Malthouse Theatre presents an Aphids' production...

CARE INSTRUCTIONS

"In Margaret Cameron's hands, and with her marvelous trio of performers, Care Instructions becomes an enchanting evening of theatre ... Some kind of magic is going on in this incantatory language; a summoning of the sensual pleasures of clean sheets and crisp linens, the smell of washing in sunlight."
- Alison Croggon, Theatre Notes

"Not so much a play as a spell. It enchanted me at its premiere at La Mama last year, and it's no less enjoyable to revisit. This production is sharper, its theatrical gestures heightened and thrown into relief." - Alison Croggon, The Australian, July 13th 2009

"There are some wonderfully ironic references to 1950s films that lampoon the idea of the ecstasy that women get from women’s work. Bayly, Jones and Lee absolutely shine in these sections. Jones, who manages to convey that meaning to the audience well, positively drips with sarcasm and is particularly engaging. There are several moments of pure theatre magic in Care Instructions, with breathtaking directorial vision from Margaret Cameron. The set design is striking in its simplicity and used to great effect." - Simonne Michelle-Wells, Australian Stage

"I loved watching and listening to Care Instructions. As someone who hates washing, it was almost cathartic to see the white sheets, the pink knickers and the black t-shirts cast aside with an intriguing mix of love and irreverence. The design is beautiful, the performer trio (Jane Bayly, Liz Jones and Caroline Lee) are divine and the language flows, splashes and meanders like a creek made of music..." - Anne-Marie Peard, Aussietheatre.com

"Care Instructions is visual in the most surprising way, it's visceral, it's jam-packed with ideas, allusions to half the dramatic literature of the last five hundred years, pertinent, impertinent, deep and yet very, very funny and simply marvellous, and like a small number of productions I've reviewed so far - a must see."
- Peter Green, 3mbs

In a post-Beckettian, dream-like laundry, the Sleeping Beauty’s thirteenth godmother is re-imagined as a triptych of washerwomen, possessed of a language that is at once melodious and daringly potent. In anticipation of the perfect drying day, performers Jane Bayly, Liz Jones and Caroline Lee (Alias Grace, La Douleur) shine as the mythical trio of women in-waiting, and women at work, as they delve deeply into rhyme, sing-song, and the allusive poetry of piles of washing.

Care Instructions sparkles without bleach, but there’s no telling what may come out in the wash. Cynthia Troup’s whirl of words unleashes an unstoppable force, teasingly irreverent, fuelled with the spirit of Gertrude Stein and James Joyce.

DIRECTOR Margaret Cameron
WRITER Cynthia Troup
MUSIC David Young
LIGHTING Danny Pettingill

CAST Jane Bayly, Liz Jones, Caroline Lee

TICKETS AND BOOKING INFORMATION
Tickets available through the Malthouse website, in person at the box office, or by phone on 03 96855111.

PERFORMANCE SEASON
July 7th at 7pm
July 8th at 8pm
July 9th at 8pm
July 10th at 8pm
July 11th at 8pm
July 14th at 7pm
July 15th at 8pm
July 16th at 1.30pm and 8pm
July 17th at 8pm
July 18th at 8pm
July 19th at 5.30pm
July 21st at 7pm
July 22nd at 8pm
July 23rd at 8pm
July 24th at 8pm
July 25th at 2.30pm and 8pm
July 26th at 5pm

Aphids is now offering great value for money season subscriptions to the 2009 Spring Program, including Care Instructions. For more details, click here.

Care Instructions Script for Single or Multiple Voice
By Cynthia Troup

Published by Aphids in collaboration with Idlewild Press, Care Instructions: Script for Single or Multiple Voice has been published to coincide with the opening of Care Instructions at Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre.

With a cover designed and letterpress printed by Carolyn Fraser at Idlewild Press, this is a strictly limited edition of Cynthia Troup’s incantatory text. Each copy is hand-sewn.

Foreword by Alison Croggon.