
Heart of Gold
“A beautifully staged rural-gothic extravaganza, Heart of Gold is directed confidently by Zoe Pepper and made larger than life by composer Ash Gibson Grieg and an accomplished cast of actors and dancers.”
“Its a critically aware, overblown lunacy; a cleverly twisted allegory of a quest for independence.”
“The synergy within this team is palpable, and the performers bring such confidence and accuracy to their hammed-up roles that what could read like a bad school play is frequently stunning in its clarity…”Urzula Dawkins, Realtime + On Screen To read the full review
“Director Zoe Pepper segues seamlessly between the mix of styles and the satire and the drama, maintaining momentum and interest without a dip.”
Ali Taulbut, The West Australian.
Heart of Gold is a new, darkly comic musical set in rural WA, featuring a family unravelled by secrets, a haunted landscape and one boy’s fantasy of West Australia forever at war with the Eastern states.
Iris Brown and her children Angus and Violet are a family living in isolation on the outskirts of Paucity. Their solitude is broken by the entrance of Constable Irving Saddle, the only guest to attend Violet’s dismal fourteenth birthday party. As Irving’s control gradually infects the household, Angus’s already unhinged perception of reality is stretched to dangerous proportions. He retreats into a nationalistic fantasy world ‘Westralia’ defended by a sinister, Ziegfeld-esque female army which embodies the family’s dark past. Angus’s waking and dreaming lives merge into one another, and Irving uncovers the horrible secret beneath the house.
Produced by Hold Your Horses
Writer: Thea Constantino
Director: Zoe Pepper
Composer / Musical Director: Ash Gibson Greig
Choreographer / Costume designer: Tarryn Gill
Set designer: Pilar Mata Dupont
Lighting Designer: Lucy Birkinshaw
Cast
Angus Brown – Tim Watts
Irving Saddle – Brendan Ewing
Violet Brown – Sarah McKellar
Iris Brown – Shirley Van Sanden
Chorus
Natalya Alessi, Oda Aunan, Maree Cole, Lily Newbury-Freeman and Whitney Richards