Q the Locals
Q the Locals
Launched in 2022, Q the Locals was established to support artists in our region, at any stage of their career.
Crims
2026
Crims is a new physical theatre piece by Christopher Samuel Carroll, inspired by true stories from the violent underworld of 1920s Sydney. In the saloons, billiard rooms, brothels, and racetracks of a raging metropolis erupting into life, gunmen, conmen, coiners and swindlers, bootleggers, burglars, politicians and hoodlums seized their share.
Developed with an eclectic ensemble of local performers, this world premiere work promises to be dark, thrilling, and explosive, unearthing hidden histories in a larger-than-life theatrical style that has become synonymous with the work of Bare Witness Theatre Company.
Diamond
2026
Presented by the award-winning and internationally acclaimed Liz Lea, Diamond is a luminous, joy-filled exploration of ageing, resilience, and the dazzling complexity of womanhood.
Blending contemporary dance, song, cabaret, and a touch of burlesque, this one-woman show invites audiences into a world of humour, glamour, and heartfelt transformation. With moments of raw honesty and riotous play, Diamond celebrates the brilliance that emerges through time – the courage, fragility, and power that define us as we evolve.
The Good Boy Game
2026
Welcome to The Good Boy Game — a furious, darkly funny deep-dive into radicalisation, masculinity, and the price we pay to seem like good people. What this work offers isn’t a neat answer or a moral high ground, but a furious, funny, and deeply uncomfortable interrogation of a crisis that touches all of us.
The Good Boy Game is part satire, part warning, and part catharsis: a black comedy powered by four of Canberra’s sharpest actors, led by one of Canberra’s most unrelenting young female directors, and confronting the evil that lurks within bedrooms, family photos, and online rabbit holes. The Good Boy Game is sharp, brutally relevant, and gold star sticker good.
“This is a piece that is edgy and prickly in several ways, and it’s not an easy one to take. But if you want theatre that slaps you in the face a bit, this will certainly do that.
” – Simon Tolhurst
The Almighty Sometimes
2025
Winner of the Judges’ Award in the prestigious Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting (UK) and the NSW and Victorian Premier’s Prizes for Drama, Kendall Feaver’s captivating play is a profound and compelling study of a young woman trying to discover where her illness ends and her identity begins.
With heart and humour, Kendall Feaver’s tender portrait echoes conversations happening at dinner tables across the country, while tapping into the universal tension between a mother’s care and a child’s independence.
“With superlative performances and precision direction, Off the Ledge’s rendition of The Almighty Sometimes is an empathic portrait of how mental illness can complicate the business of becoming an independent adult.” – Cathy Bannister, Stage Whispers
Ordinary Days
2024
Refreshingly frank, fast-paced and funny, Ordinary Days is about making real connections in the city that never sleeps (but probably should at some point).
Through a score of vibrant songs, poignant moments and fortuitous events, the experiences of four New Yorkers ring startlingly true. Ordinary Days is an intimate, snappy and life-affirming musical for anyone who’s ever struggled to stop and appreciate the simple things in a complicated world.
“Excellent singing, totally convincing acting, brilliant playing, a simple but cleverly designed and utilised set, appropriate mood lighting and tight direction of an absorbing and realistic story of our times: the ingredients for a most enjoyable night at the theatre. Highly recommended!!
” – Ian McLean, City News
Eulogiser Bunny
2024
To you, his nearest and dearest, this is your formal invitation to the funeral of Cameron Ribbons.
Join us as we reminisce on an unremarkable life in a quasi-realistic funeral service.
Dancing? Check.
Murder Mystery? Check.
Cheques? Possibly.
Happy Meals, Happy Kids
2024
A group of friends gather in the crumbling remains of a fast food restaurant, desperate to finish their school project. Their task: disprove government plans to eliminate organic matter and reclaim planet earth for mining production. As their due date rapidly approaches, the group must devise a solution quickly, the fate of their grades depends on it! But they’re never going to use this in real life, right?
“Thought-provoking and a seriously mature commentary on the challenges we are heading towards.”
