THE PRIDE

It's a lion's life. Side Pony productions THE PRIDE at the Bondi Pavilion. Pic Skye Sobejko
It’s a lion’s life. Side Pony productions THE PRIDE at the Bondi Pavilion. Pic Skye Sobejko

Side Pony Productions presentation of the Sydney premiere of their show THE PRIDE is  the Tamarama Rock Surfers (TRS) first play for the year.

THE PRIDE comes to Sydney highly regarded having received productions at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and with the Western Australian State Theatre Company.

In this quirky play,  Bruce is a lion who is weighed down by his impressive mane,and  is struggling with the pressure of renovations and taking care of his pride. He knows that time is limited  when James, his stronger, more handsome neighbour, starts peering through the windows admiring his home and his family. Such is the life of a lion.

In the play’s program notes, writer/director Zoe Pepper explained the concept behind the production. ‘I was interested in the highly rigid but incredibly brutal social patterns of lions. Ina strange way, many of the social structures of lions are not that dissimilar to humans. The cyclical power play of a lion pride is fascinating to see so I wanted to see how that behaviour would sit in a more human setting.’

The production stays true to Side Pony Productions signature style- black comedy at its darkest – borrowing from the drama of a lion’s life, mapping their social patterns onto human characters dressed as lions.

For THE PRIDE Pepper has come up with a strong creative team and cast. The creative team features costume designer Esther Sandler, lighting designer Lucy Birkinshaw, sound designer Nathan Nisbet and choreographer Russell Leonard. The cast features Adriane Daff, Brendan Ewing and Russel Leonard.

A co-production of the TRS and Side Pony productions and Gemma Pepper, THE PRIDE opened at the Bondi Pavilion theatre on Thursday 20th March and is playing until Sunday 6th April. Bookings: 1300241167 or http://www.rocksurfers.org/thepride.  Performances Tuesdays to Saturdays 8pm, Saturday matinee at 3pm.  Tuesday nights are at a cheaper price, $21.