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David Megarrity

DAVID MEGARRITY

  
Nationality:    Australian
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    n/a

Existing at the intersection of music, dance, design, projected image and drama, David Megarrity's Theatre works for children have been produced by both major Theatre companies in Queensland, played at the Sydney Opera House and toured overseas. these have included Backseat Drivers, Ukulele Mekulele and Show. Other works include the short play 3G, performed at La Boite, Bitter Streak, a finalist in the George Landen Dann Award, and a co-write of Lily Can't Sleep (QTC/QPAC) for the 2006 Out of the Box Festival of Early Childhood. He has a close working relationship with ukuleleist Tyrone, who appeared at the 2011 Melbourne, Cairns and New Zealand Ukulele Festivals. David is produced, published, released, awarded and broadcast as a writer and director of Theatre and performance, composer/musician for film and live performance, and maker of films, including the short Stop, which was an Official Selection in Competition at CAnnes 2000. His soundtrack works with Brett Collery have been compiled on the Sonic Loom CD. His picture book the Empty City was published by Hachette Livre in 2007, and nominated a Notable Book by the Children's Book council of Australia in 2008. His stage adaptation of the work was shortlisted in the 2012-13 Queensland Premier's Drama Award. David's areas of research include collaborative creativity and the relationship between music and performance. His professional career as an artist combines productively with his academic work as a Lecturer in Drama at QUT.

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below is a list of David Megarrity's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         3G         Backseat Drivers         Bitter Streak         Cello Day         Empty City, The         Gate 38         Lily Can't Sleep         Oh Dear! or Stranded Santa         Show         Ukulele Mekulele         Unlucky for Some

3G

Synopsis:
Two people reminisce about a relationship that has been mediated by mobile phones.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Roundhouse Theatre, Brisbane     2006

Organisations:
La Boite Theatre Company

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
short play One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Backseat Drivers

Synopsis:
Set entirely in the backseat of a car, with the road behind appearing on a rear-projection screen, Backseat Driver is the story of two very different children battling the fingerdrumming, motor-humming boredom of a long car trip. Using non-verbal performance, video projection and the music of Cliff Richard, Elvis Presley and the Shadows, backseat Driver is a comedy for anyone who has ever asked the question "are we there yet?". Exploring the power of creative play, Backseat Driver has enjoyed three productions, including a season for Korean audiences at the Seoul Arts Centre in 2001.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Queensland Theatre Company/Queensland Performing Arts Centre     2000

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
comedy/theatre for children Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  1b 1g

Further Reference:
-

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Bitter Streak

Synopsis:
A young, disillusioned actor has lost faith in theatre. A chance meeting with an old mate from school results in the creation of a new form of Arts terrorism - theatre streaking. A four-handed [or more], fast paced, kaleidoscopic satire, Bitter Streak asks the question: Is it possible to change a dying art form for the better by 'stripping it bare' - or is it past salvation?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
http://Australianplays.org/   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Full-Length 70 mins Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  4 actors +

Further Reference:
-

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Cello Day

Synopsis:
CELLO DAY is the story of Rob, a cello teacher whose peaceful, sad little world is disturbed by the appearance of Helen, a troubled teen, who's been forced to attend cello lessons once a week. Cello Day. the problem is, she won't talk to him, let alone touch the cello. Helen's presence forces Rob into acknowledging his failings as a teacher, musician and person, and realise that it might be possible to be all three at the same time.

Notes:
Shortlisted Queensland Premier's Drama Award 2005

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Adult Drama Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Empty City, The

Synopsis:
Tom is shopping in town with his mother. But she never wants to go into any of the interesting looking buildings only the shops. Suddenly everyone disappears apart from Tom leaving him free to go where he wants

Notes:
Based on his own book "The Empty City"

1st Produced:
Heath Ledger Theatre, Perth, Australia     2013

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Gate 38

Synopsis:
Several groups of young people convene at an airport, each for their own reasons. As telecommunications fail they understand that after today, everything will change. A touching, comic musical set at the end of the world.

Notes:
A music theatre piece incorporating pop songs selected by the cast.

1st Produced:
Tbc, Brisbane     2006

Organisations:
Commissioned by MacGregor State high School as part of the Queensland Theatre Company's Artists in Schools Program

1st Published:
http://Australianplays.org/   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth Audience

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  13            Other:  18 roles, of which two are designated male and others can be either gender

Further Reference:
-

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Lily Can't Sleep

Synopsis:
New day. New school. New house. New room. Everything's changing for Lily. Night falls and she's got a lot on her mind. No wonder she can't get to sleep. Her mum tells her to count sheep, but what good is that when one of them is running amok in your room? This hilarious and sweet performance explores how you can dream up ways to put what's worrying you to bed.

Notes:
Written by David Megarrity, Bridget Boyle And Liz Skitch. 2006 Season followed by tour to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Victoria, And regional Queensland

1st Produced:
Qpac Concert Hall     2006

Organisations:
Queenland Theatre company/Queensland Performing Arts Centre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
childrens Youth Audience

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  a sheep

Further Reference:
-

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Oh Dear! or Stranded Santa

Synopsis:
Four native animals are mystified by the appearance of a sleigh and panicked reindeer in the Australian rainforest.

Notes:
An Absurd pantomime incorporating original songs And A chorus of dancing reindeer

1st Produced:
Outdoor Event, Southbank Parklands, Brisbane     2001

Organisations:
Southbank Corporation

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Pantomime

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  Up to 20 (chorus of reindeer + Santa)

Further Reference:
-

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Show

Synopsis:
Imagine you threw a birthday party and nobody showed up. Nobody except the coolest girl at school. And she hates you. You're both trapped in the rumpus room for the rainy afternoon, with nothing much but a record player and each other for company. And it's 1975. What a nightmare! SHOW is the story of two radically different girls negotiating their way towards friendship their relationship through creative play. Together they put on a show within a show, using the music and the objects in the room; and through showing off, begin to show eachother who they really are. SHOW is a 45 minute non-verbal comedy. It's a two- hander, set in the seventies.

Notes:
performed At the Sydney Opera House in 2004

1st Produced:
Queensland Theatre Company     2003

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
comedy/theatre for children Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Ukulele Mekulele

Synopsis:
Ukulele Man, a tall, mean fellow, claims the ukulele is the King of Instruments.Sick of playing second fiddle, quiet little Double Bass Man does his best to resist, but what's a dancing Gorilla going to do about it? A music theatre show that focuses on the ukulele and double bass to explore themes of bullying and mediation, Ukulele Mekulele is a comedy for children with echoes of vaudeville, King Kong and Tiny Tim.Bigger? Better? Smaller? Taller? Ukulele Mekulele is an hilarious little show packed with big ideas.

Notes:
performed At the Sydney Opera House in 2004

1st Produced:
La Boite Theatre/Queensland Performing Arts Centre     2002

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
comedy/theatre for children Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  gorilla

Further Reference:
-

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Unlucky for Some

Synopsis:
Unlucky for Some concerns the homeless, the drifters, the lost - people who aren't on the edge of society, they're right in front of us. they are us. A play for young audiences inspired by and featuring the poetry of Roger McGough, Unlucky for Some is spare, minimalistic and gripping. Keep sipping that latte at your sidewalk cafe. We're all pretty close to the gutter when you think about it.
- (This blurb is from the 2006 production program notes)

Notes:
An Authorized Adaptation of Roger Mc Gough's 'Unlucky For Some' poems.

1st Produced:
Woodward Theatre, Brisbane     2006

Organisations:
Queensland University of Technology

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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