Shows

STEAMING

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PRESS RELEASE

MBM to unveil Steaming at Holden Street
Matt Byrne to present controversial comedy at Hindmarsh in May/June

Matt Byrne Media will shock Adelaide sensibilities when it unveils Nell Dunn's riotous, irrepressible and revealing comedy Steaming at Holden Street Theatres at 34 Holden Street, Hindmarsh from May 19 to June 4.

Byrne will produce and direct the show and outstanding young Adelaide designer Louise Dunn will recreate the East End London Turkish bath in the intimacy of The Studio at Holden Street.

"Nell Dunn's heart-warming, side-splitting, gut-wrenching comedy is a contemporary classic of British theatre and we are delighted to be the first Adelaide company to present this wonderful play," Mr. Byrne said.

"Steaming is a gritty, irreverent, ribald, passionate, intimate and uncompromising piece of theatre that will astonish audiences with its audacity, eccentricity and full frontal honesty. Audiences will laugh and cry with these superbly crafted characters whose situations mirror the lives of so many women.”

Byrne said the show was known for its colourful characters, its razor sharp dialogue and YES its nudity.

“Nell Dunn has set it in an ageing Turkish bath house where disrobing is an essential and natural part of this intimate look at a group of women who find friendship and support in a place where they can reveal their true hopes and fears,” he said. “In the end they have nothing to hide.”

The cast for Steaming is a wonderful mix of experienced and fresh faces who will play the six women in the show.  “They are a fantastic group of actors who love the play and its positive message - who bares wins!,” Byrne said.

Glaswegian-born actor and now Adelaide standup comedienne Maggie Moore - better known as "Mags" to radio listeners - will play the plum role of Violet who runs the Turkish bath with a mighty heart and a shrinking budget.

Exciting newcomer Dianne Corston will play the role of unquenchable fireball Josie whose passion is needed to save the baths when council decides to demolish them to make way for yet another library.

Legendary Adelaide performer and TV producer Penni Hamilton-Smith will play the role of the redoubtable Mrs. Meadow whose life revolves around the baths and her child-like 35-year-old daughter Dawn. Stirling Players stalwart Maxine Grubel-Wilson will play the dizzy Dawn who is a 12-year-old in a 35-year-old body. They are a double act still joined by the umbilical cord of interdependence.

Joanna Webb, just returned from a 10-year stint in the UK will play the corporate wife with no real life, Nancy, and Rosanne Joyner, known for her award-winning performance in Bed Among The Lentils will play the bohemian Jane who keeps the women on an even keel when things threaten to boil over.

Steaming runs Thursday to Saturday, May 19 to 21, and Wednesdays to Saturdays, May 25 to 28 and June 1 to 4 at 8 p.m. with a matinee on Saturday, May 28 at 2 p.m. Admission is $25.00 Adults and $20.00 Concession with Group Concessions for parties of 10 or more.

Bookings are available on 8262 4906 or at VenueTix on 8225 8888 or www.venuetix.com.au

Ring Matt Byrne on 041 933 5966 for further information & interviews.