THE COMEDY SMASH OF THE BRISBANE FESTIVAL, FOR A THREE-WEEK SYDNEY SEASON.
Five women, best friends for decades, meet once a month to talk about books, lovers, and the jagged bits of life in between. Dissecting each other’s lives seems the most natural thing in the world and honesty, no matter how brutal, is something they treasure. Best friends tell each other everything, don’t they?
But each woman carries a complex secret and one weekend, without warning, everything comes unstuck.
Anita Heiss’ own adaptation of her much-loved novel is paying a visit from its home town in Brisbane as part of Sydney Festival’s Blak Out program.
This play wears its heart on its sleeve, an upbeat start to the year. Plenty of laughs, but there are serious questions that come out of it – about reading and writing in black and white Australia, about whatever reconciliation is now, and about the truths, half-truths and outright lies we tell ourselves. – Eamon
Tiddas was commissioned and originally produced by La Boite Theatre, Brisbane Festival and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.
CREDITS
Writer Anita Heiss
Co-director Nadine McDonald-Dowd
Co-director Rozanne McDonald
Cast Louise Brehmer, Lara Croydon, Sean Dow, Roxanne McDonald, Anna McMahon, Perry Mooney, Kaylah Truth
Designer Zoe Rouse
Associate designer Grace Deacon
Lighting designer Jason Glenwright
Sound designer and composer Wil Hughes
Performance psychologist Shona Erskine
Song License Letetia Harris
Stage manager Mia Kanzaki
Assistant stage manager India Lively
REVIEWS
Tiddas – Sisterhood And A Sense of Place: The Playwriting Renaissance Continues - Scenstr
Anita Heiss' theatre debut canvasses power of sisterhood from an unashamedly Aboriginal perspective - National Indigenous Times
The Saturday Paper
Sistahood in the city - Blue Curtains Brisbane
Audience Feedback from Belvoir St
“I loved everything about my visit to Belvoir St (which was my first) and the production Tiddas. So much resonated. I cried and laughed. And then messaged my women afterwards to tell them how much I loved and appreciated them. Thank you all.”
“Thank you for linking our clients with this opportunity to attend the theatre. One of the clients who came to see "Tiddas" was in tears, saying how much the play reminded her of her friends in her home country. It was really beautiful for her to have this experience of going to the theatre for the first time, so thank you for that.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed the play and was both entertained and informed. It has inspired me to read more about the play and the author of the book on which it was based.
Also going to the Belvoir theatre is also positive because the staff are very friendly and helpful.”
“It was powerful to watch a play that was superficially light-hearted but with a deep and significant cultural message.”
“Belvoir Street Theatre just keeps on delivering year after year, decade after decade. Congratulations!”
“It was riveting! I was so engaged with the vision of their lives that each actor created for us.”
“Fantastic production and actors. Loved everything about it! It made me laugh, cry and I learnt something too!”
Reviews from the media for the Sydney season
"Tiddas is a richly universal picture of women’s lives: the best of times and, in a shocking revelation, the worst of times." StageNoise
"The cast has a palpable chemistry, the scenes where the banter flows easily between them are entertaining, as if this group are true friends." Time Out
"Friendships between the Vixens (Veronica, Ellen, Xanthe, Ellen, and Nadine) are delicately drawn and this shines through on stage." StageNoise
"We learn of certain bilateral tensions and bonds, and we come to like all five, whether for their sharp tongues or soft natures." SMH