SUDS Presents: Alice In Bed
Written by Susan Sontag
21st-24th of September
The Cellar Theatre
Directed by Mary Franklin
Assistant Directed by Amelia Vogelsang
Produced by Alex Bryant and Ruby Zupp
Tickets: bit.ly/3LayNa3
“Father I’ve climbed the tree beyond it’s leaves…”
Alice James was born in 1848, the only daughter of a father who demanded genius of all his children - and genius she was. Her mother died when she was young, and when Alice was 19 years old, she began suffering from a deep depression - so much so that she wanted to take her own life. Later, she moved to London to be with her brother, the renowned novelist Henry James, where she suffered from a range of vague and debilitating illnesses that made it difficult for her to even leave her bed.
In this play of dreams and fantasy, the character of Alice James is blended with Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland, and is visited by other formidable 19th century women - including Emily Dickinson and Margaret Fuller. In eight interconnected vignettes, Sontag creates a portrait of such genius and imagination, someone so full of curiosity and intelligence and yearning for the world, trapped within the confines of mental illness and the Victorian conception of the woman.
There is perhaps no better way of describing the play than in Susan Sontag’s own words: “A play, then, about the grief and anger of women; and, finally, a play about the imagination. The reality of the mental prison. The triumphs of the imagination. But the victories of the imagination are not enough.”
CAST
Alice James: Zahara Jithoo
Nurse/Mother: Lily McGuinness
Father/Young Man: Patrick Tynan
Henry “Harry” James: Adele Beaumont
Emily Dickinson: Gemma Hudson
Margaret Fuller: Zara Podmore
Kundry: Claire Hwang
Myrtha: Danny Cabubas
MI: Amber Broadbent
MII: Jadzia Stronell
PRODUCTION CREW
Director: Mary Franklin
Producers: Alex Bryant and Ruby Zupp
Assistant Director: Amelia Vogelsang
Stage Manager: Stuart Rich
Set Designer: Mali Lung
Costume Designers: Victoria Gillespie and Hunter Shanahan
Lighting Designer: Luna Ng
Sound Designer: Nicola Weiss
Graphic Designer: Annabelle Radford
Photographer: Thomas Hennessey
Production Assistants: Josie Gregory-Walker, Paul Lapinski, Sargun Saluja
CONTENT WARNINGS
Discussion and themes of suicide
References to death
Needle use
Reference to sexual assault
Reference to cancer
Depictions of mental illness
SUDS COVID-SAFE POLICY:
At SUDS we want to prioritise the safety of our members and audiences, and so we have strict COVID measures in place.
All individuals entering the Cellar must be double-vaccinated and must use the QR code to check in at the door.
It is required that while in the space, audience members will keep masks on at all times.
Audience numbers are kept below full capacity; social distancing should be observed whenever possible. This will be facilitated by spaced seating.
Hand sanitiser and spare masks will be available in the space.
For any questions or concerns regarding the show, please feel free to contact the team at AliceInBed1@gmail.com
SUDS acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which this event is taking place: the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. Sovereignty was never ceded, always was, always will be Aboriginal land.