THE SOCIAL LADDER puts three couples together for a very special dinner party, at which Katie Norrie hopes to secure her position amongst Sydney’s cultural elite. She aspires to a major board position and is going all out to ensure she gets it. Outside of these circumstances, it’s unlikely these three couples would be in the same room. Their politics and social status are worlds apart.

David Williamson is a great observer of human behaviour. His fascination with psychology and sociology drives his work. In THE SOCIAL LADDER he explores the nuances of wealth and status, the hypocrisy required to attain it, and the desperation to keep it. The characters in the play either have much, have enough to want more, or have had and want it back.

It is a very funny play and the cast of 6 actors, who I’m overjoyed to work with, capture the tone brilliantly. I’ve been calling it a language play because the power of the words and the muscularity of their arguments carries the play. With the right cast, David’s plays need very little flourish – he’s done the heavy lifting. I admire beyond words the humility required to play shameless characters. I also admire beyond words the empathy required to play characters filled with shame. This play has both and it is a potent combination, deliberately provocative, cleverly hilarious. I needed a fearless cast and I got that in spades.

The set/costume design by Veronique Benett and lighting by Matt Cox, both so exciting, have been sensitively created to centre and illuminate the performances and text. An actor’s playground. And Clare Hennessy’s magical score has been crafted with great attention and detail to enliven each debate and build tension between characters.

I must say how grateful to Mark, Loretta, Carly and the whole Ensemble team who gift me incredible opportunities to direct at their excellent company. I want to acknowledge the tireless, generous, brilliant work of Khalid, Gayda, Lily, Ruby and all members of the production / technical teams across costume, props, lighting and sound support – it has truly been a joy working alongside you all. Much appreciation to all ticketing, box office, front of house and bar staff that will ensure the smooth running of this show.

On this show I’m so lucky to work with Jules Billington as my assistant director – they share my physical aesthetic and love of language, and are an exceptional director and actor. They are also one of my greatest friends.

THE SOCIAL LADDER is a masterclass in verbal sparring and structuring a thrilling social satire. It challenges my creativity and pushes my practice. I’m eternally thrilled that David Williamson trusts me with his work. Please enjoy the delights that this great playwright gives to audiences!

I acknowledge the Cammeraygal people of the Eora nation on whose land this production was made.

Janine Watson

Don’t miss David Williamson’s THE SOCIAL LADDER, playing 23 Jan – 14 Mar.

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“I am thrilled that in this 11th year of the Ensemble Theatre Sandra Bates Director’s Award we have two fabulous creatives joining the ensemble team next year. Jules Billington and Jessica Fallico have made great inroads into the industry, and we’re excited they will be working on two plays each alongside more established directors. The Ensemble Theatre Sandra Bates Director’s Award is not only us welcoming creatives into our theatre space but also a conversation between like-minded artists engaged in storytelling. This year we had amazing entries and it’s heartening to see so many talented directors working on our varied theatre stages.” – Artistic Director Mark Kilmurry

JULES BILLINGTON

A NIDA graduate, Jules has worked as an actor, director, and performance and movement coach in the Australian theatre and film industry for over twenty years. Their directing credits include: the World Premiere of the award-winning People Will Think You Don’t Love Me by Joanna Erskine at KXT Theatre produced by Little Trojan (2024), the Australian Premier of The Swell by Isley Lynn at The Old Fitz Theatre produced by Akimbo & co (2024); and We’ll Dance On The Ash Of The Apocalypse by Melissa-Kelly Franklin as part of Desert Festival in Alice Springs (2021). Jules was also the Associate Director on A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2024) for Bell Shakespeare, directed by Peter Evans. Jules is passionate about nurturing emerging artists, and is proud to have taught at NIDA, Actors Centre Australia, and Sydney Actors School. They are currently directing Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare for Actors Centre Australia second years, and in 2023 devised a new Australian work with Sydney Actors School titled EVOL written by Joanna Erskine. Jules is also a regular director for Bell Shakespeare’s theatre-in-education program The Players, having directed over twenty emerging actors in five shows for the company since 2020.

“I am delighted and incredibly honoured to be awarded the ETSBDA for 2026 and follow in the footsteps of some of Australia’s most exciting and respected theatre makers. Opportunities to learn through practical experience under the guidance of established directors are hard to come by, and I am so grateful to Jinnie and Ross Gavin for their generous support of the ETSBDA, and also to Ensemble Theatre for their commitment to nurturing Australia’s emerging Directors.”

