Theatre

A Brief Episode

An odyssey so strange it could only be true.

$29.00
Sessions & Tickets
A marble statue of a man's head, badly cracked, in front of a green background. The face has a moustache drawn onto it in marker.

Image Credit: Chris Tomkins

  • Written and Performed by: Ash Flanders

  • Directed by: Stephen Nicolazzo

  • Supported by: The Melbourne Athenaeum Playwright in Residence program

A Brief Episode invites you to take a comic journey of mythic proportions. From the team that brought you the critically acclaimed 'End Of.' comes an all new singular show about the dangers of your dreams (possibly) coming true.

Join our nameless protagonist (it's Ash) as he attempts the impossible – to find a place on Aussie TV for a mouthy middle-aged homosexual with too many opinions. Naturally, this quest takes him to Greece, birthplace of the Hero's Journey, where instead of finding structure... he loses it entirely.

What emerges is a vivid, surreal and surprising 65-minute true story about wild dogs, moustaches, runaway Americans, hospitable Albanians, vapid Australians, pornographers, widows, hawks, hikers, hairdressers, slums, gangs, generous mothers and selfish little children.

As our hero is pulled between life and death, order and anarchy, fight or flight, you'll begin to wonder how any of us can face the outside world – or worse, ourselves.

Praise for End Of.:
★★★★★ "Discerning. Masterful. Brilliant." – Theatre People
★★★★1/2 "A gem of a performance. Fierce, funny and poignant" – Arts Hub
★★★★ "Unmissable" – Sydney Morning Herald
★★★★ "Magnetic and utterly persuasive" – Suzy Goes See
★★★★ "So funny and clever and heart-rending – the audience were twisting in knots over whether to laugh, cry or vomit; mostly it was all three.” – Theatre Thoughts
★★★★ "“Fleet in wit, cattily ironic in his observations, he’s a self-aware diva of the absurd, with a manic whim to plunge with theatrical flourish into gallows humour.” – Limelight Magazine

This project received Cash to Create through the Fringe Fund

About Ash Flanders & Stephen Nicolazzo

Ash Flanders is a theatrical nuisance from sunny Melbourne. As one half of Sisters Grimm he co-wrote and produced over a dozen shows including Summertime in the Garden of Eden (Griffin Theatre), Little Mercy (STC), The Sovereign Wife (MTC), Calpurnia Descending (Malthouse/STC), and Lilith: The Jungle Girl (MTC). Most recently he wrote SS Metaphor and This Is Living, both for Malthouse Theatre.

Stephen Nicolazzo was recently appointed as Artistic Director of BRINK, Adelaide. He was previously the founder and Artistic Director of Little Ones Theatre, with credits including Loaded (Malthouse Theatre), Looking for Alibrandi (Malthouse Theatre, Belvoir), Merciless Gods (Arts Centre Melbourne, Griffin Theatre Company), and Abigail’s Party (Melbourne Theatre Company).

As a team, Ash and Stephen have presented countless shows including End Of. (Griffin Theatre Company, Darebin Arts Speakeasy), Meme Girls (Malthouse Theatre), Playing to Win (Arts Centre Melbourne), Special Victim (Feast Festival) and Ash Flanders is Nothing (Adelaide Cabaret Festival).

They’re a lot.

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