Knock And Run Theatre is proud to announce its upcoming production of I and You, a funny, surprising and deeply moving play by Pulitzer Prize finalist Lauren Gunderson. Set over the course of a single evening, I and You follows Caroline (Nyah Le, “Girls Like That”, “The Wedding Singer”), a sharp, sardonic teenager confined to her bedroom by illness, and Anthony (Sam Lane, “The Crucible”, “Sweeney Todd), an earnest overachiever who arrives unannounced to work on a school assignment about Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass.
What begins as an awkward homework session quickly transforms into something far more profound. As the two spar, joke, challenge and ultimately open up to one another, the play becomes a moving exploration of youth, mortality, art, and the mysterious ways we are connected. Both laugh-out-loud funny and unexpectedly devastating, I and You reminds us that even brief encounters can change us forever.
Artistic Director James Chapman says the play was an immediate choice for the company:
“This is a beautifully crafted script. It is witty, intelligent and emotionally explosive. It speaks directly to young people, but it resonates just as powerfully with adult audiences. It’s about seeing someone truly, and being seen in return.”
Known for championing bold, intimate storytelling, Knock And Run Theatre continues its commitment to producing works that place actors and language front and centre. With only two performers, I and You promises an electric theatrical experience driven by raw honesty, humour and heart. Audiences can expect a production that balances teenage vulnerability with philosophical depth, bringing Gunderson’s lyrical writing vividly to life.
I And You is directed by Knock And Run Theatre Artistic Director James Chapman and stars Nyah Le and Sam Lane who are both previous students of Chapman during their acting training at Hunter Drama.
Performance Details The Royal Exchange, Newcastle April 8-11, 2026 Tickets on sale now: https://events.humanitix.com/i-and-you
Yes! Tonight My Love! Maitreyi Karanth Is Taking A Page From Napoleon’s Playbook and is here to Prove Fifty is Only the Beginning! “So likeable, so relatable, so wordly and SO hilarious!” Jami Gong, TakeOut Comedy
Fifty, frisky and family roadtrippin’. A midlife crisis, a round-the-world tour and a glimpse of marital life. Laughs, luggage and a little lack of lingerie. Ooh la la!
Following 10 sold out shows at Hong Kong’s oldest and best comedy club, the matriarch of Hong Kong comedy makes her long-awaited Australian debut.
In her bold new show, the Hong Kong-based, self-crowned queen of comedy will debut her brand-new show MAITRIARCHY at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival at Ballers in Melbourne’s CBD.
“I can’t wait to hit the stage and bring laughter and joy to everyone who needs a little extra cheer right in the new year,” says Karanth. “As a comedian, reaching new audiences is absolute bliss. Melbourne, watch out, I am here to deliver!”
Maitreyi brings her storytelling style to the stage with her unique POV as an expat. She explores her life as a philanthropist, public speaker, wife, mother, and well-travelled woman with stories about being fifty, frisky and full of life whilst traversing the planet.
Karanth began her career in stand-up comedy 7 years ago and since then is the first woman in HK comedy to perform in a solo theatre show and sold out a 400-seat theatre. She sold-out 10 solo shows in Hong Kong and has opened for international comedy heavyweights: Tom Cotter, Gina Yashere, Atul Khatri and Pau Ogata to name a few.
She made her Aussie debut in September 2025 at Sydney’s Factory Theatre with DAUGHTER FROM ANOTHER OTTER alongside comedian Annie Louey for the Sydney Fringe Festival.
When she’s not on stage, Maitreyi is the founder and CEO of the Koma Karanth Foundation (Philippines-focused), which has: • Built 44 homes to date • Runs a tutoring school • Operates an old age community centre • Free lunches and transport for the impoverished tribal children
MAITRIARCHY will run from April 7 – 19th with tickets on sale now.
Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2026 AmCham’s Women of Influence Award 2025 – Leading Woman in Arts, Sports, and Leisure TEDx speaker 2021 – Age is not just a number, it’s a journey
Elaine Hudson directs eight professional actors in five short contemporary world plays. These award-winning plays have never been seen in Australia. Carol Dance, the Artistic Director of Scene theatre Sydney, selected the plays for global thinkers, theatre lovers and curious Sydneysiders. All the plays are entertaining, progressive and relevant to our times. They are presented as dramatic readings, script-in-hand.
