User:Kathleen McCarthy

Development

In 2006 comedian and composer Eddie Perfect set out to write a show that combined the disparate elements of music theatre and sport into one incredible spectacle. Inspired by the success of the homegrown musical Keating! And the UK smash hit Jerry Springer the Opera, Eddie took the composition skills he’d honed in his award winning solo shows Angry Eddie, The Big Con with Max Gilles and Drink Pepsi, Bitch to tackle the subject of Australian sport’s most talked about hero.

At the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in June 2007 Eddie showcased to a captivated audience of 600 the first of the songs he had written about the life and times of the infamous Australian Cricketer Shane Warne. The response was electric, with directors, producers and theatre companies all keen to be a part of the development of this most unusual project.

Token Events secured the worldwide right to the production in August 2007 and undertook an intensive period of development leading up to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in March 2008. During the Festival, Melbourne audiences had an exclusive opportunity to view a series of intimate ‘in progress’ showings. Simply by word of mouth, all five shows were completely sold out.

Shane Warne the Musical will have its world premiere at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne on 10 December 2008, where it will play for twelve weeks before touring to Sydney and Perth in 2009. Additional plans are underway to return the show to Melbourne and Sydney, tour to further Australian markets before heading to the United Kingdom in 2010.

Creative & Production Team

Eddie Perfect

Composer/Lyricist

Eddie has toured Australia extensively, as well as successful seasons in Edinburgh, London and New Zealand. Angry Eddie, his first solo show, received several awards. He has won a Green Room award for Innovation in Cabaret in 2003 and has been nominated for the award seven times for everything from musical direction to Best Cabaret Artist.

His show, Drink Pepsi, Bitch picked up the Best Cabaret gong at the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2006. Eddie’s Australian television credits include Kath And Kim, MDA, Blue Heelers, Stingers, The Melbourne Comedy Festival Gala, Stand-Up, Spicks And Specks and The Sideshow. He has appeared on UK and US television for shows such as Best Of The Fringe and The World Stands Up.

Neil Armfield

Director

Neil Armfield is arguably Australia’s most respected and well-known director of theatre. In 1985 he was involved in the purchase of Belvoir St Theatre and the formation of Company B, becoming its first Artistic Director in 1994 where he remains to this day. He has directed countless award winning theatre and opera productions for Company B (Keating!, Exit the King, Stuff Happens) and worked extensively in the UK and the U.S. His hugely successful 2005 feature film Candy was awarded in Australia, Europe and the U.S.

Brian Thomson

Set Designer

Brian trained as an architect in Perth and Sydney. His 1970 design for the Australian production of the rock opera Tommy led to a full-time career in theatre, opera and film as a set and production designer. His credits include: Designer, Closing Ceremony Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Set Designer, Kylie Minogue Live and Intimate Concert 1998, 2006 The Boy from Oz Arena Show, 2006 Keating! - the Musical and Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

Gideon Obarzanek

Choreographer

Gideon founded the world renowned, Melbourne based Chunky Move in 1995 and has been its Artistic Director to date. The company has earned an enviable reputation for producing a distinct yet unpredictable brand of genre-defying dance performance.

Obarzanek’s works for Chunky Move have been diverse in form and content including stage productions, installations, site-specific works and film. His works have been performed in many festivals and theatres around the world in the U.K, Europe, Asia and the Americas. In New York, he has been presented at BAM Next Wave Festival, Dance Theatre Workshop and the Joyce Theatre.

Damien Cooper

Lighting Designer

Damien’s credits include 2008 The Rocky Horror Show, 2007 Exit the King, 2006 The Lost Echo Parts I & II, 2006 Keating! - the Musical plus countless projects with the Sydney Theatre Company and Belvoir Street Theatre. Damien is one of the most in demand lighting designers working in Australia today.

Tess Schofield

Costume Designer

With theatre credits including countless Company B Productions and Film projects such as Radiance, Cosi and Spotswood Tess Schofield is one of the most respected Costume Designers in Australian Entertainment.

Casey Bennetto

Dramaturge

In 2005 Casey wrote a song cycle celebrating and satirising the rise and fall of former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating. The show became the overwhelming hit of that years Melbourne Comedy Festival and would go onto be revamped under Neil Armifeld’s direction by Belvoir Street. The Belvoir Street version of Keating! Went onto tour the country selling more than 235,000 seats nationally.

Token Events

Producer

Kevin Whyte and his company The Token Group is a personal management firm and live touring business working with the finest comedians in Australia.

Token Artists exclusively represents its clients including, Rove McManus, Adam Hills, Dave Hughes, Wil Anderson, Judith Lucy, Frank Woodley and Peter Helliar, on TV, radio, film, live engagements and publishing. Token Artists is the largest comedy management firm in Australia.

Token Events traditionally tours Token Artists clients throughout Australia from intimate clubs to concert halls. The company tours twelve months of the year playing to more than 200,000 people a year.

Most recently Token Events promoted the Spicks and Specks Stage show selling more than 85,000 tickets in a hugely successful capital city tour. In 2006 the company was responsible for the final live tour of Australia’s favourite comedy duo Lano and Woodley. The Goodbye Tour, as it was known, travelled to more than forty cities and towns across Australia selling more than 130,000 tickets. In 2008 Token are presenting Frank Woodley’s new solo venture Possessed. At time of writing the show is enjoying a successful season at The Sydney Opera House.

Synopsis

ACT ONE

One by one, the cast take the stage to sing the Tale Of Warne. It is an over-baked number extolling the virtues of Music Theatre as the only genre worthy of telling this epic story. As it finishes, Shane Warne enters dressed in Saint Kilda Football gear and immediately begins to yarn with the audience. For some reason, Shane has decided to tell his tale as a musical tonight, but he is not altogether convinced that it is the best idea and apologises for the earnestness of his cast.

