My Zinc Bed
Ensemble Theatre · october 2015
WINNER Australian Interior Design Awards Installation Category, 2016
“I can love you and drink. Or I cannot love you and not drink. That’s the choice.” Paul Peplow, poet and ex-alcoholic, is on the straight and narrow. But one unforgettable London summer threatens to undo him. When Paul is sent to interview charismatic millionaire Victor, he’s invited into a new, enticing world. But it’s a dangerous game. As he trades verbal blows with Victor – and flirts with his wife Elsa – the walls of Paul’s carefully constructed sobriety start to crumble…
This witty, biting three-hander from award-winning playwright David Hare (Skylight, Plenty) puts addiction under the spotlight and asks: can you let yourself go without losing control?
Tobhiyah was presented with the challenge to design for two productions in repertory in the Ensemble Theatre 2015 season. After consulting with both directors, Mark Kilmurry and Anthony Skuse to identify the needs and wants for each show Tobhiyah decided to invest the full budget into one multi-purpose playing space. This liberation from specificity of time and place brought about an evocative, abstract stage beautifully lit by Nicholas Higgins.
“The events of the play take place on Tobhiyah Stone Feller’s minimalistic, yet striking set design. An entirely white stage allows the focus to be concentrated on the insular world depicted in the play. Use of few props augments this effect, with an assortment of alcoholic drinks posing as a central emblem of the play. The ambience is changed in a moment as the space becomes awash with light through Nicholas Higgins’ lighting design.”
— Upstaged Reviews
“Exceptional acting in a compassionate production. Structurally, the play is just a cumulative series of conversations which Kilmurry locates on Tobhiyah Stone Feller’s stark, non-literal set so they never seem contrived. ★★★★”
— John Shand, The Sydney Morning Herald
Credits & Acknowledgements
Set & Costume Design Tobhiyah Stone Feller
Team Daniel Stukel Beasly, Jeff Tighe
Director Mark Kilmurry
Playwright David Hare
Lighting Design Nicholas Higgins
Costume Supervisor Alana Canceri
Production Management Tom Blunt
Production Co-Ordination & Art Finishing Simon Greer
Set Construction Simon Boyd, Belvoir Set Workshop
Cast Danielle Carter, Sam O’Sullivan, Sean Taylor
Photographer Clare Hawley