{"id":6067,"date":"2018-07-18T17:34:38","date_gmt":"2018-07-18T07:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/?p=6067"},"modified":"2018-07-17T16:28:01","modified_gmt":"2018-07-17T06:28:01","slug":"the-antipodes-red-stitch-theatre-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/the-antipodes-red-stitch-theatre-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Antipodes (Red Stitch) &#8211; theatre review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A group of writers sit around a boardroom table trying to come up with a compelling story in Annie Baker\u2019s latest play, <em>The Antipodes<\/em>, now showing at Red Stitch in Melbourne.<\/p>\n<p>Under the watchful eyes of their older mentor in Sandy (Jim Daly) the group of seven\u00a0\u2013 though only one woman, Eleanor (Ngaire Dawn Fair) \u2013 are asked to open themselves up. The rules are that one of them &#8211; Brian (Casey Filips) &#8211; will take notes; they won\u2019t be asked to work past 7 pm; and their weekends will be free. But that&#8217;s not how it turns out.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6070\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6070\" style=\"width: 560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6070 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Antipodes-01.jpg?resize=560%2C374\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Antipodes-01.jpg?w=560&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Antipodes-01.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Antipodes-01.jpg?resize=272%2C182&amp;ssl=1 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6070\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Jodie Hutchinson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It starts with a conversation about monsters and quickly moves to intimate details of first sexual encounters. Some are more giving than others and more comfortable doing so. Some stories go further than others, some are esoteric, some real, others imaginary.<\/p>\n<p>Sandy indicates they will find him a decent boss &#8230; and he makes a point of mentioning he has rarely sacked a writer. But during the play, someone no longer finds themselves at the table and Sandy becomes notable for his absences. Along the way the writers are fed, courtesy of Sandy\u2019s gregarious personal assistant, Sarah (Edwina Samuels). She also asks them to sign a second confidentiality agreement. She also delivers one of the more compelling stories, when Sandy asks her to do so.<\/p>\n<p>At one stage, the group connect with Sandy\u2019s boss via a decidedly ropey audio connection and 3D glasses. As days turn to weeks and then months, the pressure ramps up. Clearly nothing has yet hit the mark and even without Sandy there, the crew is expected to deliver, pulling all-nighters and staying over weekends. Their mission becomes increasingly desperate and frenzied and ridiculous.<\/p>\n<p>At 110 minutes without interval, <i>The Antipodes<\/i> becomes as much of an endurance test for us as it does for the disparate souls stuck in the boardroom. I needed to care more for the characters, to build a greater affinity with them. There is a lot of talk; but it&#8217;s all talk and little action.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6071\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6071\" style=\"width: 560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6071 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Antipodes-02.jpg?resize=560%2C374\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Antipodes-02.jpg?w=560&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Antipodes-02.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Antipodes-02.jpg?resize=272%2C182&amp;ssl=1 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6071\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Jodie Hutchinson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As much as I cared for the first half hour or so, and later thought something could be made of the collective unraveling, as far as I&#8217;m concerned it all came to nought and that was a disappointment.<\/p>\n<p>I did, however, appreciate the staging (Chloe Greaves was responsible for set and costume design). The audience surrounds the players from both sides of the boardroom table, bringing all patrons closer to the action. Directed by Ella Caldwell, <i>The Antipodes<\/i> is on at <a href=\"https:\/\/redstitch.net\/gallery\/the-antipodes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Red Stitch Theatre<\/a> until 12 August 2018.<\/p>\n<h4>Alex First<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A group of writers sit around a boardroom table trying to come up with a compelling story in Annie Baker\u2019s latest play, The Antipodes, now showing at Red Stitch in Melbourne. Under the watchful eyes of their older mentor in Sandy (Jim Daly) the group of seven\u00a0\u2013 though only one woman, Eleanor (Ngaire Dawn Fair)&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[801],"tags":[2237,3,37,2238,9,590,917],"class_list":["post-6067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theatre","tag-annie-baker","tag-drama","tag-melbourne","tag-ngaire-dawn-fair","tag-play","tag-theatre-review","tag-workplace"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Antipodes (Red Stitch) - theatre review -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/the-antipodes-red-stitch-theatre-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Antipodes (Red Stitch) - theatre review -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A group of writers sit around a boardroom table trying to come up with a compelling story in Annie Baker\u2019s latest play, The Antipodes, now showing at Red Stitch in Melbourne. 