The Tuxedo and the Little Black Dress

An earthquake strikes the ballroom of a grand hotel. In the aftermath, two strangers are trapped together awaiting help. It’s your seismophobic and/or socially anxious Vulture’s worst nightmare – but it also makes for good theatre.

In a new musical co-written by Louis Nowra and Stewart D’Arrietta, Jack Clayton and Anouk Bannister (played by D’Arrietta himself and Rebecca Mendoza respectively) have no choice but to get to know each other as they wait to be rescued. The Tuxedo and the Little Black Dress promises to deliver a maelstrom of “love and betrayal, romance and resilience” in one intense performance.

Rebecca Mendoza’s impressive theatrical CV includes roles in Hair, Showboat, Miss Saigon, Fame and the Japanese production of We Will Rock You. Stewart D’Arrietta’s show Tom Waits for No Man won acclaim both locally and as far away as the Edinburgh and Montreal Jazz Festivals. He has just returned from New York, where his show Belly of a Drunken Piano enjoyed a celebrated nine-month stint.

Louis Nowra is, perhaps, best known for his semi-autobiographical play Così, the story of a naïve young guy whose first gig as a theatrical director involves a cast of patients in a Melbourne mental hospital. His 2009 novel Ice was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award, while his other plays (including Byzantine Flowers, Summer of the Alien and The Golden Age) have been performed by Australia’s leading theatre companies.

The Tuxedo and the Little Black Dress runs from Thursday 27 September to Sunday 14 October, Tuesday – Saturday 8pm, Sunday 6.30pm and Saturday matinees at 3pm. Bookings can be made online here or with Chapel Off Chapel over the phone (8290 7000). Tickets $35 full, $30 concession.

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