Set to bring to the stage its potent mix of satirical Blak humor, explosive visuals, vaudeville, and existential horror, new and improved stage production A Nightime Travesty comes in to land at Malthouse Theatre from Wednesday, January 19, to February 22.
Part of Asia TOPA, A Nightime Travesty is a revamped production of the smash-hit show that brought audiences to their feet across sold-out performances during YIRRAMBOI Festival.
Set aboard the last plane hurtling out of Earth, this wild ride follows a motley crew of unruly travellers, including a fierce flight attendant who must face off against god himself in a battle for the ultimate prize.
As they navigate the surreal and absurd world inside the aircraft—a metaphor for the fractured, post-colonial psyche—the passengers encounter a series of bizarre, often darkly comedic events, from gruesome decapitations to explosive musical numbers.
Featuring a live band, extravagant costumes, and a storyline that continually defies expectations, the musical delivers both emotional depth and spectacle.
Co-created by Kamarra Bell-Wykes (Fireburn) and Carly Sheppard (Chase)— who together lead theatre collective A Daylight Connection—features a powerhouse of independent First Nations artists both on and off stage.
Directed by Stephen Nicolazzo (Loaded), this refreshed staging of the festival hit promises to take the production to new heights of outrageousness in a fierce re-imagining of what performance can be.
Kamarra Bell-Wykes and Carly Sheppard (A Daylight Connection) said in a joint statement that audience members are set to be impressed with the productions refresh.
"After a sell out smash hit season at Yirramboi in 2023 audiences have been begging for another chance to board the wild ride that is A Nightime Travesty and now with Stephen Nicolazzo in the director's seat (that's right we had NO DIRECTOR last time) A Daylight Connection are jetset to shock, thrill and electrify our passengers with even sharper, darker and more hilarious antics than our maiden flight," said Kamarra Bell-Wykes and Carly Sheppard.
Nicolazzo shared that he is also thrilled to see the production return to the stage early next week.
"A Daylight Connection are without a doubt a group of the most radical theatre-makers in Victoria. They push the boundaries of theatrical exploration and do so with a unique and madly compelling voice," he said.
"It takes guts to make the work that they do and to do so without fear or censorship, with an eye for the absurd and an ability to break our hearts and souls in the process, these innovators don't take shit and demonstrate the power of making pure and uncensored theatre."
Coined as a bold celebration of the defiance, power, and creativity embedded in First Nations storytelling, A Nightime Travesty is being described as more than just a performance, but rather a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience.
Bound to leave audience members questioning everything they thought they knew, A Nightime Travesty is set to spark both intrigue and excitement.
A Nightime Travesty runs from Wednesday 19 to Saturday 22 February in Malthouse's Beckett Theatre as part of Asia TOPA.
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