Legacies
2023
New from playwright Rachel Pengilly, with original music by Shannon Parnell, Legacies brings together powerful storytelling and physical theatre. Based on the true story of the Arran Stowaways, Legacies probes the depths of resilience and friendship… and how the choices you make shape the legacy you leave.
“Rachel Pengilly has crafted an interesting play which tells an important story. Jordan Best’s “Q The Locals” program has provided Pengilly not only with the valuable opportunity to mount her play, but also to extend her directorial and organisational talents by mounting this impressive production.”
– Bill Stephens, Canberra Critics Circle
The Waltz
2023
Two people in their 70s meet on a park bench at Bondi. They rediscover their connection from the 1960s, as members of the radical group The Push. They help each other take back control of their increasingly regulated lives. Full of wit, humour, and music, this play will make you laugh and cry.
The Waltz is an hilarious and thought-provoking celebration of life, as tender as it is heart wrenching. David Cole, who is well known for his unique voice and ability to mix comedy and tragedy, says the script was born from the idea that you’re never too old to be young at heart.
“It is an absorbing dance along the way, with two strong and perceptive performances at its heart, waltzing away like mad. ” – Alanna Maclean, Canberra Critics Circle
Triceratop
2023
Meet our hero. He’s the last Dinosaur ever to live. Like the very last. He wakes up alone (what’s new?) one morning in the bunker to discover that it’s just him. Everyone else is gone. And he’s never fallen in love!
Using cabaret, storytelling, performance lecture, sci-fi and camp, this rambunctious romp tells the story of the last days of the doomed Cretaceous Civilization asking: ARE THERE EVEN ANY (tricera)TOPS LEFT ANYMORE?!
“It is an absorbing dance along the way, with two strong and perceptive performances at its heart, waltzing away like mad. ” – Alanna Maclean, Canberra Critics Circle
Under the Influence
2023
Bungendore’s Shortis and Simpson specialise in shows that reflect Australia’s political, social and music history with a mix of comedy, quirky use of musical styles and vocal flair. Braidwood’s Mikelangelo (Michael Simic) is a stunning, larger-than-life, singer and songwriter of Croatian heritage, known to many as the front man of the Black Sea Gentlemen.
Under the Influence is a bittersweet cabaret, based on Mikelangelo’s musical influences. It delves into the formative elements of his life, from his years as a Croatian-Australian boy growing up in Canberra to a performer and writer who has gone onto great success on national and international stages.
“In a show that runs for almost two hours the audience is not only treated to an entertaining evening of music and song from three popular and talented artists but also made privy to the secrets that fuelled their passion and made Shortis and Simpsons the darlings of satirical music and song and Michael Mikey into the the beloved Mickelangelo of the Black Sea Gentleman.” – Peter Wilkins, Canberra Critics Circle
Smokescreen
2022
It’s 1977. Glenn has a crisis on his hands. He’s had a successful career as a marketing exec. for a major Oil company, selling the fuel for the American Dream. Now he’s waking up to the damage it’s doing to the climate. In a secret meeting he consults with Bud, a slick young talent from the Tobacco industry, to figure out how to sell a toxic product – and how to live with yourself if you succeed.
Compelling, unnerving, and piercingly relevant, Smokescreen is a psychologically-charged battle of wits that unpicks how the climate crisis we face today was shaped by the invisible hands of Ad Men.
“Smokescreen is a most engaging and thought-provoking work performed by highly skilled actors with clarity. It is a work that should be seen widely and that might easily be toured for national audiences.” – Joe Woodward, City News
Demented
2022
Demented is a 3-hander stage-play about mortality, identity, family, and dependence. A heart-warming comic-tragedy about a multigenerational family of women coming to terms with dementia, and inspired by lived experiences, this 3-act play interweaves strong elements of magic realism, through use of bunraku puppetry, amidst darkly comic and dramatic dialogue.
“For everyone whose lives have been affected by the wide-reaching problems dementia causes, this play and its production will resonate strongly. For everyone else, who will likely be touched by dementia in some way in the future, it will give an insight and understanding into living with or caring for someone with this cruel condition.
” – Len Power, Canberra Critics Circle
21 Forster Street
2022