“This is youth theatre at its best, passionately conceived, vigorously devised and honestly and believably performed with a strong sense of personal ownership."

Peter Wilkins, Canberra Critics Circle

about

A group of teenagers go through the motions of a typical twenty-four hours. Like a fly on the wall, we watch them. They watch us watch them. Between their intimate encounters, explodes moments of of poetry and chaos that fight against an insistence to perform “normal” for an audience. The teenage cast lend versions of us an unsettling image of normality and youth. Commissioned by Canberra Youth Theatre and developed with an ensemble of young actors, versions of us is an intimate and patchworked theatre experience.

dates and times

Thursday 12 October - 7:30pm
Friday 13 October - 7:30pm
Saturday 14 October - 2:00pm
Saturday 15 October - 7:30pm

venue

Ralph Wilson Theatre
Ainslie Gorman House Arts Centre
Braddon, ACT

cast and creatives

Director - Jess Baker and Jamie Winbank
Playwright - Emily Sheehan
Lighting Design - Ethan Hammil
Sound Design - Kimmo Vennonen
Performed by members of the Canberra Youth Theatre teen ensemble: Jett Aplin, Amelia Gilling, Jack Hubner, Amy McAlister, Isobel Mills, Charlotte Palmer, Erin Pierlot, Elektra Spencer, Ted Stewart, Anna Wilford, Mark Zatschler, Kiah Zeller

Cover Art - Zeke's Lunchbox
Production Photography - Andrew Sikorski + Cathy Breen

reviews

“A performance that would be right at home as part of the Edinburgh Fringe”

Foyer Talk

“One of the reasons it works so well is the quality of the writing. There are quite shocking moments of pain and disappointment in relationships and friendships as well as naivety and street-wise cynicism. Writer, Emily Sheehan, has fashioned the content into theatre dialogue that is highly playable and has the ring of truth about it."

Canberra Critics Circle

“This is youth theatre at its best, passionately conceived, vigorously devised and honestly and believably performed with a strong sense of personal ownership."

Peter Wilkins, Canberra Critics Circle

Social media praise

"I was completely blown away last night by seeing 'Versions of Us'. The young cast were absolutely remarkable. But I was particularly moved by the poetry of the language."

- Laura Tingle

"A truly beautiful and often upsetting journey through being a teenager, through the casual brutality of school life, and the fear and optimism for what comes next."
- Thomas R

"Wow! A stunning opening performance of 'versions of us'"
- Jeff Gilling

"Such a beautiful play that has really touched me and every audience that's seen it. For me, I particularly loved the scenes that depicted the struggle to fit in and the way we compromise ourselves in order to be liked or perceived in a certain way." - Tomas V