JESSICA FALLICO

Jessica is an experienced interdisciplinary artist—an award-winning director, writer and dramaturg. Recently, Jessica directed the black comedy, gothic horror The Moors, the gender-bending musical FUCCBOIS: Live in Concert, and the cabaret Blacklisted, to rave reviews. Jessica directed the award-winning play Nothing Scares Us Anymore as part of the Martin Lysicrates Prize and is the resident drama director for Pulse Alive at the Ken Rosewell Arena, Olympic Park. Jessica has directed several main-stage musical theatre productions at Riverside Theatre, winning a Broadway World Award for ‘Best Direction of a Musical’ on Kinky Boots. Selected for an associate secondment (directing) with Theatre Works, Jessica was the Assistant director to Beng Oh supporting the debut of (the Premier’s Literary Award-winning novel) Soldier Boy by Anthony Hill.

“It’s an absolute joy to be an Ensemble Theatre Sandra Bates Director’s Awards winner, joining the list of remarkable directors who have come before me. The Ensemble Theatre is creating vital opportunities for artistic development and support and I am thrilled to be working with this wonderful network of talented and inspiring creatives, delivering extraordinary theatre.”

Supported by Jinnie and Ross Gavin.

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I have hugely enjoyed working with this terrific cast and creative team and I hope you enjoy revisiting this newly minted classic of DIAL M FOR MURDER. Murder and Christmas, you can’t go wrong.

Mark Kilmurry

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All this is very tricky. Frederick Knott’s 1952 stage thriller is justly famous for its Swiss watch plotting and brilliant denouement. To fiddle with such jewel-like precision is to court disaster. It’s very easy to unintentionally upend the whole mechanism. But I had working for me a deep familiarity with the play and with Alfred Hitchcock’s film adaptation starring Grace Kelly, Ray Milland and Robert Cummings. I knew the story very well, and with Barry’s encouragement I was able to find a way that almost immediately complicated –in a good way—the relationship between Margot and Max: by turning Max into Maxine. Now Margot’s lover was a woman and all of Margot and Max’s attempts to keep their affair under wraps suddenly had a new urgency, a ramped-up level of desperation.

This adaptation takes place in the same time period as the original: 1950s London, Mayfair, the moneyed class where it’s one thing for a woman’s affair with a man to be found out in the midst of a murder investigation; it’s something else entirely if it’s discovered that you’ve been sleeping with another woman. By turning Max into Maxine, a dozen doors opened for me, and none destabilized Knott’s painstakingly achieved equilibrium. And fortunately, I was able to find a few of those additional twists and turns that Barry asked for, ones that fit neatly into the nooks and crannies of Knott’s original pattern, and—I hope—provide additional gasps throughout the play.

DIAL M FOR MURDER is the most famous example of an “inverted mystery,” which means it’s not really a mystery at all. Unlike a whodunnit, we know rather early in the play who plans to kill whom and why. The fun comes in watching the plot unfold, unravel, be tied up again in what seems to be a perfect bow, and then blow up in the villains’ face. In popular culture, the most lasting and well-known example of the inverted mystery is COLUMBO. In the first 10 to 15 minutes of every episode, a sleek, polished, to the manor born killer appears to pull off the perfect murder. Then Columbo ambles in to find clues the murderer never thought about. Those “just one more thing” mistakes that allow Columbo to slowly pull the rug out from under our well-heeled murderer until the final “pop,” the “gotcha” that traps the villain inside his own hermetically-sealed box. Most recently on television, POKER FACE and ELSBETH play with the same inverted mystery form. It’s an elegant booby trap structure, and ringing the changes on it—basking in the familiarity of the form while finding variations within it—is a great joy. And COLUMBO, ELSBETH, POKER FACE and others all owe their success to the play and playwright that paved the way: DIAL M FOR MURDER by Frederick Knott. It’s been a great privilege to play inside Mr. Knott’s elaborately constructed fun house.  I hope it’s fun for you too.

Jeffrey Hatcher

Don’t miss this thrilling night at the theatre! Playing 28 Nov – 11 Jan, book tickets to DIAL M FOR MURDER.

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Playing 17 Oct- 22 Nov, book tickets to FLY GIRL today.

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The article, which spoke of Deb’s fight against Reg Ansett to become Australia’s first female commercial airline pilot was incredibly compelling. But it was the fact Reg believed Air Hostesses were “old boilers” by age 28 and that women’s menstrual cycles made them “unsuitable” to fly planes that convinced us we were the right “old boilers” to tell this story.

We ended up down a rabbit hole; amazed and dumbfounded not only by what Deb had been through but also that we were not aware of this incredible woman. We emailed Mark and said that if we could have genius director Janine Watson along for the ride we were up to the challenge of trying to write this; inspirational, sprawling, legal, political, personal play that would require a cast of fifty actors. He replied, “You can have five!”

