Hundreds of NORPA supporters gathered at City Hall in Lismore on Friday to see the launch of the highly anticipated 2020 season program.
From February to November, the season is full of local and international talent the thirteen shows are now on sale including new NORPA original work, Flow, created by Yaegl Bundjalung man Mitch King.
The 2020 program presents comedy, drama, dance and music and shows covering all audience age groups.
NORPA will also premiere a new show from Sprung!! Integrated Dance Theatre, the Northern Rivers based mixed abilities dance and theatre company creating inspiring work. A work of startling beauty O, How I Dreamt of Things Impossible is the result of five years of collaboration between Artistic Director Michael Hennessy and Sprung!! dancers.
Another local event will see NORPA team up with Brunswick Picture House to bring a brand new cabaret show CHEEKY to Lismore. From the creative team behind the award-winning, internationally-acclaimed circus/cabaret sensations La Soirée and Club Swizzle the crew from Brunswick Picture House are ready to light up Lovemore. A variety show on acid, CHEEKY celebrates the weird, the wonderful and the wildly entertaining.
Nimbin based director Darcy Grant brings his international hit Backbone to NORPA in 2020, a high-octane spree of physical virtuosity, testing the limits of strength: physical, emotional, individual and collective.
Comedian Jonathan Biggins as Paul Keating will present The Gospel According to Paul, Bell Shakespeare bring Comedy of Errors, explosive physical theatre company Legs on the Wall with their award-winning work Man with the Iron Neck (co-directed by Brunswick Heads based creative Josh Bond, set design by Main Arm based Joey Ruigrok), Orwell’s intensely powerful classic Animal Farm by acclaimed Brisbane based company shake & stir and for kids the next instalment of Andy Griffith’s juggernaut Treehouse series, the 91 Storey Treehouse live on stage, with artistic direction by NORPA’s Julian Louis.
Music lovers will get to see the hit-singing, pint-swigging feel-good sensation Choir of Man, the joyful, music soaked Playlist where five young women talk about their favourite female artists and Tubular Bells For Two when two musical maestros recreate Mike Oldfield’s classic album live on stage. Grammy award winning artist Patty Griffin is also coming to NORPA in 2020 for a special performance for one night only. Patty’s last tour to Australia was in 2008 with a string of sell-out performances across the country.
NORPA’s Artistic Director Julian Louis says on paper, the 2020 season delivers more of the best national productions and NORPA originals, which you’ve come to expect, but things feel different this year. ‘Familiar stories have been reshaped. Ancient tales retold. New ways of moving explored. And all of it ingrained with a great spirit of fun and playfulness.’
‘Lismore feels fresh too,’ says Louis. ‘With its wild heart and bright artistic vibrancy, hidden under a tough exterior, I had to agree when someone described it as the “Berlin of the North Coast” recently. We’re proud to call Lismore home, and thanks to the support from the Lismore City Council, it’s exciting to watch it continue to shape culture and entertainment in our region.’
The season will close with a NORPA original work, Flow, created by Mitch King. Flow is a yarn about Yaegl country. It’s an urban tale of finding identity in music and hip hop, a personal story of family pride and friendship, and an ancient story about the water that flows through this country.
All of NORPA’s 2020 Season shows are now on sale at www.norpa.org.au or by calling the Box Office on 1300 066 772. Subscription packages of three shows or more attract a 20% discount and start from as little as $60 for three shows! Subscriptions make the perfect gift and are a great way to organise a year full of incredible entertainment. Get in quick before shows sell out!
Check out NORPA’s 2020 Season Brochure online here
All NORPA 2020 shows now on sale at www.norpa.org.au.
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