''Holding the Man'' is a stage adaptation by Tommy Murphy of Tim Conigrave's memoir of the same title. It is one of the most successful Australian plays of recent times and the winner of multiple awards. It premiered in Sydney, and then across Australia, as well as internationally–on London's West End and in Los Angeles.

Productions

The original production, directed by

David Berthold David Berthold is one of Australia's most prominent theatre directors and cultural leaders. He has directed for most of Australia's major theatre companies, as well as in London and Berlin, and has led several key arts organisations. He was Artis ...

, premiered in 2006 in a critically acclaimed, sold-out season at Sydney's

Griffin Theatre Company Griffin Theatre Company is an Australian theatre specialising in new works, based in Sydney. Founded in 1979, it is the resident theatre company at the SBW Stables Theatre in Kings Cross. the artistic director is Declan Green. Artistic direc ...

, Australia's leading new writing theatre, and became the company's highest-grossing production in its 30-year history. The production played six, highly successful seasons in various theatres around Australia: *

, 3 November – 23 December 2006. *

, 7 February – 3 March 2007. * Sydney Opera House, 9–26 May 2007. * Company B at Sydney's

Belvoir St Theatre Belvoir is an Australian theatre company based at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia, originally known as Company B. Since 2016 and its artistic director is Eamon Flack. The theatre contains a 330-seat Upstairs Theatre and a 80-seat ...

, 22 September – 4 November 2007. *

Brisbane Powerhouse Brisbane Powerhouse is an arts and cultural hub located in a former power station in the Brisbane suburb of New Farm, Queensland, Australia. The venue offers an array of performing arts, visual arts, festivals, and free community events. The fir ...

, 5–9 March 2008. *

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 com ...

as part of its 2008 subscription season, 14 March – 26 April 2008. The production was remounted at

La Boite Theatre Company La Boite Theatre is an Australian theatre company based in Brisbane, Queensland. La Boite was established in 1925 and is Australia’s longest continuously running theatre company. Playing a vital role in the cultural landscape, La Boite Theat ...

with a new cast, 16 February – 9 March 2013.

West End (London) season

This original Australian production was recreated in London’s West End for a limited season from 23 April to 3 July 2010. The cast included

Jane Turner Jane Turner (born 1 December 1960) is an Australian actress, comedian and Logie Award-winning comedy series creator and screnwriter. Career Turner, although best known as a comedy performer, made her acting debut in the internationally ren ...

, (Kath from TV’s ''

Kath & Kim ''Kath & Kim,'' (also written as ''Kath and Kim'') is an Australian sitcom created by Jane Turner and Gina Riley, who portray the title characters of Kath Day-Knight, a cheery, middle-aged suburban mother, and Kim, her self-indulgent daughter ...

''), and

Simon Burke Simon Gareth Burke (born 8 October 1961) is an Australian actor, active in films, television and theatre. Biography Simon Burke began his career at the age of 12, starring in Michael Cove's ''Kookaburra''; a painful look at a dysfunctional wo ...

directed and Brian Thomson designed the sets, with costumes and puppets by Micka Agosta. The

Trafalgar Studios Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its ...

season was produced by Daniel Sparrow and Mike Walsh, Matthew Henderson and Suzie Franke, Benjamin Jones and Neil Gooding Productions

Other productions

The North American premiere of ''Holding the Man'' was staged by San Francisco's New Conservatory Theater Center, 21 September – 4 November 2007. A New Zealand production was produced by Silo Theatre (at Auckland's Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre) from 7–29 August 2009, directed by Shane Bosher. 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. I ...

production ran from 21 October – 13 November 2011 at the Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre, directed by Rosalba Clemente and starring Nic English, Luke Clayson, Catherine Fitzgerald, Nick Pelomis, Geoff Revell and Ellen Steele. It was designed by Morag Cook, composed by Stuart Day, with lighting design by Mark Shelton and puppets created by Stephanie Fisher. In 2019, ''Holding The Man'' was presented for the first time in New York as a benefit reading for

Gay Men's Health Crisis The GMHC (formerly Gay Men's Health Crisis) is a New York City–based non-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based AIDS service organization whose mission statement is to "end the AIDS epidemic and uplift the lives of all affected." His ...

starring Greg Ramsey and Charlie Munday directed by Andrew Victor Myers and Morgan Bartholick.

