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

  • ★★★★.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

  • ★★★★.5 "When Margaret Thanos is in the director’s chair you know you’re in for a great show. "

    — Sydney Theatre Reviews

  • ★★★★ "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

  • “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

  • “A Very Expensive Poison is not a ‘should see’, it’s a ‘must see’"

    — The Blurb

  • "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