SIREN THEATRE CO
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Siren Theatre Co (Australia) presents
BETTY IS A BUTCHER
Premiere Production: The Flying Nun
28-29 May 2021
Sydney Fringe: MADE IN SYDNEY
4 - 9 September 2023
Written and performed by Thomas Campbell
Dramaturg Robin McLeavy
Produced and Directed by Kate Gaul
Composer Nate Edmondson
Lighting Design Victor Kalka
Five characters, five reasons to live, an odyssey towards death.
A collage of memory, these characters jostle for existence in a theatrical phantasmagoria
BETTY IS A BUTCHER is a black comedy that captures the fragility and savagery of
relationships, the need for love and the power of family.
BETTY IS A BUTCHER explores what defines us and asks what power we have to shape our destiny.
An unmissable debut play written and performed by Thomas Campbell and directed by Kate Gaul,
BETTY IS A BUTCHER is filled with dark humour, pathos and unsettling personal narrative.
THEATRE THOUGHTS, CLAIRA PRIDER
"This performance was so intensely physically connected, it was breathtakingly unsettling...Campbell’s performance was vulnerable, absurd, confronting, and intense. Betty is a Butcher is an exploration of human nature, family trauma and how we adapt and change to connect with others. It’s confronting, silly, macabre, bizarre and uncomfortable and leaves you thinking about it long after the show has finished."
"Thomas Campbell is an extraordinary performer.... an intriguing jigsaw, a teasing meditation on dreams, desires, and deep dissatisfactions. Campbell is eminently watchable, displaying a glorious range..."
THEATRE NOW, DANIEL ALEJANDRO
"The wonderfully diverse and profound Thomas Campbell, throws you into the depth of romantic love, strangely familiar moments of discomfort, into the deep grief of losing a person you love due to the relationship not working out and the all-too-familiar emotional consequences of early childhood trauma. The acting is moving and personal...an absolute must see!"
“Campbell’s performance alone makes the production a near-unmissable one.”
Bill Dunlop, Edinburgh Guide
“…the connection between Campbell’s performance and Gaul’s vision which makes for a rare
and compelling theatrical experience.” Ben Neutze, Crikey
“When one performer on a stage can make you forget there is only one performer on the stage,
you know you have something special on your hands” Lisa Thatcher, Theatre Blog
Press quotations from 2017 Edinburgh Fringe production of Misterman
Developed with the generous support of Q Theatre Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre and The Flying Nun program of Brand X, and
Sydney Fringe