A VERY EXPENSIVE POISON
Australian Premiere of Emmy-award winning Lucy Prebble’s damning indictment of Vladimir Putin around the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 in London.
August-September 2023
New Theatre
REVIEWS
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★★★★.5 “Move over Oppenheimer, THIS is the must-see conspiracy of the year! Ambitious, political and entertainingly OTT, this is powerful, impactful theatre.”
— Sydney Theatre Reviews
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★★★★.5 "When Margaret Thanos is in the director’s chair you know you’re in for a great show. "
— Sydney Theatre Reviews
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★★★★ "A kaleidoscope of a production … The triple-threat ensemble were all on point, and a joy to watch … It’s Le Carre, Tarantino, Crazy Ex Girlfriend and Dr Zhivago all rolled into one … We should all see this play.”
— Theatre Thoughts
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“The production matches Prebble moment-for-moment in ambition: the writing takes big swings, and director Margaret Thanos meets them with relish"
— Sydney Morning Herald
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“A Very Expensive Poison is not a ‘should see’, it’s a ‘must see’"
— The Blurb
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"Thanos is to be commended for the level of physical comedy achieved in this performance...there were endless ways to use the set and Thanos used them all"
— Theatre Travels
Written by Lucy Prebble
Directed by Margaret Thanos
Cast
Matt Abotomey - D.I. Hyatt and Man with Stick
Richard Cox - Alexander Litvinenko
Ben Dewstow - Mario Scaramella/Kamishnikov/Tim/Nurse Michena/FSB Officer 3
ELIVA - DS Hoar/Receptionist/Cabin Crew 1/Dr Barker
Angus Evans - Boris Bereszovsky
Hannah Forsyth - Galina/Cabin Crew 2/Nurse/Dr Virchis
Tom Hanaee (Margaret Thanos took over this role during the run) - Andre Lugovoi/Dr Gent
Amelie James-Power - Australian Cleaner/Jon/Waitress/Cabin Crew 3/Nurse David
Madeleine Kunstler - Natalia/Anatoly/Nurse Rezan
Tasha O'Brien - Vladimir Putin
Ewan Peddley - Ben Emmerson/Dr Gunner/FSB Officer 1
Mason Phoumirath - Sergei Ivanovich/Martin/Technician/Youth 2/FSB Officer 2
Diego Retamales - Dimitri Kovtun/Youth 1/Radiologist/Walter
Chloe Schwank - Marina Litvinenko
Cath Young - Professor Dombey/Lluba/Photographer/Dr Duddin
Creatives
Movement Director - Diana Paola Alvarado
Set and Costume Design - Aloma Barnes
Lighting Design - Jas Borsovszky
Sound Design/Composer - Sam Cheng
Singing Coach - Georgia Condon
Accent Coach - Felicity Jurd
Stage Manager - Lulu Barkell
Assistant Stage Manager - Astra Milne
Sound and Lighting Assistant - Paris
Costume Assistant - Sabry Beshir Mohamed
Fight Choreography - Diego Retamales
LX/SX Operators - Noah Cohen-Stoddart, Georgina Moore
Director / Set Design - Margaret Thanos
Assistant Director/Mask Designer - Jess Zlotnick
Photography by Bob Seary