Sydney Festival

“Usually in design you do look at film – it’s a good benchmark for period and stuff – but this one came quite organically in a way. My sister was wearing the fashions of the ‘80s as a teenager so I’ve got lots of memories of her clothing…”

"The physical aspect of this orchestra performing the score live adds another layer to the whole thing and people will experience it in a different way.”

Much of the comedy comes from cliché and by definition the universal teenage experience is at its core the same, but while far from original it is irresistibly honest.

The final sequence featuring all four dancers was a triumph.

Overall an amazing experience, like no other.

We know how this story ends, like so many others, but Neil Armfield’s directorial vision ensures we get there with a new understanding of its lasting impact and importance.

Kate Champion’s choreography is brilliant, particularly evocative in the drawn out sex scenes featuring our pro/antagonist and a life-sized puppet.

"There’s every chance it could go wrong and the theatrical tension that you can find inside that is so interesting.”

"It could go any way: they could end up together, they could go home together, one of them could leave, who knows?”

“In a polyphonic sense, lots of perspectives are possible, and that’s what I want to offer.”

"One important notion is that the festival is a coming together of Sydneysiders and visitors, because of course it is a summer festival, we are the one and only true, I would say, visitor-inspired summer festival."