Jerusalem by Michael Gurr is a contemporary Australian classic that drives us to ask profound questions about morality, politics and religion.

Tickets $10 and on sale now.

http://www.facebook.com/events/487558337965971/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Gareth, the front man, doesn’t actually play an instrument and has come to the studio fresh out of a fortnight long ‘men’s retreat’ in which he discovered his inner-warrior. He wants to be respectable, and clean. Secretly, however, he hasn’t got the first clue about where to start. Chimney is still Gareth’s best friend and lead guitarist. By far the most introverted member of the group he joins in on the joviality and fun, but most of the time sits in the corner quietly composing brilliance on his steel string. Although he doesn’t realise it, his musical genius is the sole reason for the group existing. Sumo is a drummer, and hardly the brightest member of the group, his outlandish ideas are always dismissed by the others. Whilst Sumo loves the band and the experiences he’s had, the album isn’t his first priority, his mates are. Michael is the bass player, and living up the lifestyle of a new rock star. He has a foundation of solid musical talent, but this has become the background to a lifestyle of pure pleasure.

After an unusual hedonistic evening involving a punch up, a car accident, an unfortunate coming out tale and way too much beer Hedonism becomes front page news.  A media scandal typical of a rugby league player ensues, and the boys are given fantastic exposure. Empire has responded with giving them an even tighter deadline. Enter Phil. A hot-shot new producer, the studio has sent in to get and keep the boys on track. They have mixed feelings about a new producer, but are taken further aback when Phil turns out to be a domineering woman. They all rebel instantly, doing their best to get rid of her. However, Empire isn’t budging on Phil, who has turned bands around in their darkest days.

Phil’s arrival in the boys life sends relationships reeling and crashing but at the same time awesome tracks being laid down. The pressure mounts. The shit hits the fan. Will Hedonism even stay together, let alone play together?

This is a tale of men fighting for their identity. There are friendships here, dirty studio floors, old guitars, the smell of beer and lots of ‘fucks’, as well as a particularly strong desire for money and fame. Relationships are tested and values questioned as ultimately the boys have to figure out the value of growing up when they’ve been given a pass to never have to. It tackles the idea of contemporary Australian masculine identity head-on, interrogating its flaws and ideals in a funny and moving fashion.

The work was given a week of development as part of Metro Arts Sue Benner Takeover in April of 2013, with assistance from the Brisbane City Council Creative Sparks Grant.

Claire and David continue to write the work.

Please contact the site for more details.

All Together Now returns to the Empire Stage with five short absurd plays by internationally acclaimed writer Will Eno.

To ‘experience’ being alive can be an odd thing. It can be wonderful, confusing, lonely, ironic, vulnerable, hilarious. Oh The Humanity (And Other Good Intentions) presents five short plays about exactly these things.

It exposes the terrible hope and hilarious uncertainty of our lives through an array of witty and honest characters: a failed big-time coach; a painfully optimistic spokeswoman; a man and a woman searching for love; a pair of photographers who want to take your picture; and a married couple who realise they are unsure as to whether they are supposed to be attending a christening or a funeral.

Written by one of New York’s hottest award-winning playwrights and Pulitzer Prize finalist, Will Eno, this play will delightfully expose the commonalities between seemingly very different human experiences. This play is mysterious, hilarious, mundane and suprising. Just like life, really!

The play features performances by David Burton, Emily Burton & Kate Murphy.

The work was performed in March of 2013. Contact the site for more information.

Surf the synapses of a child’s brain, dodge bullets in Afghanistan, make friends with a psychic and meet a girl made of sticks. Experience a unique theatrical event with this surprising and inspirational new comedy from some of Queensland’s brightest theatrical talents.

Life Etc. is the latest addition in the smash-hit Home Grown season from Empire Theatre and is created by David Burton, Emily Curtin and Kate Murphy. It premiered in September of 2012. Contact the site for more info.

Revolt

(yrs 10-12) If not us – who? If not now – when?

The revolution is coming! Hamlet and Macbeth take on the powers that be in this tragi-comic look at the fragile world of power and it’s consequences.

