 August 1966) is a British poet from Reading, Berkshire. Her work won the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2002 and the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2017. In September 2017, she was named as BBC Radio 4's second Poet ...

's ''Memorial: An Excavation of the Iliad'', with music by

Jocelyn Pook Jocelyn Pook (, rhyming with "book"; born 14 February 1960) is an English composer and viola player. She is known for her scores for many films, including ''Eyes Wide Shut'', ''The Merchant of Venice'' and '' The Wife''. Education Pook gradua ...

. Staged as a theatrical

soliloquy A soliloquy (, from Latin ''solo'' "to oneself" + ''loquor'' "I talk", plural ''soliloquies'') is a monologue addressed to oneself, thoughts spoken out loud without addressing another. Soliloquies are used as a device in drama to let a character ...

performed by

Helen Morse Helen Morse (born 24 January 1947) is an English-born Australian actress who has appeared in films, on television and on stage. She won the AFI (AACTA) Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the 1976 film '' Caddie'', and starred in the 19 ...

, it featured 200 chorus members In 2018, the also company toured ''The Aspirations of Daise Morrow'' to

Canberra Theatre Centre Canberra Theatre Centre (CTC), also known as the Canberra Theatre, is the Australian Capital Territory’s central performing arts venue and Australia’s first performing arts centre, the first Australian Government initiated performing arts ...

, Merrigong Theatre, the 2018 Galway Festival and the Assembly Rooms at the 2018

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

. ''The Aspirations of Daise Morrow'' is Brink's adaptation of

Patrick White Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990) was a British-born Australian writer who published 12 novels, three short-story collections, and eight plays, from 1935 to 1987. White's fiction employs humour, florid prose, ...

's short story Down at the Dump, from '' The Burnt Ones''. Brink has worked with a broad array of artists, including

Benedict Andrews Benedict Andrews is an Australian theatre and film director, based in Reykjavík. Born in Adelaide in 1972, he was educated at Flinders University Drama Centre. His first feature film ''Una'' (an adaption of '' Blackbird'' by David Harrower) was ...

Howard Barker Howard Barker (born 28 June 1946) is a British playwright, screenwriter and writer of radio drama, painter, poet, and essayist writing predominantly on playwriting and the theatre. The author of an extensive body of dramatic works since the 197 ...

, Paul Blackwell,

Kate Box Kate Box is an Australian stage, film and television actress. She is known for her roles as Nicole Vargas in ''Rake'' and as Lou Kelly in ''Wentworth''. Career In 2003, Box graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) Her first ...

Geordie Brookman Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitute ...

Paul Capsis Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, Geoff Cobham, Robert Cousins, Cameron Goodall, Lenny Grigoryan, and

Slava Grigoryan Slava Grigoryan (born 1976) is an Australian classical guitarist and recording artist. He frequently collaborates and performs with his younger brother, fellow guitarist Leonard Grigoryan, performing as the Grigoryan Brothers. Early life He was ...

Productions

Brink's repertoire of work includes "epic narrative, re-imagined classics, music theatre and children's theatre". Past productions include: *''Memorial'' by

, Music by

, directed by Chris Drummond - World Premiere at the 2018 Adelaide Festival; *''Ancient Rain'' by Paul Kelly &

with Feargal Murray, directed by Chris Drummond - World Premiere at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival; *''Long Tan'' by Verity Laughton, directed by Chris Drummond accompanied by AD Exhibition Ripples of Wartime created by

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

Malcolm McKinnon; *''Gone Viral'' by Sally Hardy, directed by Tiffany Lyndall-Knight (Free Range Theatre in association with Brink, presented by the 2017 DreamBIG Festival); *''

Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; french: Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur, ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical thea ...

'', an adaptation of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

's play, by Philip Kavanagh, directed by Chris Drummond, with the

State Theatre Company of South Australia The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. It ...

; *''Deluge'' by Philip Kavanagh, directed by Nescha Jelj, 2016 Adelaide Festival; *''The Aspirations of Daise Morrow'', adapted from a short story by

, directed by Chris Drummond, Space Theatre & tour to Canberra, Wollongong, Galway and Edinburgh; *''Stories I Want to Tell You in Person'' by

Lally Katz Constance Lalage "Lally" Katz (born ) is an American and Australian dramatist writing for theater, film, and television. She now resides in Los Angeles. Early life Katz was born in New Jersey, United States. She was named for her aunt, Connie. ...

, directed by

Anne-Louise Sarks Anne-Louise Sarks is an Australian theatre director, writer and actor. She has been the Artistic Director of the Melbourne Theatre Company since October 2021. Her partner is journalist Sean Kelly. Career Studies and early work Sarks studied ...