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And \u201cyes\u201d, I approached it with fear, simply because even for an unashamed theatre enthusiast like me 420 minutes in a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/rsz_kid_stakes-1334.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/rsz_kid_stakes-1334.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/rsz_kid_stakes-1334.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/rsz_kid_stakes-1334.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":140672,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/heroes-of-the-fourth-turning-red-stitch-theatre-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":6067,"position":2},"title":"Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Red Stitch Theatre) &#8211; theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"March 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Catholic guilt and US conservative politics are given a whack in the Australian premiere of Will Arbery\u2019s Heroes of the Fourth Turning.\u00a0The play was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It is late at night in Wyoming. Seven years after they graduated from a small Catholic college\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rsz_1red_stitch_-_heroes_of_the_fouth_turning_-_5_-_credit_jodie_hutchinson_.jpg?fit=800%2C601&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rsz_1red_stitch_-_heroes_of_the_fouth_turning_-_5_-_credit_jodie_hutchinson_.jpg?fit=800%2C601&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rsz_1red_stitch_-_heroes_of_the_fouth_turning_-_5_-_credit_jodie_hutchinson_.jpg?fit=800%2C601&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rsz_1red_stitch_-_heroes_of_the_fouth_turning_-_5_-_credit_jodie_hutchinson_.jpg?fit=800%2C601&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":166839,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/whats-yours-red-stitch-actors-theatre-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":6067,"position":3},"title":"What\u2019s Yours (Red Stitch Actors&#8217; Theatre) &#8211; theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"August 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Freedom of choice. We have it. But that doesn\u2019t mean it comes without judgement. I am speaking about the decision to have a child or not. Is it selfish to want the independence to do as we please without the encumbrance of being stopped in our tracks by nappies and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/rsz_hero_image.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/rsz_hero_image.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/rsz_hero_image.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/rsz_hero_image.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":112553,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/single-ladies-red-stitch-theatre-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":6067,"position":4},"title":"Single Ladies (Red Stitch Theatre) &#8211; theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"February 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"As I see it, Single Ladies is a variant of a shaggy dog story ... in more ways than one.\u00a0This world premiere production marks the return in this COVID-19 era of Red Stitch Theatre.\u00a0Set in the inner city Melbourne suburb of Collingwood, three disparate women with issues connect over a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/rsz_1caroline_lee__andrea_swifte_photo_credit_jodie_hutchinson.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/rsz_1caroline_lee__andrea_swifte_photo_credit_jodie_hutchinson.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/rsz_1caroline_lee__andrea_swifte_photo_credit_jodie_hutchinson.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/rsz_1caroline_lee__andrea_swifte_photo_credit_jodie_hutchinson.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":157364,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/blackout-songs-red-stitch-actors-theatre-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":6067,"position":5},"title":"Blackout Songs (Red Stitch Actors&#8217; Theatre) &#8211; theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"June 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Addiction unplugged. The rollercoaster. Ecstatic. Imaginative. Outrageous. Vitriolic. Sexually charged. Ugly. Brutal. Destructive. Deadly.\u00a0So is the relationship with the bottle explored in Joe White\u2019s no holds barred drama Blackout Stories.\u00a0Alice is gregarious, demonstrative and creative \u2013 the life of a party. She drinks and her mind is like a sieve.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/rsz_hero_image-2.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/rsz_hero_image-2.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/rsz_hero_image-2.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/rsz_hero_image-2.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}