Emerald City

Queensland Theatre’s 50th anniversary season kicks off with the classic David Williamson satire Emerald City, playing QPAC’s Playhouse from February 8-29.

As well as being Queensland Theatre’s 50th anniversary, 2020 also marks half a century of play writing for David Williamson. So it’s the perfect coincidence that Williamson’s 1987 satire will open this landmark season.

Described by director Sam Strong as “very funny” and “a complex and relatable relationship story”, Emerald City is set in 1980s Sydney, at a time when The Emerald City of Oz is luring unsuspecting idealists with fanciful promises, then promptly shattering their dreams.

Colin (played by QT regular Jason Klarwein) is a one-time gun screenwriter who is off his game of late, while his wife Kate (The Dr Blake Mysteries’ Nadine Garner) is a publisher on the rise with a penchant for taking risks.

Seduced by the scent of success, they move their family to the Emerald City in pursuit of fame and fortune, but Colin soon finds himself faced with a stark choice: make art or make a motza?

Also featuring the talents of Rhys Muldoon (House Husbands) and Marg Downey (Kath & Kim), Emerald City is as relevant today as it was when it was written over 30 years ago.

“Human nature doesn’t change,” David Williamson explains. “The hunger for fame and recognition eating at our two married protagonists is a need that still consumes many of us…The human comedy – our ability to make fools of ourselves – never diminishes.”

By Dominique Falk

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