Media Release
For immediate release
They Saw a Thylacine
A story of extinction and survival, with dry ice (maybe).
Winner: Best Performance, Melbourne Fringe 2013
Winner: Tiki Tour Ready Award, Melbourne Fringe 2013
‘A rare and moving feat of theatrical storytelling’ - The Age
‘Pitch perfect performances…funny as they are heartbreaking’ – AussieTheatre.com
On an unseasonably cold September day in 1936, the last known Tasmanian tiger died in captivity at Hobart Zoo. Nearly 80
years after the disappearance of a species, Justine Campbell and Sarah Hamilton tell this story.
On the brink of the sixth mass extinction of species on earth, They Saw a Thylacine bears witness.
Fresh from an award winning season at Melbourne Fringe Festival They Saw a Thylacine comes to BATS Theatre as part of the New Zealand Fringe Festival this February. Director of the NZ Fringe, Hannah
Clarke, awarded the production the prestigious Tiki Tour Ready Award, which enables the show to tour to New Zealand.
The collaborators are thrilled to be coming to Wellington. Justine says “The opportunity to be part of such a vibrant
festival is a real gift as we have long wanted to bring our work to NZ. I was born here, so it’s a real honour.” The duo
have also been invited to perform at Auckland’s The Basement and at Splore Festival in Tapapakanga Regional Park.
This is Sarah and Justine's second collaboration. They made A Donkey and a Parrot for Melbourne Fringe in 2011, which also toured to Adelaide Fringe (Tuxedo Cat); and Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Gilded
Balloon), receiving critical acclaim. Together they have formed the theatre company Human Animal Exchange.
Justine Campbell (co-creator) is a graduate of the VCA Directing Program. She recently directed Pearl Verses the World for Jigsaw. Justine wrote and directed Back from the Dead Red for Melbourne Fringe. She was awarded the 2010 Victorian Green Room Award for Best Independent Female Performer for her
role as Lady Jane Franklin in The Fate of Franklin (Four Larks). She has toured internationally with LATT.
Sarah Hamilton (co-creator) studied Acting at the University of Ballarat Arts Academy. Sarah was supported in the
development of A Donkey and a Parrot by the Melbourne Fringe's Outside Eye program. She worked under the mentorship of Ansuya Nathan. Theatre credits include Oasis, Oasis at fortyfivedownstairs and The Killing Fever at La Mama, both written and directed by Adam Cass (I Love You, Bro).
NZ FRINGE SEASON:
Venue: BATS Theatre, on the corner of Cuba and Dixon Streets. Time/Dates: 8pm, 5-11 February, 2014 (except Thursday)
Book online www.bats.co.nz or call (04) 802 4175
facebook.com/theysawathylacine
ENDS