A Sign of the Times makes world premiere at NIDA

The Follies Company and NIDA Independent have announced the world premiere of Sign of the Times, a play written and directed by Stephen Helper,  – who worked as Assistant Director for Fiddler on the Roof and co-conceived Smokey Joe’s Cafe on Broadway – and starring Scott Irwin (Les Miserables, Hairspray). And only Scott Irwin.

Irwin plays Man, who after a bumpy adulthood with problems at home and a pressure-filled job teaching at university, decides to trade it all for being that guy who stands near roadworks with the Stop/Slow sign. In his stasis, his intellect and his imagination is free to run wild, and starts to explore poetry, drama, and theories of the universe.

A Sign of the Times is the first play to have been both developed through NIDA Independent’s creative development program and also selected for NIDA Independent’s premiere production season.

Helper says the play was inspired by a chance, twenty-second encounter with a workman at some road works.

“I was unprepared for the friendly, energised sign-holding fellow guiding me through. He created a lasting impression and has been the catalyst for writing this show.

“Scott Irwin is so engaging and brings such pathos to the character of Man,” enthuses Helper.

“It’s a fantastic marriage of philosophy and contemporary story – a kind of thought-provoking, wise evening in the theatre that audiences hunger for and very rarely get. And, it is very, very funny.”

A Sign of the Times plays at NIDA Parade Theatres from 9 – 22 September. For bookings or more information, visit ticketek.com.au.