Los Angeles season

The Australian Theatre Company presented their production in Los Angeles in May/June 2014 at the Matrix Theater with Larry Moss directing. The production was met with much fanfare with a launch hosted by the Australian Consul General in Los Angeles. The cast featured Nate Jones, Adam J. Yeend,

Cameron Daddo Cameron Peter Daddo (born 7 March 1965) is an Australian actor, musician and presenter. From 1987 to 1988, he hosted dating game show '' Perfect Match Australia''. He won two Logie Awards for his performances in '' Golden Fiddles'' and ''Track ...

, and

Roxane Wilson Roxane Wilson (born 1965) is an South African actress best known for her roles in ''Water Rats (TV series), Water Rats'', ''Stingers (TV series), Stingers'' and ''The Alice (TV series), The Alice''. She was born in Durban, South Africa to an It ...

and was very well received by US critics citing Moss' direction, Murphy's writing and the performances of the cast, particularly the two leads.

Publication

The stage version was published by

Currency Press Currency Press is a leading performing arts publisher and its oldest independent publisher still active. Their list includes plays and screenplays, professional handbooks, biographies, cultural histories, critical studies and reference works. H ...

in November 2006 in a double volume with another play by Murphy, '' Strangers in Between''. A new edition of the play was published in April 2010 by

Nick Hern Books Nick Hern Books is a London-based independent specialist publisher of plays, theatre books and screenplays. The company was founded by the former Methuen drama editor Nicholas Hern in 1988. History Nick Hern Books was founded in June 1988,Sara ...

in the UK to coincide with the London season of the production.

Creative teams

Original Australian creative team

* Director:

* Designer: Brian Thomson * Costume Designer: Micka Agosta * Lighting Designer:

Stephen Hawker Robert Stephen Hawker (1803–1875) was a British Anglican priest, poet, antiquarian and reputed eccentric, known to his parishioners as Parson Hawker. He is best known as the writer of "The Song of the Western Men" with its chorus line of ...

* Composer & Sound Designer: Basil Hogios * Associate Sound Designer: Steve Toulmin * Assistant Director: Nic Dorward * Timothy Conigrave:

Guy Edmonds Guy Edmonds is an Australian born director, writer, actor and author. He co-created, wrote, acted in and directed the Emmy award-winning comedy series Hardball. He co-authored the hit book series Zombie Diaries and Zoo Crew. As an actor he is b ...

* John Caleo: Matthew Zeremes * Mary-Gert Conigrave and various:

Jeanette Cronin Jeanette, Jeannette or Jeanetta may refer to: * Jeanette (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) Places * Jeannette, Ontario, Canada * Jeannette Island, Russia * Jeannette, Pennsylvania, U.S ...

* Dick Conigrave and various:

Nicholas Eadie Nicholas Eadie (born 1958) is an Australian television, film and theatre actor. Biography Born in Sydney, New South Wales to actor and Australian Broadcasting Commission radio announcer Mervyn Eadie, he attended Waverley College from 1968 to 19 ...

* Phoebe and various:

Robin McLeavy Robin McLeavy (born 19 June 1981) is an Australian actress. Early life McLeavy is from Sydney, Australia. She graduated from NIDA in 2004. Career McLeavy starred as Lola Stone in the critically acclaimed Australian horror film, '' The Loved ...

* Peter Craig and various: Brett Stiller

London creative team

* Director:

* Designer: Brian Thomson * Costumes and puppets: Micka Agosta * Lighting Designer: James Whiteside * Composer & Original Sound Designer: Basil Hogios * UK Sound Designer: Avgoustos Psillas * Associate Director:

Adam Spreadbury-Maher Adam Spreadbury-Maher is an Australian/Irish theatre artistic director, producer and writer. He is the founding artistic director of the Cock Tavern Theatre, OperaUpClose and The Hope Theatre, and is the current artistic director of the King's ...