We are transported back to St. Kilda Football club in 1989 where Shane is invited to play with the firsts when a senior player injures himself. The match is a disaster, mainly due to Shane’s inability keep up with the play. A string of failed jobs follow and Shane finds himself lost and depressed (Run). Shane’s mother, Brigitte, tries to inspire him to take up an offer of joining the A.I.S cricket academy in Adelaide (Get Off The Couch). In the AIS, Shane quickly discovers he doesn’t see eye to eye with the head coach’s strict approach- an approach which borders on masochism (How Do You Spell Success? AIS). It is here that Shane meets his bowling coach and mentor, Terry Jenner, and the pair instantly click. Shane convinces the institutionalised recruits of the AIS to skip training in order to watch the AFL Grand Final down the pub (We’re Going There). Much later that night a drunken Shane visits the home of Terry Jenner who is none too pleased with Shane’s drinking and general lack of discipline. According to TJ, Shane has been selected to play for Australia without making any sacrifices. TJ warns Shane of the dangers that can befall a player. He sees that Shane possesses immense raw sporting talent and, drawing on his own life experience in first class cricket, TJ implores Shane to make the most of this opportunity (Piss It All Away).A chastised Shane decides to knuckle down and do the work, shedding kilos and training hard (Run Reprise).

It is 1993 and Shane is on the field at Old Trafford making his Ashes debut. Alan Border looks around the field and passes the ball to Shane, who takes a moment to prepare himself for his first delivery (Hollywood). As Shane bowls what will become the Ball Of The Century, Australians from every walk of life reflect upon a magic sporting moment which ranked with the moon landing and the death of Princess Diana as a unifying moment of national significance (That Ball). Shane’s star catapults into the stratosphere as a result of his Ashes performance and he finds fame, fortune and media attention unparalleled for a cricketer (Paying Attention Now).

We flash back to 1992 when a young Shane Warne meets a young Foster’s promotional model by the name of Simone Callahan at a celebrity golf tournament. Their love blossoms and we follow the romance from first meeting to their wedding at Melbourne’s Como House in 1995 (Dancing With The Stars).

ACT TWO

We begin the act with a song from the Australian One Day Team explaining their philosophy on sledging and respecting the limits of psychological disintegration. We also meet hot-shot South African batsman, Darryl Cullinan, seeking professional psychological help to overcome his fear of Shane Warne (We Never Cross The Line/ Bunny In The Headlights).

Shane explains that, during interval, many years have passed- we are now on the last night of a long, international tour in 2004. Tomorrow they’ll be back in Australia but tonight it’s time for the team to party (The Away Game). The revelling continues into a casino where Shane is approached and offered cash by a shady Indian character (My Name Is John).

Across the other side of the world, Simone Warne stands on the balcony of her East Brighton home and ponders the nature of love, life and the universe (Is The Sun The Moon?). At the same time, waking in his hotel room, Shane does the last of his packing and reflects on how much he misses his wife and family (I’m Coming Home).

Back in Melbourne, Shane and Simone are grocery shopping. Their domestic bliss is continually interrupted by Shane’s mobile phone (What An SMS I’m In). Shane collapses on his mother’s couch as she does some yoga. He’s in hot water with Simone and depressed with his treatment by the media. In an effort to cheer him up, Brigitte imparts the wisdom she’s accumulated over her lifetime (You Gotta Be Thin/ Take The Pill). Shane takes the diuretic offered by his mother and collapses into a deep sleep. He has an intense nightmare where, between dancing with a giant cigarette and losing his hair, he is told he will never captain the Australian Team (The Nightmare).

Shane awakens from his nightmare to find himself being fitted with a microphone for a television interview. He is under attack for a string of controversies- not the least of which is allegedly harassing an English nurse with text messages. Under strict instructions to simply offer a sincere apology, Shane rebels and instead defends his right to be himself and nothing more (Shine Like Shane).

The public seem to respond to Shane’s plea for understanding, but Simone does not. She is devastated by Shane’s infidelity and breaks off the marriage (What About That, Shane?). Left alone, Shane decides his one shot at redemption is to continue to play cricket and bring home the Ashes before retiring (The Ashes).

Principal Roles

Shane Warne

Our hero. He has talent, charisma and more than a touch of the larrikin about him. Shane is ambitious, driven and hot-headed at times but this is offset by a true down-to-earth humility, a child-like enthusiasm and a secret part that requires encouragement, love and support.

Simone Callahan

Our moral compass. Simone is intimidated by the world of international cricket and its associated fame and attention. She may not come across as especially bright- in fact, she has a complex that she isn’t as smart as other people around her- but what she is, however, is honest. She is not manipulative or greedy. When most other issues in Shane’s life can be explained, spun differently or apologised for, his relationship with Simone cannot. Despite all the incidents of infidelity it is still clear that Shane loves Simone and that she loves him back.

Brigitte Warne

She is tough, smart and funny. A very dry wit, she loves Shane unconditionally and has supported him from day one. She can be incredibly judgemental, however, and is not backwards in telling Shane how it is. Brigitte believes that in a world dominated by bullshitters and sycophants, the best she can do for her son is to tell him the truth- even if it hurts.

Terry Jenner

Shane and TJ’s relationship is one built on mutual respect and love. They found each other at exactly the time they needed to. For TJ, Shane represents a kind of salvation, an opportunity to make up for past mistakes. He sees a lot of himself in Shane and that scares him. Over Shane’s entire career, Terry is always there to help and support. It is TJ’s insights into the mentality of spin bowlers that best sums up how he and Shane relate to each other- spin bowlers need love and lots of it. Along with Brigitte, Terry is the only one who can give Shane a dressing down and have him take notice.