11 AUGUST — 3 SEPTEMBER
How To Defend Yourself
Written by Liliana Padilla
Directed By Claudia Barrie
“Your body is a weapon.”
Outhouse Theatre Co (Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Ulster American, The Flick) reunite with director Claudia Barrie (Dry Land, Bengal Tiger at Baghdad Zoo, The Cripple of Inishmaan) to present the Australian premiere of Liliana Padilla’s blazingly original new play.
Seven college students gather for a DIY self-defence workshop after a sorority sister is sexually assaulted. They learn to use their bodies as weapons. They learn to fend off attackers. They learn “not to be a victim.” Learning self-defence becomes a channel for their rage, anxiety, confusion, trauma and desire. Lots of desire.
Winner of the prestigious Yale Drama Prize and a finalist for the 2019 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Liliana Padilla’s blazing new play explores what it means to live in a culture saturated with violence and what it means to heal. With sharp humour and brutal honesty, the play examines what we want, how to ask for it, and the violator and violated inside us all.
After their acclaimed production of Dry Land, Outhouse and Barrie, are thrilled to team up again with a cast of some of Sydney’s most exciting emerging talent.
Photo credit: Marnya Rothe
PLEASE NOTE: Wednesday 17 Aug (Evening) , Saturday 20 Aug (Matinee) and Saturday 27 Aug (Matinee), Sunday 28th 2PM (Matinee) will be performed by the Swing/Understudy cast
Creative team
CLICK FOR SHOW PROGRAM
Presented by Outhouse Theatre Co & Red Line Productions
Written by Liliana Padilla
Director: Claudia Barrie
Producer: Jeremy Waters
Assistant Director: Sophia Bryant
Stage Manager: Mollie Webb
Set Designer: Soham Apte
Lighting Designer: Saint Clair
Costume Designer: Emily Brayshaw
Intimacy Coordinator: Shondelle Pratt
Fight Choreographer: Scott Witt
Dialect Coach: Linda Nicolls-Gidley
Cast: Georgia Anderson, Madeline Marie Dona, Brittany Santariga, Jessica Spies, Jessica Paterson, Michael Cameron and Saro Lepejian.
Swing/ Understudy Cast: Isabelle Nader, Sarah Nader, Kian Pitman, Chelsea Yarad, Bayley Prendegast, Ziggy Resnick, Fraser Crane
PLEASE NOTE: Wednesday 17 Aug (Evening) , Saturday 20 Aug (Matinee) and Saturday 27 Aug (Matinee), Sunday 28 Aug (Matinee) will be performed by the Swing/Understudy cast
This listing is updated as cast and creatives are confirmed in the lead-up to the production, and if there are any changes to the team.
Dates + Ticketing
Previews: 11 - 12 August 2022
Season: 13 August - 3 September 2022
Tuesday - Saturday 7.30PM
Sunday 5PM
Saturday matinees 2PM
Sunday 28th August 2PM
PLEASE NOTE: Wednesday 17 Aug (Evening) , Saturday 20 Aug (Matinee) and Saturday 27 Aug (Matinee), Sunday 28th 2PM (Matinee) will be performed by the Swing/Understudy cast
Approximate run time: 95 minutes
Partners
Content Note
coarse language, sexual references and themes of sexual violence
Select Reviews
“Terrifically acted, staged, and told free of manufactured emotional revenge & comic transformations – this is about people getting on with their lives, alert & alarmed but not hiding away.”
— Chuck Moore Reviews
“Dark comedy pulls no punches as it explores sex and desire…Director Claudia Barrie’s production pulses with robust physicality, and she draws strong performances from her youthful cast.”
— SMH
“It’s an opportune time for Sydney to see Liliana Padilla’s Yale Drama Prize-winning play about issues of desire, consent, power, toxic masculinity, sexual assault – and whether training in self-defence can ensure anyone’s safety… it is a fine, brave production – one that should be picked up exactly as it is and taken to a wider audience.”
— Stage Whispers
From Cat, Con & Alex: The Old Fitz Theatre Artistic Directors
“Resting our blistered feet, we welcome Old Fitz audience favourite Claudia Barrie back in 2022 with the Australian premiere of Liliana Padilla’s Yale Drama Prize award-winning play How to Defend Yourself. This powerful new work explores the intersection of sex, community and what it means to heal in a violent world. Known for various critically acclaimed work across the indie sector, we cannot wait to have Claudia’s bold directorial vision back at the Old Fitz.”