28 July – 13 August 2016
Maggie Tulliver grows up in a provincial English town, where her quick imagination and intelligence
are stifled. Her story spans 15 years and begins when Maggie is 9 years old. Relationships with her
parents, brother and various suitors reinforce the social norms she is forced to embrace yet ultimately
she triumphs in an act of free will.
Both Maggie Tulliver and George Eliot were women ahead of their time. At the time of publishing under her pseudonym, George Eliot, no one suspected her gender because the writing was considered to be too good to be written by a woman.
OpticNerve weaves this tale for both women highlighting the collision of opposites and the tension between inner and outer forces. The intense physicality of the work becomes a language of innermost thoughts and emotions where 8 actors playing 17 characters promise a world of haunting resonance and mesmerizing moments
“Director Tanya Gerstle has developed a powerful theatrical vocabulary, and the physicality of the
performances on offer are enough to transfix any audience in tight-limbed terror for its duration... a company with a stark and original creative vision.”
JOHN BAILEY, THE SUNDAY AGE
“It’s a knock-out: elegant, beautiful, intelligent, passionate theatre. It is the kind of theatre that devours
your whole attention without your quite noticing. And at the end you are released, at once exhausted
and nourished, into the complexities of your own life.”
ALISON CROGGON, THEATRE NOTES
“You’ll be hearing about OpticNerve for months and I hope years to come. The company reminds us
theatre is not just words spoken, but words made flesh.”
CHRIS BOYD, HERALD SUN
"Tanya Gerstle directs a remarkable ensemble cast to perfection... Acting with such synergy
and craft could happily grace the stage at any arts festival in the world; you will be humbled
and grateful to have experienced it live."
THE AGE
"Oh, this is gorgeous! OpticNerve Performance Group has created an unashamedly beautiful production. THE MILL ON THE FLOSS came about through the Theatreworks Access All Areas Residency Model – and what a fine outcome. THE MILL ON THE FLOSS is a gripping two hours, an ambitious, transporting and lovely work, delivering a sensual and lyrical experience. If anything’s worth going out in the cold and rain to see, it’s this."
AUSTRALIAN STAGE
TICKETS
Full $35
Concession & Under 30s $25
Preview & Groups of 8+ $20
DURATION
120 minutes no interval
Directed by
TANYA GERSTLE
Producer
HANNAH LIDDEAUX
STAGE MANAGER
LUKE PREER
Workshop Director
STEPHEN PHILLIPS
Sound Design
RUSSELL GOLDSMITH
Voice and Dialect Coach
GERALDINE COOK
Assistant Director
DANIELLE CARTER
Performed by
GRANT CARTWRIGHT, ANDREW GRAY, LUISA HASTINGS EDGE, TOM HEATH, GEORGE LINGARD, ROSIE LOCKHART, ZAHRA NEWMAN, EMMA TUFREY SMITH
