ATYP presents Australian premiere of Stop Kiss

Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) launch their 2014 Selects season (previously known as Under the Wharf) with the Australian premiere of Diana Son’s critically acclaimed play Stop Kiss. Presented by Unlikely Productions, the production opens on the 7^th of March and is an official 2014 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras event.

 Directed by Sydney Theatre Award winning director Anthony Skuse (On the Shore of the Wide World, Punk Rock) the cast features Olivia Stambouliah (Packed to the Rafters, Frankenstein) and Gabrielle Scawthorn (The Killing Field, Deadly Women) as two women at a crossroads.

Sara (Scawthorn), new to New York City and meets Callie (Stambouliah) through a friend, but their relationship moves quickly and unexpectedly away from friendship. Caught by surprise, the conservative Callie struggles to comprehend the growing attraction, and the two circle each other warily, willing the other to make the first move. When the long awaited moment comes and they kiss for the first time on the streets of New York’s West Village, it prompts a devastating act of violence. With Sara hospitalised and comatose, this apparent ‘gay-bashing’ is thrown under the full limelight of the media, which in turn places the women’s fledgling relationship under scrutiny from their puzzled friends and family.

Also featured in the case is WAAPA graduate Aaron Tsindos, who recently won Best Actor (shared with co-star and director Mathew Hardie) for his role in the controversial Tropfest winning short film Bamboozled, Ben McIvor (The Great Gatsby, War Horse), Robert Jago (Macbeth, All Saints), Suzanne Pereira (who also serves as Associate Director) and recent ACA graduate Kate Fraser (Starlight Stories).

Stop Kiss premiered at New York’s Public Theater in 1998, starring Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy) and Jessica Hecht (Friends, Breaking Bad). Stop Kiss won the GLAAD Media Award for Best New York Production and Diana Son the Berilla Kerr Award for playwrighting.

SEASON DETAILS

Previews                      5 – 6 March

Season                        7 March – 22 March 2014

Performance Times     Wed – Sat 7pm, Sun 5pm

Duration                       80 minutes, no interval

Ticket Price                  $30/$20 Earlybird price (bookings made by Sunday 23^rd February)

Bookings                      www.atyp.com.au or 02 9270 2400

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