August: Osage County

Written by Tracy Letts.
Directed by Cate Clelland.

Recipient of the 2008 Tony Award® for Best Play and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

A vanished father. A pill-popping mother. Three sisters harboring shady little secrets. When the large Weston family unexpectedly reunites after Dad disappears, their Oklahoman family homestead explodes in a maelstrom of repressed truths and unsettling secrets. Mix in Violet, the drugged-up, scathingly acidic matriarch, and you’ve got a major play that unflinchingly—and uproariously—exposes the dark side of this Midwestern American family.

Members of the seriously dysfunctional Weston family gather at their family home near Pawhuska, Oklahoma, after the disappearance of the family patriarch Beverly Weston. So do we assume that they are there to comfort and support each other?

Despite any good intentions, over the weeks that follow, they scour and claw at each other, reviving former animosities, reliving past injuries, and unearthing old secrets. They continue to pick at each other so that things become highly tempestuous until eventually family relationships unravel and disintegrate. A tragi-comedy that explores the worst things about family life.

By arrangement with Music Theatre International Australasia Pty Ltd, on behalf of Dramatists Play Service, Inc

Please note: Thurs 5 Sept is Preview night. Fri 6 Sept is Opening Night.

In the news

Review - August: Osage County, CanTheatreWatcher

Feeling like it summarises all the great American plays into one outsized epic,… this is a play that contains multitudes. This is an epic and powerful production.

Review - August: Osage County, Stage Whispers

The play is one of lifelong, almost epic conflicts: between honour and self-fulfilment, between honesty and peace, and ultimately between self interest and family.

Review - August: Osage County, Len Power

If you think your family had problems, wait until you see this bunch go into battle with each other! Moments of high drama mixed with flashes of unexpected humour are all played superbly.

Confronting dive into the difficulties of normal life

Review by Arne Sjostedt in Canberra CityNews.
“Strong acting from each actor ensured the at times uncomfortable story was played out supremely well.”

Home truths come out in bitter-sweet tragi-comedy

Tracy Letts’ Tony and Pulitzer-winning play August: Osage County is one of the great theatrical warhorses of our time.

Family secrets and dramas come home to ACT Hub

Homecomings aren’t always sweet, especially when it was the inhabitants of that home you were trying to escape. A renowned tale of generational trauma and family secrets makes itself at home at ACT Hub in August: Osage County from 5 – 15 Sept.

Louise Bennet interviewed on 2CC Breakfast radio

Have a listen to this great interview with Louise Bennet who plays Barbara Fordham in August: Osage Country. Louise had a great chat with Steven Cenatiempo on 2CC Breakfast radio program on the morning of Friday 23 August.

Cast announcement - August: Osage County

Free-Rain Theatre Company is delighted to announce the full cast for our upcoming production of August: Osage County, to be staged at ACT Hub from 5 – 15 September 2024.

Details

When: 5 September – 15 September 2024
Where:

View program

Cast

Beverly Weston – David H. Bennett
Violet Weston – Karen Vickery
Barbara Fordham – Louise Bennet
Bill Fordham – Bruce Hardie
Jean Fordham – Ella Buckley
Ivy Weston – Crystal Mahon
Karen Weston – Karina Hudson
Mattie Fae Aiken – Tracy Noble
Charlie Aiken – Michael Sparks
Little Charles Aiken – Lachlan Ruffy
Johnna Monevata – Andrea Garcia
Steve Heidebrecht – Richard Manning
Sheriff Deon Gilbeau – Rob Drennan

Directed by Cate Clelland.