Country Music

ItÂ’s a big week in the Australian country town of Endeavour. Their footie hero, a young policeman posted from the city, is about to marry a popular local girl; the community is bracing itself for a by-election which the nation will be watching; an Aboriginal country-and-western star makes a surprise visit; and the town is galvanized by the escape from the controversial local detention centre of an Iraqi asylum seeker. Add to this heady mix a bucksÂ’ and henÂ’s night, a backpacker, some teenage runaways and two ghosts from the districtÂ’s bloody colonial past, and you have an epic play that tries to capture the story and the music of this country at this moment in our history.

Country Music is performed by the graduating NIDA third year students, and is the inaugural performance in NIDAÂ’s new Parade Theatre.

The National Institute of Dramatic Art trains AustraliaÂ’s most talented young people to become the worldÂ’s best actors, designers, directors, technicians and crafts people. They have helped Australia become an international leader in the entertainment industry.

These students stage a Play Season each year, and invite the general public to see the energy and enjoyment of their work in progress. This is a chance to see a great season of international and Australian plays at a very modest cost.

NIDAÂ’s previous graduates have achieved highly both in Australia and overseas. They have received Australian honours; have been awarded more than 200 fellowships, scholarships and grants; and have won well over 600 international and national awards, including OSCARS, BAFTAS, EMMYs and film festival awards. The roll of NIDA graduates reads like a whoÂ’s who of the entertainment arts, and includes Mel Gibson, Judy Davis, Cate Blanchett, Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin.