Musical theatre is alive and well in Australia today, according to Yarraville director Nathan Gilkes.
Gilkes will be premiering new Australian musical Jack of Two Trades this week in a production by the Monash Academy of Performing Arts.
Rounding out the western suburbs contingency will be Yarraville lighting and set designer Rob Sowinski and Braybrook costume designer Lucy Wilkins.
Set in Melbourne during the 1990s, Jack of Two Trades is an original musical adapted from the classic comedy The Servant of Two Masters.
Gilkes said the cast brings together performers from a range of backgrounds, including opera, jazz singing, clowning and stand-up comedy.
“This makes for a different twist to musical theatre, most of these people have never done one before but I have this freedom to bring everyone together to create something new.”
Gilkes said the funny, song-driven work has been a pleasure to tease out from the script onto the stage.
“We are at a funny crossroads in the Australian context – what do we mean by musical theatre, is it an imported model in the Broadway style, or are we speaking in a way this is Australian and not American?”
Jack of Two Trades will run October 19-22 in the Drama Theatre at Monash University’s Clayton Campus. Tickets $10-$20.
Details: 9905 1111 or monash.edu/mapa
