Skip to main content

Article: Black Box a New Musical!

You don’t know him, but he may have saved your life

BLACK BOX is Queenslander Paul Hodge’s ground-breaking new musical based on the extraordinary true story of David Warren, the Australian inventor who created the black box flight recorder that is now on every plane around the globe, and it will have its world premiere at QPAC’s Cremorne Theatre this May.

Driven by the death of his father in an unexplained plane crash when he was eight, BLACK BOX follows David as he fights for an invention that could record the final moments of a flight before it crashes – the black box. His obsession around this invention places his career, marriage and mind at risk. It’s a show about memory, and how we hold onto, and let go of, those we love 

BLACK BOX writer and composer, Paul Hodge, said, “David’s invention was inspired by his love of music. I wanted to create a theatre form that was as inventive as David’s idea, which led to the use of recorded voices and music, in the same way the black box gives recordings, to immerse the audience in David’s sound world.” Black box inventor David Warren will be played by internationally renowned singer and actor Michael Cormick, who has had leading roles around the world, including in Phantom of the Opera and Beauty and the Beast with Hugh Jackman. David’s wife, Ruth, will be played by Helpmann Award winner Helen Dallimore who as well as touring extensively throughout the UK and Australia was the original Glinda opposite Idina Menzel in the West End production of Wicked.

The auditory world that inspired David to create his life-saving invention shapes the audience’s experience
at BLACK BOX, which utilises pre-recorded voices and instruments to create a world of music and memory to tell his story. While Helen and Michael are on stage, the rest of the cast are present through a history- making audio experience. BLACK BOX is the first binaural musical with audience members wearing headphones that allow them to be totally immersed in a 360-degree world of sound. Binaural recording uses two microphones, arranged at the position of human ears to create a 3D stereo sound sensation for the listener of actually being in the room with the recorded actors and instruments. This world-premiere production will be directed by David Berthold.

Tickets on sale from qpac.com.au

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Freshblood Festival - Vena Cava

Written By Thor Morrison Upcoming creatives need a place to experiment, to prosper, to explore, and even to sometimes miss the mark. It is essential that spaces that allow this to happen exist, especially in a world obsessed with perfectionism. The Freshblood Festival is an annual event run by QUT Student Theatre Company Vena Cava, focused on young writers and performers, and it does just that. It provides a space for the new and upcoming creatives of Brisbane and surrounds to experiment, have fun, and create really exciting performances. Held at BackDock Arts in Fortitude Valley, and running over two consecutive weekends, it is a massive endeavour Vena Cava have given themselves. 14 independent shows, two play readings, and 8 music acts ensure that Freshblood has something for everyone to enjoy, and shows the variety and scale of the Festival itself. Drama Dispatch was able to attend most of the second weekend, seeing a total of seven shows and a play reading, and was greatly impresse...
Post a Comment
Read more

Article: Waru is sure to delight these school holidays

  Australia’s leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performing arts company, Bangarra Dance Theatre will bring its delightful work for children, Waru – journey of the small turtle to QPAC from Wednesday 26 to Saturday 29 June for the school holidays.   Fresh from its critically acclaimed (and kid approved!) Australian tour in 2023, Waru is a must- see new Australian work for children aged three to eight years and their families.   A journey of survival and discovery with our heroine Migi the turtle, the contemporary saltwater Lagaw Kazil (Island Children) story is inspired by the totemic system of the green turtle, in an interactive and immersive introduction to Torres Strait Islander culture and dance for three- to eight-year-olds.   Under the star-illuminated skies of the Torres Strait, a green turtle navigates her way back to the beach where she was born. The season has started, the turtles are returning to nest, and soon the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Dogfight - Spotlight Theatrical Company

Written by Jake Goodall Get ready for a night of vocal excellence in Spotlight Theatrical Company's latest production of Dogfight! Located in the central Gold Coast, their latest production is sure to shock and delight all theatre lovers. It's 1963, and a group of young marines have gathered in San Fransisco the night before they ship off to Vietnam. They decide to celebrate their last night of freedom with a cruel game they call a “dogfight” where every man sets out to find the ugliest girl he can and brings her to a party. Everyone puts in money, and the man with the ugliest date wins the pot.  This harrowing and horrific story showcases the toxic masculinity of the US Marines in the 60s but also provides an insight into PTSD and the terrors of war. One uplifting event in this musical is that it isn't about women changing themselves for men, it is about the power of becoming confident in oneself and not bowing to a man's wishes just because he says so which is the tro...
Post a Comment
Read more