“We all blame ourselves. Except for mum. She blames you too.”

About

A successful man of the theatre finds a front row seat in a strange new tragicomedy: the undignified death of his parents. There’s not much time left for either his ailing mother the actress, still prone to melodramatics, or his father the salesman, still flogging his side of the story. But there’s just enough time to open old wounds and have a jolly good go at new ones.

At once personal and universal, Unholy Ghosts invites us to reflect on the narrative turning point that visits all our life stories. It’s an irreverent, life-affirming take on loss with all the inherent funniness of a good funeral.

A family portrait painted in warm, uplifting colours, Unholy Ghosts won Campion Decent the 2012 Rodney Seaborn Playwright’s Award and is directed by Kim Hardwick.

White Box Theatre and Griffin Independent present this world premiere.

Cast & Creatives

Director Kim Hardwick
Production Designer Martin Kinnane
Composer: Michael Huxley
Assistant Director: Rebecca Scott
Stage Manager: Lauren Egan
With Robert Alexander, James Lugton, Anna Volska

Performance Times

PERFORMANCE DATES
Previews 27 and 28 August
Season 30 August – 20 September

PERFORMANCE TIMES
Monday – Saturday 7pm
Saturday 20 September 2pm and 7pm

Reviews

“…this is a real tearjerker, full of warmth, light and some excellent laughs. It’s such an enjoyable, engrossing crowd-pleaser, with bucketloads of heart, it seems almost certain to have a life beyond this initial season.” Ben Neutze, Crikey

“The work is an irreverent and life-affirming take on loss… Despite the heavy content, Unholy Ghosts is an extremely funny production…”Michael Cathcart, ABC

“…it is striking a chord with audiences — some who sniffled and discreetly dabbed at their eyes, and others who didn’t hide their sobs or gasping attempts for breath between tears. When a play touches an audience it’s doing something right.” Cassie Tongue, Aussie Theatre

“Campion Decent depicts an honest, entertaining and darkly hilarious personal journey toward the final frontier.” Danielle Lyonne, Arts Hub

“Unholy Ghosts brings together an amazing cast of senior performers. Anna Volska returns to the stage to play the ailing actress mother… Robert Alexander, who plays the father, has been an actor for forty years… They are joined by James Lugton, who has won two Sydney Theatre Best Actor awards…” Garrett Bithell, Cult Magazine

“[Campion Decent’s] writing displays… open-heartedness and journalistic endeavour in fathoming truths while telling a good yarn.” Bryce Herald, The Sydney Morning Herald

Blog Posts

IN THE REHEARSAL ROOM: UNHOLY GHOSTS

19.08.14

As we head towards opening night of Campion Decent’s irreverent, life-affirming and deeply personal Unholy Ghosts, Campion reflects on seeing the play come off the page for the first time. I recently sat in on the first few days of rehearsal...

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