Belvoir Street Theatre's 25A Program Presents THE OVERCOAT: A MUSICAL

By: Oct. 12, 2018
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Belvoir Street Theatre's 25A Program Presents THE OVERCOAT: A MUSICAL The Costi siblings Rosemarie, Constantine, and Michaelare all forging significant careers in the theatre and music worlds. They have joined forces for the first time to create a new work which will be premiered at Belvoir St Theatre in November.

The Overcoatis a new and dark musical comedy. It is the tale of an office worker's ill-fated attempt to find a sense of belonging in a lonely city.

"Nikolai is a clerk and a social outsider - perpetually uncomfortable in his skin," says director Constantine Costi.

"Following an embarrassing exchange with a colleague, he decides to sell everything he owns in order to buy a brand-new overcoat in a desperate effort to change his life forever."

The Overcoatis set in the frantic city streets of St Petersburg, as seen through Nikolai's eyes. It is an imagined city inspired by Russian avant-garde art and film of the 1920s. The city pulses to the rhythm of a Russian jazz trio. It features a cast of four and a band consisting of piano, saxophone, and double bass, performing music composed by Rosemarie Costi.

"The songs and music draw on a combination of traditional Russian folk tunes and bebop jazz," says Rosemary. "Gogol's writing has an innate lyricism as his characters scurry about trading office gossip and scandals. Typewriters, the tailor's sewing machine, and the howling Russian wind all provide inspiration to the soundtrack inside Nikolai's mind."

Michael says, "The Overcoatis a surreal puzzle. There are no triumphs,no heroesor happy endings. But there is a love story. Seeking warmth from the Russian winter, Nikolai turns to the only thing incapable of rejecting or tormenting him, a brand new coat."

"There is something extremely relevant about The Overcoat. Today, we are more disconnected from each other than ever, climbing bureaucratic ladders to nowhere, and much like Nikolai, we slip through cracks and seek solace in objects and comforts we can't afford in the hope they give us purpose."

Constantine adds, "Gogol's work is surreal, hilarious, and at times, disturbing. Our adaption captures this world in a whirlwind of music and story."

Actor and musician Charles Wuwill play the central role of Nikolai (rehearsing for The Overcoat, while also performing upstairs at Belvoir in An Enemy of the People). After graduating from NIDA in 2014, Charles has appeared in Samson and Jasper Jones (Belvoir), Chimerica, Three Sisters and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (STC). He has starred in Foxtel's Secret City, Channel Nine's Doctor Doctor and Here Come The Habibs and Kriv Stenders' Australia Day. As a musician, Charles works under the moniker Earthquake Magnificent, an electroacoustic project blending Asian pop, folk, noise and hip-hop.

25A, housed in the intimate Downstairs Theatre at Belvoir, is an exciting new program of low-cost, independent theatre making and emerging theatrical talent. The 25A challenge is to produce the most essential theatre while celebrating acting, story and community.

All tickets to 25A productions are $25.
Preview tickets are $20.
Click BUY TICKETS to book your tickets now.

Belvoir Box Office (02) 9699 3444



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