In the late 70’s, at just 25 years old, Deborah Lawrie withstood the most unbelievable pressure for more than 18 months to become the first person to win a case under the Sex Discrimination Act. Her win paved the way for all Australian working women. Deb is a trailblazer in the true sense of the word. Over the last few years, we have had the privilege of getting to know the woman behind the legend. Deb is quietly formidable, unpretentious, witty and has more humility than one would expect from someone who has had such a profound effect on the world. She has been gracious and abundantly generous in sharing her life story with us.

We would like to thank The Commissioners’ Circle for whose financial support allowed us to develop this play. Mark Kilmurry for seeing the playwright within each of us before we saw it in ourselves. And for his continuing support. Director Janine Watson our North Star whose remarkable artistic talent, wholehearted commitment and deep intelligence has helped to shape this new work. And Deb Lawrie for trusting us to tell her story.

Genevieve Hegney and Catherine Moore

FLY GIRL lands 17 Oct – 22 Nov, don’t miss the world premiere of this soaring celebration of one woman’s relentless fight to achieve her dreams.

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In 1979, Deborah Lawrie made aviation history — and changed the skies forever.

When Australia’s major airlines said women didn’t belong in the cockpit, Deborah pushed back. Armed with talent, training, and sheer determination, she became the first woman to be employed as a pilot by a major Australian airline — but only after a public and painful legal battle that put gender discrimination on trial.

Deborah’s case against Ansett Airlines under the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act became a national flashpoint for equality in the workplace. Her victory wasn’t just personal — it opened doors for women across industries, proving that “not hiring women” was no longer justifiable.

But her story doesn’t stop there. Deborah went on to build a long and accomplished career as a commercial pilot, flying both domestically and internationally for over 40 years. In 2019, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her service to aviation and advocacy for women in the field.

Now, her fight for flight is coming to the stage.

FLY GIRL, a bold new Australian comedy by Genevieve Hegney and Catherine Moore, charts Deborah’s extraordinary journey with humour, grit and heart. It’s a celebration of resistance, resilience and one woman’s refusal to stay grounded.

Don’t miss the world premiere of FLY GIRL, playing 17 Oct – 22 Nov.

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FLY GIRL teems with life. Gen and Cath’s writing fizzes and crackles on the page. So, when the actors take to the floor and perform their words, the rehearsal room practically bursts with energy. The scope of Deb’s story is vast and sprawling, yet Gen and Cath have been precise, incisive and clear-sighted in their vision of it. The momentum of their writing sweeps us along. The funnies are extremely funny, the emotional power gut-wrenching. My job in directing the play has been to wrangle it without stifling it. To craft it without containing it. My love and thanks to the exceptional cast and creative team for aiding and abetting the madness.

I’m deeply grateful for this experience. I’m grateful for Deb’s grit. She is a force – her fight for professional equality nearly fifty years ago created a slipstream of inclusion that still pulls us along today.

(I want to thank my dad, Mike Watson, for recording all the Air Traffic Control announcements in this production of FLY GIRL. He was an Air Traffic Controller at Moorabbin Airport when Deb worked there in the late 1970s, and the opportunity to honour that synchronicity was too good to pass up.)

Janine Watson

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“★★★★1/2 high calibre theatre… Maiden and Kent are riveting” (The Sydney Morning Herald)

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The post Trailer: HOW TO PLOT A HIT IN TWO DAYS appeared first on Ensemble Theatre.

Set in the quiet country town of Wandin Valley, the beloved series became a launchpad for countless Australian actors — and a staple of living rooms around the country.

For many familiar Ensemble Theatre faces, A Country Practice was a key part of their early careers, with numerous cast members appearing in guest roles (or more!) over the years.

Join us as we take a walk down memory lane and revisit a few of the Ensemble actors who once walked the streets of Wandin Valley.

Maggie Dence

Can you tell us who you played on ACP and what they were doing in Wandin Valley?  

One role I remember, like most actors I did more than one guest appearance – I played the alcoholic wife of a politician (I think that’s what he was!) anyway, I was a secret drinker – finally collapsing and ending up in the Wandin Valley Hospital – and died – Shane Porteous valiantly tried to resuscitate me – to no avail – I seem to recall him basically on top of me as he thumped my chest!

I also played a snobbish selfish ‘horsey’ woman who got kicked by a horse at a Horse Show – think I was in a hospital bed for most of that ep!

What do you remember about working on ACP? 

The regular cast was always a terrific group of actors, very easy and supportive, it was a ‘happy set’ to walk onto – everyone worked very hard to do their best for each story.

