The Lieder Theatre Company is set to open its first production of 2023, the powerful dark comedy Hir by Taylor Mac, directed by Blake Selmes, on April 12.
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Somewhere in the suburbs, Isaac has returned from the wars to help take care of his ailing father, only to discover a household in revolt. The insurgent: His mum. Liberated from an oppressive marriage, with Isaac's newly out transgender sibling as her ally, she's on a crusade to dismantle the patriarchy.
But in Taylor Mac's sly, subversive comedy, annihilating the past doesn't always free you from it. This subversive comedy leaves many of our so-called normative and progressive ideas about gender, families, the middle class--and cleaning--in hilarious and ultimately tragic disarray.
This production marks the first offering from Blake Selmes in his newly appointed position as artistic director of the Lieder Theatre Company, having taken over the role from Chrisjohn Hancock at the beginning of the year. Blake most recently staged the Lieder's highly successful production of Charlotte's Web in 2022.
Selmes and the production team at the Lieder have assembled a stellar cast of accomplished performers to portray the dysfunctional Connor family. Melissa Chandler, Martin Sanders, Harrison Treble and Emmi Robinson lend their considerable comedic and dramatic chops to the piece.
Taylor Mac's hilarious and terrifying Hir is a dysfunctional family dramedy for a new era, a highly intelligent, tenderly heartfelt, and deeply, darkly humorous portrayal of a family in crisis, in which domestic abuse, the trauma of war, and the acceptance of gender neutrality are illustrated in a nearly absurd, emotionally gripping, intensely real dynamic.
"At its core, Hir is just really good character drama with comedy and depth. Each of these characters have traits, views and experiences that we can all identify with, even if we wouldn't admit it," director Blake Selmes said.
"All the great classics have had fantastic and complex characters reflecting the society at the time. This is true of Hir. These are some of the great theatrical characters of today."
Hir - (pronounced 'here,') reminds us of theatre's potential: to be a brilliant conduit that makes ideas alive and accessible. Hir doesn't merely explore themes of gender fluidity, queer theory and the subversion of toxic masculinity, because that would be dull. It lightens the weight of concepts that many find foreign or fraught, places them in a family setting and detonates them. Shrapnel flies everywhere.
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"I think comedy is at its richest when it can take you to places of discomfort, and by finding the levity in the darkness, lets us enjoy a special kind of catharsis (while questioning whether or not we should be laughing in the first place), Mr Selmes said.
'Hir 'was nominated for the 2015 Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Drama and won the Sydney Theatre Award for Best New Play. Taylor Mac is an award-winning actor, playwright, performance artist, director, producer, and singer-songwriter.
Finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and 2019 Tony Award for Best Play, Mac's work has been described as a fight against conformity and categorisation. Drawing on forms including commedia dell'arte, musical theatre, and drag performance, Mac notes Charles Ludlam, the Theatre of the Ridiculous, and theatrical history reaching back to ancient Greek theatre as professional influences.
A special opening will be held on Wednesday, April 12 at 7.30pm. Two tickets cost $30 and include drinks and nibbles.
The season continues: Friday, April 14 - 7:30pm; Saturday, April 15 - 7:30pm; Wednesday, April 19,- 7:30pm; Friday, April 21 - 7:30pm; Saturday, April 22, 2pm, Saturday, April 22 - 7:30pm. Tickets $15 to $30 Book online: theliedertheatre.com
- This production contains references to domestic violence and emotional trauma. It also contains adult themes and coarse language. Recommended for audiences 16yrs and older.
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