Dangerous and deadly ideas become reality in a ride that threatens to unravel the very show in which they exist. The rollercoaster of revolution has begun.

The question is – how do we get off?

‘Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant – one of the best I’ve ever seen.’ Clem van der Weegen, Bribie State High School

Inferno

(yrs 6-9) Orpheus’ girlfriend is dead and he wants her back!

In an attempt to rescue her from the clutches of death, Orpheus must conquer the Underworld and then go head to head with Hades – King of the Underworld.

Part video game, part interactive game show this comic look at Greek myth is interwoven with poetry from some of Australia’s most revered poets including Slessor, Owen and Noonuccal.

‘The genius of it all! What appears to be a spartan stage came alive with a new level of high tech!’ Valentine Farm – CHIJ Secondary School, Singapore

Find out more about Grin and Tonic by visiting their webpage or like them on Facebook, or check out the 2013 brochure.

In April 2009, two weeks short of his 19th birthday, Toowoomba teenager Kristjan Terauds died due to complications from illicit drug use.

Inspired by ‘April’s Fool’, an account of his son’s death by Kristjan’s father, the Empire Theatre commissioned award-winning playwright, David Burton to bring this story to the stage.

Using the words of Kristjan’s friends and family interviewed over many months the result is a powerful mix of sadness, loss, and ultimately love, laced with humour.

April’s Fool promises to be a thought-provoking and ultimately optimistic reflection on how we all live our lives.

Young people, parents, teachers, youth workers and theatre critics universally praised April’s Foolfor its ability to engage them in this story, gently sharing with its audience and at no time to seeking to lecture or preach.

The result is a theatre experience that reflects Kristjan himself – loving, warm, generous, open, honourable, gentle, complex and provocative.

“April’s Fool” is not foolish theatre, it is wise theatre that is speaking with the reality and totality of human experience. I salute and applaud this show and all those associated with bringing it to Brisbane. It is this subject matter of which there is a crying need, these are the stories we need to hear and this is the way we need to hear them. They have incalculable cultural and human value as we, in this most isolating and disconnected time, need more than ever to connect to each other, our emotions and the issues that confront and challenge ourselves and our society. -Brent Downes,Theatre People

‘April’s Fool is sweet agony. David Burton did justice to this story with his decision to write the script with ‘verbatim’ dialogue gathered from family, community and the diary kept by Kristjan Terauds’ father during the ordeal of Kristjan’s death. These words, little stitches of life, are masterfully woven by Burton into a tapestry timeline of the last days of Kristjan.’ - Sonny Clarke, Aussie Theatre

‘April’s Fool re-creates the memory of a smart, bright, beloved young man. For a second it feels as if he’s still here – but the realisation he’s not slaps the audience with just a fraction of his family’s grief.

It’s that potency that makes April’s Fool more than just a play – it’s a potential lifesaver.’ -Baz McAlister, Courier Mail

April’s Fool toured nationally in 2012. The script is published by Playlab Press and can be purchased here. The play was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier’s Literary Award in 2011.

Previous guests have included Nick Earls, Benjamin Law, Liesel Zink, Steve Molks, and many many more. Most recently, Stuff and Things has begun to showcase new writer’s work on it’s ‘Humble’ specials. Stuff and Things also recently had the pleasure to attend the SupaNova Expo on the Gold Coast.

‘With its blend of thoughtful discussion and light humour, Stuff and Things effortlessly strikes the perfect balance between entertainment, inspiration, and education. It’s also a love song to nerds everywhere…Stuff and Things is the kind of wonderfully irreverent gem that you can’t wait to share with your mates and claim discovery of.’ – Carody Culver, Critical Mass

Stuff and Things closed its doors in January of 2013.

After years of research and workshops, award-winning writers Claire Christian and David Burton compiled a funny, honest and compelling play that tackled the most important elements of sex and relationships education. Coupled with a workshop, this play does not aim to preach to it’s audience, but instead expose and educate on issues that are regularly left unmentioned. Masturbation, virginity, mental health, societal expectations, pregnancy, STI’s, peer pressure, alcohol and religion are all explored. Please watch the video for full details, audience testimonials, and excerpts from the show.