From South Africa: Kunene and the King by John Kani, OBE. The play premiered in 2019 at the Royal Shakespeare Company to great acclaim. In the story, an elderly English actor in South Africa is trying to remember the lines to King Lear. Kunene, his black carer, helps him and interprets Lear in a new way. They are an odd pair, and their comic spats finally lead to mutual respect. It is powerful entertaining theatre.
From Brazil: Miss Margarida’s Way by Roberto Athayde. This short comic monologue has been produced in more than thirty countries, including on Broadway.
From The Philippines: A Night at the Opera by Floy Quintos. This 2017 play portrays the power of the elite in The Philippines. A ‘wife vs husband’ tense tête-à-tête ends in humour that saves the relationship.
From Indonesia: The Struggle of the Naga Tribe by W. Rendra. The Naga villagers protect their copper-rich sacred mountain from the ogres (westerners) when a corporation bribes the tribe’s Queen. There are good people and bad people on both sides.
From Korea: The Sound of Rain Falling, by Sue Ja Joo. This short lyrical work captures how the smallest sounds — rain on a roof, silence between words — can stir longing, connection and unexpected insight. Poetic without being precious, the play presents a gentle respite from our complicated world.
The performers of WORLDS ALIVE 2026 are Seth Eren, Paul Williamson, Tiang Lim, Ruba el-Kaddoumi, Micah Doughty, Madison Chippendale, Christopher Brown and Alan Faulkner. The director is Elaine Hudson.
Artistic Director Carol Dance says: “All the world’s a stage” and we want to provide Sydney with great theatre from around the world. The good reviews of last year’s WORLDS ALIVE prompted us to bring another set of exciting world plays to Sydney audiences. Here are reviews of last year’s WORLDS ALIVE:
The performances were well received by an enthusiastic audience. The plays were performed with commitment and vibrancy. Sydney Arts Guide
Great acting and a good range of plays! Maggy Franklin, Theatre Time Sydney
The actors were all fantastic. I loved the variety. I loved all the plays. WORLDS ALIVE wonderfully invited us to think globally and act locally through the power of storytelling. Brett Martin, VP, United Nations Association of Australia (NSW)
Details of playwrights, plays and actors: https://www.scenetheatresydney.net.au/worlds-alive-26
When: March 13 and 14, 2026, 7PM Duration: 2 hours Where: Walsh Bay Arts Precinct of Sydney (opposite the entrance to Sydney Dance Company on Pier 4) Tickets: $35 and $25 for students
Bookings: https://events.humanitix.com/worlds-alive-2026 ($35 and $25 students)
Space Jump Theatre Company invites audiences into the searing poetic intensity of Contest by Emilie Collyer. Running from 17–28 March 2026 at Flight Path Theatre, 142 Addison Road, Marrickville, this production delivers a taut, electrifying theatre experience, where power, endurance and the cost of competition collide on the court and beyond.
About the Production: The game slows. It’s a dance. A memory, a dream, the body remembers. Muscles tense and release, bones anticipate the landing after the leap we can do this in our sleep. We Play on.
When a new player, Cass, joins a suburban netball team, the fragile balance of the group shifts. She sees what others cannot or will not, and her truths, quietly spoken, ripple through the team. Secrets, unspoken grievances, and long-held frustrations rise to the surface, turning every pass, pivot, and collision into a reckoning.
Set entirely on the netball court, Contest, written by Emilie Collyer and produced by Space Jump Theatre Company, immerses women of every age, shape, size, and ability in a world governed by rules, expectation, and relentless pressure. Bodies move side by side, sweating, enduring, testing limits. The game becomes a powerful metaphor for resilience, courage, and endurance, both on and off the court, capturing the subtle, fierce, and unrelenting ways women persist.
Blending stylised movement, poetic dialogue, and raw physicality, Contest is a bold, immersive, and unforgettable story of connection, rivalry, and the extraordinary endurance of women. Every moment on the court resonates with intensity, intimacy, and the unflinching reality of human emotion.
But what still aches after the whistle blows?