, Bakehouse Theatre; *''The Dissolving Self'', devised by Chris Drummond, Susan Rogers and

NIDA Nida or NIDA may refer to: People * Nida Allam (born 1993), American politician * Nida Fazli (1938–2016), Indian Hindi and Urdu poet and lyricist * Nida Eliz Üstündağ (born 1996), Turkish female swimmer * Eugene Nida (1914–2011), American l ...

Carriageworks Carriageworks is a multi-arts urban cultural precinct located at the former Eveleigh Railway Workshops in Redfern, Sydney, Australia. Carriageworks showcases contemporary art and performing arts, as well as being used for filming, festivals, fa ...

;
''Thursday''
by

Bryony Lavery Bryony Lavery (born 1947) is a British dramatist, known for her successful and award-winning 1998 play '' Frozen''. In addition to her work in theatre, she has also written for television and radio. She has written books including the biography ...

, directed by Chris Drummond in a collaboration with

English Touring Theatre English Touring Theatre (ETT) is a major touring theatre company based in London, England. History English Touring Theatre was founded in 1993 by Stephen Unwin. In 2008, the directorship of the company was taken over by Rachel Tackley, making ET ...

(based on the story of

Gill Hicks Gillian Claire Hicks, , is the founder of the London-based not-for-profit M.A.D for Peace. She is a motivational speaker, author, curator, and trustee for several cultural organisations. She began her career as a speaker in the wake of the 7 J ...

who lost her legs in the 7/7/2005 London bombings); *''Land &Sea'' by Nicki Bloom, directed by Chris Drummond, Old Queens Theatre, Adelaide; *''Skip Miller's Hit Songs'' by Sean Riley, directed by Chris Drummond, Odeon Theatre; *''Harbinger'' by Matthew Whittet, directed by Chris Drummond, Space Theatre; *''

The Hypochondriac ''The Imaginary Invalid'', ''The Hypochondriac'', or ''The Would-Be Invalid'' ( French title ''Le Malade imaginaire'', ) is a three- act ''comédie-ballet'' by the French playwright Molière with dance sequences and musical interludes (H.495, H. ...

'' by Moliere, a new adaptation by Paul Galloway, directed by Chris Drummond, Space Theatre; *''

When the Rain Stops Falling ''When the Rain Stops Falling'' is a play about family, secret legacies, betrayal and forgiveness seen across four generations and spanning two continents. The drama had its world premiere as part of the 2008 Adelaide Festival of Arts. It was wr ...

'' by

(A collaboration with

and Brink), directed by Chris Drummond - Premiered at 2008 Adelaide Festival, touring to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Alice Springs; *''The Clockwork Forest'' by Doug Macleod, directed by Chris Drummond, with Windmill Theatre -

Dunstan Playhouse Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the 1970s, designed by Hassell Architects. The Festival Theatre opened in June 1973 with the rest of the centr ...

and

; *''This Uncharted Hour'' by

Finegan Kruckemeyer Finegan Kruckemeyer (born 1981) is an Australian playwright. Early life Kruckemeyer was born in 1981 in Cork, Ireland, of a German father and Irish mother. The family moved to Adelaide, South Australia when Finegan was eight years old, and he ...

, directed by Chris Drummond, with The Firm and

; *''

Drums in the Night ''Drums in the Night'' (''Trommeln in der Nacht'') is a play by the German playwright Bertolt Brecht. Brecht wrote it between 1919 and 1920, and it received its first theatrical production in 1922. It is in the Expressionist style of Ernst Toll ...

'' adapted from the Bertolt Brecht, by Finegan Kruckemeyer, directed by Chris Drummond, with State Theatre Company of South Australia; *''4:48 Psychosis'' by

Sarah Kane Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological� ...

, directed by Geordie Brookman, Old Queen's Theatre *''The Duckshooter'' by Marty Denniss, directed by Michael Hill, with the State Theatre Company of South Australia; *''The Caretaker'' by

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

, directed by Hannah MacDougall, presented by Belvoir Street Theatre and Adelaide Fringe; *''Killer Joe'' by

Tracy Letts Tracy S. Letts (born July 4, 1965) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for '' August: Osage County'' (2007), for which he received ...

, directed by Hannah MacDougall, presented by Adelaide Fringe and State Theatre Company of South Australia; *''A Lie of the Mind'' by

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...

, directed by Tim Maddock, Space Theatre; *''Blue Remembered Hills'' by

Dennis Potter Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Singing Detective'' (198 ...

