Photo: Jodie Hutchinson
When
2022: presented by Darebin Speakeasy, Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre (originally scheduled for 2020 and then 2021, but postponed again due to COVID-19)
2020: finalist for the 2019 Patrick White Playwrights’ Award
2018: second development, Tower Residency, Malthouse Theatre
2018: first development at Footscray Community Arts Centre through their Call to Create program
Creative team
Presentation – Darebin Speakeasy
Writer Michele Lee
Director Alice Qin (previously Ra Chapman)
Performed by Zoe Boeson, Sina Brown, Katerina Kotsonis
Dramaturg Emilie Collyer
Set and Costume Design by Juliette Whitney
Sound Design by Russell Goldsmith
Lighting Design by Rachel Lee
Production Manager & Co-Producer Rain Shadrach
Stage Manager Teri Steer
Development, December 2018 (Tower Residency, Malthouse Theatre)
Writer Michele Lee
Director Bridget Balodis
Dramaturg Emilie Collyer
With performers Katerina Kotsonis, Chanella Macri, Genevieve Guiffre and Jem Lai
Development, May 2018 (Footscray Community Arts Centre)
Writer Michele Lee
Director Bridget Balodis
Dramaturg Emilie Collyer
With performers Katerina Kotsonis, Chanella Macri, Genevieve Guiffre and Jem Lai
About
Format
Full length play, stage
Content
Three female security guards witness their male co-worker assault a female patron.
Reviews
Straying almost into sketch comedy before confronting us with grim ubiquity of sexual assault, Michele Lee’s latest play Security unfurls through offbeat, fly-on-the-wall conversations between three female security guards… The play’s emotional impact feels earned partly because its comic impulse is articulated with such rich and understated levity… Security does offer an uncompromising view of rape culture and the power structures that support it. The desolations of the subject are made more bearable by the playwright’s keen ear and sharp wit. The Age
Security is a riveting, hilarious and stirring drama… The dramaturgy and dialogue were excellent; kudos to Collyer and Lee respectively. All three characters had personal stories of ways in which their bodies and consent had been breached. The testimonies felt very real; they dealt with complex feelings of self-blame and betrayal… The play was a serious provocation to audiences to consider the ways in which we might support structural gender-based violence, and our collective duty, beyond being in ‘security’ to keep one another safe. A very thought-provoking, timely reminder by way of high-quality theatre. Arts Hub
Brilliant… Michele’s writing is relevant and critical, and it’s art like this that helps to shift things, even a little bit, in the right direction. Plus Ones
Supporters
Development: AMP Tomorrow Maker program, Creative Victoria, Footscray Community Arts Centre and Malthouse Theatre Tower Residency supported by the Sidney Myer Foundation
Presentation: Creative Victoria, the Australia Council for the Arts, and Darebin Speakeasy