Synopsis: When new player Cass joins a suburban netball team, long-held tensions surface, and every pass, pivot, and collision becomes a reckoning. Set entirely on the netball court, Contest captures the fierce, subtle, and unrelenting ways women persist.
Event Details: Dates: 17 – 28 March, 2026 Venue: Flight Path Theatre, 142 Addison Road, Marrickville, Sydney Tickets: Available at www.flightpaththeatre.org Run time: approx 75mins
Cast: [alphabetical] GS: Melissa Jones GA: Willa King C: Suz Mawer GD: Emma Monk WA: Lana Morgan
Creatives: Production Company: Space Jump Theatre Company Playwright: Emilie Collyer Producer: Kirsty Semaan Director: Kirsty Semaan Movement Director: Amelia Pawsey Lighting Design: Theo Carroll Composer/Sound Design: Charlotte Leamon Set/Props Design & Construction: Jason Lowe Production & Movement Assistant: Danette Potgieter Tech Operator: Eliza Dodd Promotional Video: Yarno Rohling Marketing Images: SPbyKS
Production Highlights: Idea-Driven Storytelling: A bold, immersive exploration of pressure, rivalry, and endurance, where every pass, pivot, and collision is charged with physical tension, revealing the subtle, relentless ways women persist. Minimalist Design: A simple netball-court set and striking lighting turn movement into memory, dream, and dance, making every leap, stretch, and fall vividly felt. Tension and Insight: The arrival of Cass, named after the Greek prophetess cursed to speak truths no one hears, disrupts the team’s fragile balance, exposing secrets, grievances, and unspoken power dynamics. Kirsty Semaan’s Direction: A physically rigorous, poetically precise interpretation that captures courage, vulnerability, and the quiet ferocity of women on and off the court. Space Jump Theatre Company’s Mission: Committed to presenting bold, thought-provoking theatre for, by, and about women that resonates, challenges, and lingers.
Content Warning: This work contains strong language and references to sexual content, domestic violence, suicide, eating disorders and mental health challenges.
Sensory Warning: The performance includes the use of theatrical haze and loud noise.
About the Director: Kirsty Semaan (she/her) is a director, producer, and theatre-maker based on Gadigal Country (Sydney), with a passion for bold storytelling and visually striking stage productions. As the founder and Artistic Director of Space Jump Theatre Company, she is dedicated to championing Australian playwrights, amplifying female and underrepresented voices, and bringing impactful plays off the shelf and back onto the stage. Her directing credits include Woyzeck (2021), A Mouth Full of Birds (2022), and Driving the Holden (2022). In 2023, she co-produced and directed Long Story Short, a sold-out short-form theatre project. Most recently, she served as Assistant Director for Blood Wedding at Flight Path Theatre (2024). A Theatre and Performance graduate from the University of New England, her creative approach is further enriched by a successful 20-year career running a photography business, which has provided her with a unique perspective on visual storytelling and the expertise to deliver well executed productions from start to finish.
About the Playwright: Emilie Collyer lives in Naarm/Melbourne on Wurundjeri Country and writes across poetry, performance, and prose, exploring the intersection of the personal, the existential, and the socio-political. Her plays include Contest, Dream Home, The Good Girl, and most recently Super (Red Stitch Theatre 2025), with The Good Girl having been produced internationally. Her work has won and been nominated for awards including the Theatre503 International Playwriting Award, Queensland Premier’s Drama Award, Green Room Awards, George Fairfax, Patrick White, and Malcolm Robertson. Emilie’s debut poetry collection, Do you have anything less domestic? (Vagabond Press 2022), won the inaugural Five Islands First Book Prize, and she was runner-up in the Gwen Harwood Poetry Prize 2024. She works as a dramaturg, text consultant, and teacher, and has just completed her PhD at RMIT, where she now serves as an Adjunct Industry Fellow.
About Flight Path Theatre: Located in Marrickville, Sydney, Flight Path Theatre champions bold and innovative works, providing a platform for emerging and established artists.
Contest is supported by the Inner West Council and through the Australian Cultural Fund.
Experience the sweat and intensity of Contest at Flight Path Theatre, 17–28 March 2026: www.flightpaththeatre.org
