Stitching

Little Spoon Theatre’s third offering is sure to get audiences talking: the play has been banned in certain parts of Europe. Now the raw, poetic and oddly humorous Stitching finds itself onstage in Sydney.

“The controversy’s been taken a little out of context,” says Wade Doolan, actor and co-founder of Little Spoon.

“In conservative parts of Europe it was banned and full-on, but I think Sydney audiences are open-minded enough to see it how it should be.”

The show follows Stu and Abby as they contend with a difficult decision: to keep the baby or not.  Stitching refers to the decisions that have the potential to unravel the fabric of their relationship.

What’s the biggest challenge in dealing with such sensitive material?

“I think some of the things my character says and does come off as hard and callous … I suppose he’s trying to function out of love and logic. The biggest hurdle is definitely making him empathetic and accessible and not wholly brutish or loathsome,” Doolan says.

“You have to handle these themes delicately and subtly.”

Starring co-founders Wade Doolan and Lara Lightfoot, and directed by renowned Scottish director Mark Westbrook, Stitching promises audiences a poetic and uncompromising play about concerns we seldom see this scrupulously on stage. (RG)

Mar 26-Apr 12, Tap Gallery, 278 Palmer St, Darlinghurst, $20-30 (Strictly 18+), littlespoontheatre.com

BY RHYS GARD