The Cut: Watch Big Brother Watching You

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MEDIA RELEASE for immediate release
August 29 2007

WATCH BIG BROTHER WATCHING YOU

Silo Theatre presents
THE CUT

Outrageous Fortune’s Frank Whitten makes his debut at the Silo Theatre on October 10, stepping into the role that was commissioned for renowned thespian Sir Ian McKellen, in Mark Ravenhill’s chilling theatrical parable The Cut.

Silo returns to Ravenhill’s works following the sellout 2004 season of Shopping and F***ing, and is proud to be only the second theatrical company in the world to have this production as part of their season of fine performances, highlighting the synergy the company has with Britain’s Donmar Warehouse, based in Covent Garden, London.

Leading the cast for the production are two of New Zealand’s most recognized television stars; however instead of playing father and daughter, 2007 Qantas Television Award winners Frank Whitten and Robyn Malcolm (who also makes her Silo Theatre debut) play husband and wife. Whitten, who plays ‘Grandpa’ Ted West in Outrageous Fortune, plays the titular character Paul who McKellen portrayed in the 2006 London season. Co-star Robyn Malcolm portrays his wife Susan. Mia Blake returns to the Silo stage following her high profile leading role in the NZ feature film The Tattooist. Completing the stellar cast are Silo regulars Jarod Rawiri and David Van Horn.

Paul is a grey-suited civil servant, who carefully follows the ritualistic policies of his department. When a colleague, John, comes to his office he wants to know if he has any complaint about 'unnecessary brutality' and is keen to let him know all the options open to him. But John desperately wants him to perform the sadistic ritual known as THE CUT. Paul carries out this brutal and clinical procedure for many years in secret, hiding his dark secret from his family. The domestic neuroses of his wife Susan and the liberal campaigning of his son Stephen bring the world of THE CUT to a dramatic and chilling conclusion.

The Cut is fine example of Britain’s ‘In-Yer-Face-Theatre’ which combines wit, shocking realism and the deconstruction of modern society. With his first full length play,, Ravenhill became a tour-de-force in this genre in 1996 when Shopping and F**king stunned audiences with its sexually-violent content, mixture of Sadean and Marxist philosophies and black humor. In 2004, Silo performed Ravenhill’s debut as it became one of the most successful production in the theatre’s history.

Within the realms of a totalitarian society not unlike the worlds of Nazi Germany and George Orwell’s ‘1984’, The Cut will have audiences gripping on the edges of their seats.

THE CUT plays
10th October – 3rd November 2007
Directed by Jonathon Hendry featuring Frank Whitten, Robyn Malcolm, Mia Blake, Jarod Rawiri and David Van Horn
Monday and Tuesdays at 7pm, Wed – Sat 8pm. No Performances Sundays.
Bookings through Ticketmaster on 09 970 9700 or www.ticketmaster.co.nz,
Tickets: $20-35 (booking fees may apply)

ENDS

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