Light and Water Productions would love to talk with you about bringing the production to your venue in 2013. A fully filmed version of the show is available on request. Just contact lightandwaterproductions@gmail.com.

Written and directed by David Burton and Claire Christian

Starring Patrick Dwyer, Ell Sachs and Steve Pirie

Our narrator, Dan, introduces us to the characters of the asylum. There’s the quiet and loyal nurse Lenore, the mad and confused Dizzy, the creepy head doctor Aintel, and the most recent patient: Will, a character who speaks only in excerpts of Shakespearean text. Chaos climbs when Lenore falls for Will, and Aintel fights to keep control. Told by a single actor on a bare stage, Furious Angels combines Shakespearean and historical text with a Grimm-style fairy tale to create a truly unique night out to the theatre.

Originally produced by Carley Commens, David Burton and Travis Dowling

Directed by Travis Dowling

Starring Daniel Mulvihill

Sound Design by Kylie Morris

Lighting Design by Ben Hughes

This brutally honest and hilarious adventure is a tale relatable to all contemporary young people, as David asks the ultimate big question: how to be happy? It is an urgent resource for teens, parents and teachers to aid discussion on the swathe of mental health difficulties that secretly affect the modern teen.

Several times a year, David is asked to speak of his experience to senior school students. He’s been doing this for many years. In 2010, David performed in a one-man theatrical version of the work and received critical acclaim. In 2012, David began work on a manuscript of the same name.

The book is couched in the search for happiness, a response to David’s on and off diagnosis of clinical depression. David grew up in a family with two parents (both on anti-depressant meds) and two younger brothers. The brothers, twins, both live with Asperger’s Syndrome.  There are many funny stories here, where we are given insight into the two boys unique viewpoint on the world. There’s the time Chris asked the girl at the Woolworths deli counter for a dozen ‘chicken vaginas’; the time where Andy couldn’t bare to watch a play where his older brother’s character died, because he thought it was real… David examines his failures and successes as an older brother.

David attacks the issue of adolescent sexuality with uncensored honesty. Consistently bullied as a young child and teen, he loses faith in his own sense of masculinity and begins to ponder his sexuality. A variety of volatile relationships with women adds fuel to the fire. David’s long list of female friends and crushes is occupied by several suicide attempts and many examples of self-mutilation: an unspoken epidemic in Australian high schools.

David’s confused by career options. He discusses the pressures that mount on the modern day senior student, offering advice to his readers on how to survive. David’s own career choices lead him astray from the regular path, giving up an expensive scholarship to study law for a career in the arts. Everyone else thinks he’s nuts for choosing the option he think will lead to greater happiness (but less money).

David spends most of his high school years as uncontrollably horny, but too wracked by guilt and complex feelings of friendship to act on his desires with his troubled female friends. No one’s really surprised when David comes out as gay, just on the cusp of beginning university.  His homosexuality is all but encouraged in the university Theatre Department, and he begins a fulfilling and almost entirely happy part of his life.

Things go south again when David completes his degree and unexpectedly falls for a woman. Shockingly, she was an actor in a piece about gay rights that David wrote and directed.  His sudden feelings for a woman and the subsequent losing of his virginity spin him into a depression. Uncertain of who he is or what he believes in, he contemplates suicide.

A serendipitous recovery of his psychologist’s phone number just minutes before a planned suicide attempt results in him calling for help. Over time, he gets better, and ends up in an eighteen month relationship with the girl. But when David has to handle going through a break up, he attempts suicide twice, and is forced onto anti-depressants for the first time.

Spending six months away from the world leads David to intense self-questioning and exploration. Out of this comes his eventual marriage, an incredibly successful career, and, surprisingly, genuine happiness. It’s official: David survived growing up.

This work is urgently needed to launch discussion about the severe mental health difficulties that young people currently face. Told with a sly smile and comforting familiarity, the book is designed for teenagers, parents, and teachers.

The speaking version of How to Be Happy  is able to be booked at anytime. David has extensive experience with young people and the education sector. Testimonies from past schools are also available. You can contact him at hello@daveburton.com.au