* Associate Designer: Morgan Large * Timothy Conigrave:

* John Caleo: Matthew Zeremes * Mary-Gert Conigrave and various:

* Dick Conigrave and various:

* Phoebe and various:

Anna Skellern Anna Skellern (born 27 April 1985) is a United Kingdom-based Australian actress, best known as the first female member of The Chaser's television programme ''CNNNN''. Biography Skellern attended the University of Sydney, where she was a promi ...

* Peter Craig and various:

Oliver Farnworth Oliver Farnworth (born 5 August 1982) is an English actor. Farnworth was brought up just outside Halifax in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, but moved to Sidmouth in Devon when he was fifteen. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

* Understudy Timothy Conigrave and John Caleo:

Oliver Stoney Oliver may refer to: Arts, entertainment and literature Books * ''Oliver the Western Engine'', volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry * '' Oliver Twist'', a novel by Charles Dickens Fictional characters * Ariadne Oliver ...

* Understudy Mary-Gert Conigrave and various: Kali Hughes * Understudy Dick Conigrave and various:

Lawrence Carmichael Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparato ...

New Zealand (Auckland) creative team

* Director: Shane Bosher * Set Designer: Rachael Walker * Costume Designer: Elizabeth Whiting * Lighting Designer: Jeremy Fern * Composer & Sound Designer: Andrew McMillan * Timothy Conigrave: Dan Musgrove * John Caleo: Charlie McDermott * Mary-Gert Conigrave, Lois Caleo and various:

Alison Bruce Alison Bruce (born 1962) is a New Zealand television and film actress, who starred in the 1999 feature ''Magik and Rose''. She also appeared in the teen series ''Being Eve'', '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' and had a recurring role as Simula in '' ...

* Dick Conigrave, Bob Caleo and various:

Andrew Laing Andrew Laing (born 1966) is a New Zealand actor best known for his role as Dr. Geoff Greenlaw in the popular soap opera, ''Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland ...

* Phoebe and various: Michelle Blundell * Peter Craig, Biscuit, Kevin and various:

Matt Whelan Matt Whelan (born 1985) is a New Zealand actor and comedian. Whelan is known for his roles as Brad Caulfield in the New Zealand television comedy-drama programme ''Go Girls''. He has also played Playboy founder Hugh Hefner in the Amazon Origi ...

San Francisco creative team

* Timothy Conigrave: Ben Randle * John Caleo: Bradly Mena * Mary-Gert Conigrave, Lois Caleo and various: Danielle Perata * Dick Conigrave, Bob Caleo and various: Dennis Parks * Phoebe and various: Nicole Lungerhausen * Peter Craig, Biscuit, Kevin and various: Wesley Cayabyab

Los Angeles creative team

* Director: Larry Moss * Designer: John Iacovelli * Assistant Director: Peter Blackburn * Timothy Conigrave: Nate Jones * John Caleo: Adam J. Yeend * Mary-Gert Conigrave, Lois Caleo and various:

* Dick Conigrave, Bob Caleo and various:

* Juliet and various: Adrienne Smith * Peter Craig, Biscuit and various: Luke O'Sullivan

Awards for stage version

*Winner, 2005

Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award The NSW Philip Parsons Fellowship for Emerging Playwrights, formerly the Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award, is an Australian annual award for early-career playwrights in New South Wales, offered by Belvoir St Theatre and Arts NSW from 199 ...

* Winner, 2007

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, t ...

, Best Play * Winner, 2007

Australian Writers' Guild Award The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967. The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previo ...

(AWGIE), Best Play * Nomination, 2007 Helpmann Award for Best Play * Nomination, 2007 Sydney Theatre Awards, Best New Australian Work * Nomination, 2007 Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, Best Play * Judges' citation, NSW Premier's Literary Award for Best Play