Savage Grace 2021

Unforgettable theatre exploring love, loss, euthanasia and HIV-Aids

Celebrating 21 years of Steamworks Arts‍

August 11 - 14 at State Theatre WA

Savage Grace 2021

We are thrilled to be bring back to the stage our inaugural award winning smash hit production Savage Grace

With the original cast we revisit this powerful classic Australian play by Alana Valentine, one of Australia's most esteemed playwrights.

Savage Grace is the story of Dr Tex Cladakis, an American HIV specialist, who meets bioethics professor Robert Bavaro. They clash over ethical issues, but despite or perhaps because of this, a passionate sexual affair develops between them. As Cladakis considers assisting the suicide of one of his terminally ill patients, the moral ground shifts and stakes escalate, threatening their personal beliefs and the trust and love that is growing between them.

This play is a ground-breaking work and a timely provocation given our current climate. Alana has written a contemporary update to the original work, with both characters now experiencing the 'new' pandemic of COVID-19, as they look back twenty+ years reflecting on love, loss, and their experience of the HIV-Aids pandemic that changed their lives forever.

…If you've ever wondered why some people get excited by theatre, it's time for you to head out and see Savage Grace and experience it for yourself. Savage Grace is everything that good theatre should be; educational, entertaining, emotive, edgy, confronting, compassionate and thought provoking, without ever crossing the line into preaching... Savage Grace is a beautiful piece of work in every regard, from scripting to set, sound and production design, although the lion's share of praise will ultimately lie at the feet of Bowers and Nolte. Savage Grace is probably one of the most powerful pieces of theatre performed in Perth - if you haven't been to the theatre this year, now is the time (Sabian Wilde - X-Press Magazine)

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Jon Green

Creative Team:

Writer: Alana Valentine

Co-director/producer: Sally Richardson

Performers: Humphrey Bower and Gibson Nolte

Composition/sound design: Cat Hope

Co-director & Lighting design: Joe Paradise Lui

Set Design: Matt McVeigh

Costume design: Nicole Marrington

Creative producer: Libby Klysz

Associate artist/vision and production: Timothy Green

Reviews:

Audiences and critics were universal in their heartfelt appreciation of the 2021 production.

A gift to audiences from all walks of life” - SEESAW MAGAZINE

...a timely and intimate study of human connection and contradiction, with especially relevant themes for audiences today...actors Gibson Nolte (Tex) and Humphrey Bower (Robert) are a joy to observe in this supple interplay of stubbornness, compassion, stress and love. Their vibrant embodiment and discerning chemistry are a blessing to see..In a society where some ideas cannot be publicly explored but through the patient permission of the stage, Savage Grace reminds us why we all need theatre.

Savage Grace a triumph for Independent Theatre in WA - THE AUSTRALIAN

...Savage Grace remains a potent and poetic essay on the end of moral certainty in an era of life-and-death menace...Bower and Nolte are consummate actors who control the pace and tone expertly..Savage Grace is of such calibre (it) deserves a far longer moment in the spotlight than current times permit.

****1/2 - LIMELIGHT MAGAZINE

..a powerful play about emotional conflict..Valentine’s pithy, witty and erudite dialogue, and her ability to show the characters struggling to defy their insecurities and grief make this play timeless.”

**** OUT IN PERTH

...a powerful work...The current production has sold-out so you’ll have to fight to get a ticket to see this limited run, but it’s well worth it.

...a moving, thoughtful and clever production and I hope it is not the end of its journey. STAGE WHISPERS

Timeline:

  • Blue Room Theatre 2001
  • Subiaco Arts Centre (with Black Swan Theatre Company) 2002
  • Darlinghurst Theatre 2003, Mardi Gras Arts Festival
  • La Mama Theatre 2004
  • State Theatre Centre WA 2021

Performances:

August 11 - 14 at State Theatre WA

Awards:

Winner Best Production Blue Room Theatre Awards 2001

Winner Equity Guild Award Best Actor - Gibson Nolte

Winner Green Room Award Best Actor - Humphrey Bower

Finalist Best Director Equity Guild Award - Sally Richardson

Finalist Best Original Script Green Room Award - Alana Valentine

Finalist PAWA Awards 2022 - Best Independent Production

PARTNERS:

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Steamworks Arts acknowledges the Traditional Owners of this country across Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures; and to elders both past, present and emerging.

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