, Belvoir Street Theatre and Space Theatre; *''Ursula'' by

, directed by Tim Maddock, Space Theatre; *''Quartet'' by

Heiner Muller __NOTOC__ Heiner is a German male name, a diminutive of Heinrich, and also a surname. Given name *Heiner Backhaus (born 1982), professional footballer *Heiner Baltes (born 1949), former football defender *Heiner Brand (born 1952), former West Ge ...

, directed by Gerrard McArthur, Old Queens Theatre, Adelaide *''The Ecstatic Bible'' by Howard Barker, directed by Howard Barker and Tim Maddock with

The Wrestling School The Wrestling School is a British theatre company, founded and led by playwright Howard Barker. Company history Founded in 1988 by actors from the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Court Theatre, the company has exclusively presented prod ...

at the 2000

; *''A Dream Play'' by

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

, directed by

, Odeon Theatre; *''Mojo'' by

Jez Butterworth Jeremy "Jez" Butterworth (born March 1969) is an English playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He has written screenplays in collaboration with his brothers, John-Henry Butterworth, John-Henry and Tom. Life and career In March 1969, But ...

, directed by Benedict Andrews, Adelaide Fringe and Red Shed Theatre; *''Roberto Zucco'' by Bernard Marie Koltes, directed by Tim Maddock, Balcony Theatre; *''The Europeans'' by Howard Barker, directed by Tim Maddock, Balcony Theatre & Wharf 2 Theatre; *''The Misanthrope'' by Moliere, directed by Tim Maddock, Balcony Theatre; *''The Dumb Waiter'' by Harold Pinter, directed by Gina Tsikouras, Red Shed Theatre & The Old Fitzroy Hotel; *'' ncleVanya'' by Howard Barker, directed by Tim Maddock, Red Shed Theatre & Belvoir Street Theatre

Awards

* 2018: ''Memorial'' Adelaide Critics Circle Award - Best Group * 2017: ''Long Tan'' Curtain Call Award - Best Design * 2015: ''The Aspirations of Daise Morrow'' Adelaide Critics Circle Award - Best Group * 2013: ''Thursday'' Curtain Call Award - Best Ensemble * 2011: ''Skip Miller's Hit Songs'' by Sean Riley

Adelaide Fringe The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, i ...

- John Chataway Digital Technology Award * 2010: ''

'' by

, a collaboration with

& Brink Productions - ACT Green Room Award - Production * 2009: ''The Hypochondriac'' by

, a new adaptation by Paul Galloway (Brink Productions, producer) - Adelaide Critics' Circle Award - Group Prize * 2008: ''When the Rain Stops Falling'', a collaboration with Hossein Valamanesh & Brink Productions, presented with the

and the

Adelaide Festival of Arts The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

**Adelaide Critics' Circle Award – Group Prize (Brink Productions, producer); **Adelaide Critics' Circle Award – Individual Prize(Andrew Bovell, playwright; **Ruby Award - Best Work or Event; **Curtain Call Awards – Best Drama & Best Technical for Set Design/Video Design & Projection; **Victorian Premier's 2008 Literary Awards (Louis Esson Prize for Drama; **Queensland Premier's 2008 Literary Awards (Drama Script – Stage - Award; **Oscarts 2008 – Best of Everything; *2006: ''This Uncharted Hour'' by Finegan Kruckemeyer, co-production with the STCSA, presented in association with The Firm and the

Adelaide Festival Centre Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the 1970s, designed by Hassell Architects. The Festival Theatre opened in June 1973 with the rest of the centr ...

's Inspace - ArtsSA:

Jill Blewett Playwright's Award The Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, from 2024 the South Australian Literary Awards, comprise a group of biennially-granted literary awards established in 1986 by the Government of South Australia, announced during Adelaide Writers' Week ...

*2005: ''Drums in the Night'' by

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

, translated by Finegan Kruckemeyer, co-production with STCSA - Adelaide Theatre Guide Curtain Call Awards: Best Show, Drama *2001: ''Killer Joe'' by

-''The Advertiser'': Oscart for Best Production *2000: ''The Ecstatic Bible'' by Howard Barker, a co-production with The Wrestling School - Adelaide Critics' Circle: Excellence in Arts * 1998: ''The Dumb Waiter'' by

-''The Advertiser'': Overall Artistic Excellence, Adelaide Fringe Festival *1998 ''Mojo'' ''The Advertiser'': Overall Artistic Excellence, Adelaide Fringe Festival * 1996: ''(Uncle) Vanya'' by Howard Barker -Adelaide Critics' Circle: Best Production

References

External links

* {{authority control Performing arts in Adelaide Theatre companies in Australia