What did the show mean to you and your career?  

It was a good ‘credit’ to have on your CV – the show was highly regarded both by people in the television industry and the public, it never seemed to lose it’s audience and feed back from the general public was always warm.

Do you have a favourite memory of the show?

I was a guest on an episode that was filmed on a cruise, Stuart Wagstaff had organised it, and he was a guest as well, also on board – literally! Were Lorrae, Bryan, Shane and Grant – it was NOT smooth sailing!!  We were away about a week and on the return journey the weather was dreadful – if you look at the scenes with Grant and Shane by the swimming pool, one minute it’s full then it’s empty – the ship was really rolling!  Most of my scenes were filmed on this leg and I spent quite some time standing on the deck, looking wistful (!) I was playing a lonely spinster – and hanging onto the railing, as the wind and rain attacked!  I was ‘saved’ from my lonely fate by “Cookie” – who was also on board.  In spite of the weather, we had a pretty good time!!

Wendy Strehlow

Can you tell us who you played on ACP and what they were doing in Wandin Valley?  

I played Sister Judy Loveday and she was a nurse at the Wandin Valley Hospital.

What do you remember about working on ACP? 

I remember that working on A Country Practice was so exciting and challenging and I was so lucky to work with such an extraordinary group of people. It was my first job out of acting school and I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the industry. The older Actors were fantastic mentors and the actors of my generation were just fabulous to work with. I learnt so much. I was very very lucky. I did the pilot and then we weren’t sure

if the show was going to go ahead , so I accepted a job at the South Australian Theatre Company for a year and then at the end of that year James Davern asked me back. Lucky me.

We made two hours of television a week! Unheard of now. We were either at rehearsals, out on location or in the studio. For me, it was exhilarating .We would have a cast meeting at JNP Productions every Friday night and were always involved in the development of storylines and our characters.

There is a fantastic fan base which now watches the re runs of the show and they are very active on Social media and really lovely people. I went to a fan event at Pitt Town last year and it was just delightful  to get such positive feedback.

What did the show mean to you and your career?  

I learnt so much on that show. Not just technical but how to behave in this industry, how not be a dickhead! How to treat everyone in the cast and crew with respect. It was an amazing launching pad.

Do you have a favourite memory of the show?

I have so many memories from the show. There was a lot of laughter, and we never took ourselves too seriously but when push came to shove we were united in making the best show that we could, cast and crew.

.  

Grant Dodwell

Can you tell us who you played on ACP and what they were doing in Wandin Valley?  

My character on ACP was Dr Simon Bowen. I was a young city trained doctor who at the very beginning of the series had only just arrived as Wanden Vally’s new doctor.

What do you remember about working on ACP? 

I have many memories working on ACP all of them wonderful. Excellent writers, producers, creative actors and hard working crews. The end result was being part of the highest rating TV series in Australia.

What did the show mean to you and your career?  

After I left ACP my TV profile gave me the opportunity to perform in many stage shows and many guest roles on TV.

Do you have a favourite memory of the show?

It’s very difficult to have one specific memory. However, working opposite Penny Cook was certainly one of the highlights of the show.

James Lugton

Can you tell us who you played on ACP and what they were doing in Wandin Valley?  

Wow, it was 37 years ago!

I played Andrew Carter, a friend of Michael (Brett Climo) and his wife Jo (Josephine Mitchell, and I’ve come to Wandin Valley with my fiancée Jenny (Kim Lewis) on our way around Australia on motorbikes. Jenny is unwell, and it turns out she has renal failure and needs an organ transplant, but decides to discharge herself so they can continue their trip, even though it means she’ll die.

It was only a two episode story arc which was called Personal Choice, and the synopsis above is entirely from my memory so there may be some holes!

What do you remember about working on ACP? 

I remember shooting a day where the four of us went riding (it so happened Michael and Jo were into motorbikes as well…who knew!?) We weren’t allowed to ride even if we knew how because of insurance I guess, so there were stunties to do the wide shots and the closeups were us riding around the track on a trailer trying to look like we were on bikes. My memory is that it wasn’t entirely successful, but it’s been a looooong time since I saw it.

Do you have a favourite memory of the show?

I also still have a letter somewhere from Peter Andrikidis, who directed the episodes, thanking me for my work and including a lovely comment James Davern said to him about my performance…that was a pretty classy thing to do.

HOW TO PLOT A HIT IN TWO DAYS is now playing until 8 Oct. Step into the writers’ room in this hilarious imagining of what it was like for the writers of A Country Practice to pen the episode that became a defining cultural moment in Australia’s TV history.

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