A naïve hunter travels to a crossroads in the dead of night to conjure the devil. He’s willing to bargain almost anything in exchange for magic silver bullets that will never miss their mark. But the devil makes cunning deals—just when you think you can have it all, you may have unwittingly given it all away.
Who else could write a macabre musical about a pact with the devil, but Tom Waits and William S. Burroughs? Cry-in-beer ballads meet 1920s jazz and gritty beat poetry, in a carnival of addictions. Black Rider is a spectacle that pulls the audience into the dark and decadent depths of the underworld.
Malthouse Theatre and Victorian Opera team up to create a theatrical fantasia with some of Australia’s greatest seducers, including Meow Meow, Paul Capsis and Kanen Breen in a production that is part vaudeville, part opera, and all dance with the devil.
"STYLISH AND SOULFUL, WILD AND DISTURBING AND DARKLY FUNNY, BLACK RIDER IS ALMOST WORTH SELLING YOUR SOUL TO SEE"
"THIS DARKLY HUMOROUS, MUSICALLY ECLECTIC FABLE DISTURBS AND DELIGHTS"
PRODUCTION PARTNERS AND SUPPORTERS
A co-production with Victorian Opera. Presented in association with Melbourne Festival.
©2005 St. Rose Music Publishing Co., Inc. Used by Permission.
Key Image: Zan Wimberley
Images: Pia Johnson
DIRECTION / | Matthew Lutton |
ORIGINAL MUSIC & LYRICS / | Tom Waits |
CAST INCLUDES / | Kanen Breen, Paul Capsis, Jacqueline Dark, Winston Hillyer, Le Gateau Chocolat, Meow Meow, Richard Piper & Dimity Shepherd |
MUSICAL DIRECTION / | Phoebe Briggs |
MUSIC SUPERVISION / | Iain Grandage |
SET & COSTUME DESIGN / | Zoë Atkinson |
LIGHTING DESIGN / | Paul Jackson |
SOUND DESIGN / | Jim Atkins |
SOUNDSCAPE DESIGN / | Jethro Woodward |
CHOREOGRAPHER / | Stephanie Lake |
STAGE MANAGER / | Lisa Osborn |
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER / | Luke Hales |
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER/RADIO MIC TECHNICIAN / | Jess Frost |
SCENIC ARTIST / | Patrick Jones |
ORIGINAL DIRECTION / | Robert Wilson |
MUSIC & LYRICS / | Tom Waits |
TEXT / | William S. Burroughs |
ORIGINAL MUSICAL ARRANGEMENTS / | Greg Cohen and Tom Waits |
DRAMATURGY / | Wolfgang Wiens |
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Event & ticketing details
Accessibility
Dates & Times
PREVIEWS | 7.30pm Fri 15 Sep, 7.30pm Sat 16 Sep, 6.30pm Mon 18 Sep, 6.30pm Tue 19 Sep |
OPENING NIGHT | 7.30pm, Wed 20 Sep |
TIME TO TALK | 6.30pm, Tue 26 Sep |
AUDIO DESCRIBED & TACTILE TOUR | 7.30pm, Fri 22 Sep |
Location
Merlyn Theatre
The Malthouse, 113 Sturt St, Southbank 3006
Get directionsTrain
Any train to Flinders Street, then a 12-minute stroll through Melbourne’s sparkling Arts Precinct.Tram
The No. 1 South Melbourne tram goes right past our door. Get off at Stop 18. Any tram down St Kilda Road—jump off at Grant Street, Stop 17 and take a 3-minute walk.Event notes
DURATION /
1 hour, 40 minutes (no interval)
WARNINGS /
Contains drug references and some violent imagery.