WARNING:
This production contains adult language and sensitive themes
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WARNING: This production contains adult language and sensitive themes ~
THE ATOM ROOM
Written by Philip Braithwaite
Directed by Blair Purkiss
3rd to 18th October
About the Play
A Sci-fi romance set 150 years in the future, simultaneously on Earth and Mars, Philip Braithwaite’s The Atom Room focuses on the extreme long-distance relationship between Sarah and Danny.
On an Earth wrecked through climate change, nuclear accidents and other environmental disasters, Sarah secures a dream job on mankind’s latest great achievement, a colony on Mars. Her decision however forces her to leave her partner Danny behind on Earth for the length of her contract. Despite the distance however, the couple still can connect through a highly-advanced virtual reality system that rivals real life itself known as The Atom Room.
The Atom Room explores many aspects of a long-distance relationship, work-life pressures and technology’s influence on the world and its people showing that even 150 years in the future, people are still people.
Playwright
Philip Braithwaite
Philip Braithwaite enjoyed early success in his writing career when, shortly after graduating from university, he won the 2001 BBC World Service International Radio Playwriting Competition with Blood, redrafted for radio from his stage play, The Human Engine.
Since then his work has been produced in New Zealand, Australia and Europe, and he has collaborated with groups from the Royal Court Theatre in London, the BBC and the SEEyD theatre company. His radio plays have been produced on the BBC World Service and Radio New Zealand.
Phil has also worked as a scriptwriting and theatre teacher at Massey University, Victoria University of Wellington, and Whitireia Polytechnic and provided mentorship for young playwrights at the Fortune theatre in Dunedin.
Notable plays include his comedy, The Ghost of Woody Allen, his Young & Hungry festival play Arcadian Nights and his 2014 Adam NZ Play Award winning show, The Mercy Clause.
The Atom Room premiered at Circa Theatre in 2018.
Director
Blair Purkiss
Blair Purkiss is a creative and passionate theatre actor and burgeoning director with many years of experience in community theatre. He debuted at the Dolphin Theatre in 2011 in A Few Good Men, and has been involved in shows since in roles both on and off-stage. He most recently portrayed Captain Arthur Hastings last year in Agatha Christie’s Black Coffee. He has been trained both through a life-time of experience and a formal qualification at Hagley Theatre Company. While The Atom Room will be the first full-length play he has directed, he has directed a number of one-act plays (The Norse Mythology: Ragnasplosion most recently) and has a lot of creative and organisational skills through writing and running a large number tabletop and LARP games.
Director’s Notes
Science Fiction is not something often seen on stage but when I first read The Atom Room by Philip Braithwaite, ideas flew into my mind immediately. Ideas on how to incorporate technology, set and lighting to immerse the audience in the futuristic setting all while focusing on the most important part of the play - the love and the struggles of Sarah and Danny. The play shows a couple forced to clash with their own ideals, ambitions and the realities of the worlds they inhabit through scenes set across different times and places, sometimes even simultaneously!
As there are only three characters in the play, I am seeking a cast that has excellent chemistry between them, showing their connection in the good times while also being capable of bringing emotional depth and feeling to the more serious dialogues in the play. As with many good dramas, there’s always opportunities for a comedic moment which I want to work with my cast to find and bring out when appropriate.
I also want to prioritise my cast’s safety and comfort when dealing with more intimate aspects in the play through encouraging open dialogue, consent and wider options for support if needed.
If you’re keen to portray characters with a wide emotional range, have some fun with a futuristic set and maybe even wear a space suit, I’d love to see you at the auditions.
Audition Notice
Come and audition for this fabulous play.
Dolphin theatre is a community theatre and is run entirely by volunteers.
All acting roles are unpaid.