Before every show – the buzz is that a certain fly, whose name could be Roger, will tap into their inner drag diva and let loose before the show. A compilation of beats will also be supplied by DJ Sach Motee, so come along early and be entertained from the
moment you enter the Phee. Doors open at 7pm.
Friday 1 st November – Opening Night – dress with a hint (or a lot) of drag and meet the playwrights after the show.
Saturday 2 nd November – Two for one deal. Buy one ticket and bring a friend for free.
Saturday 9 th and Friday 15 th November – previous CTC cast and crew reunion nights before the show. If you were involved in Walk With Us, Romeo and Juliet, or any of the CTC back catalogue of shows, look out for your special reunion invitation email.
Sunday 10 th November – Q & A with the playwrights, Libby Angel and Helen Johnstone, after the show.
Saturday 16 th November – Sci-Fi dress up night. Flaunt your inner Sci-Fi persona. Prizes for best costume.
Every Sunday matinee – Oreos afternoon Tea.
About the play
Qubit is an intriguing science fiction comedy written by local authors Libby Angel and Helen Johnston. It explores quantum computing, and the nexus between technology and humanity Set in the very near future, or perhaps in a parallel universe, London’s Sloan Square is now a mega tech industrial park. In a computer lab in the park, a team of computer scientists work on a number of secret projects with a quantum computer known as Qubit. The Qubit is part of an international network of Qubits, all competing to be the first to successfully execute a series of quantum processes. Head Office in Sweden has issued each scientist with a numerical name to disguise their true identities. Over the course of their existence, Qubit has developed a life of their own, singing and surfing the internet. The more burdensome their workload becomes, the more their capabilities increase. They are especially sympathetic to One, who lives mostly in virtual reality, and is addicted to online shopping.
When One goes on a biscuit run, Qubit notices their absence. In the messy world outside, One is exasperated to find the 7-Eleven understocked and the surrounding streets full of savage birds. Disaster strikes when a piece of gravel pierces the sole of their shoe. Back at the lab, hungry and under pressure, Zero and 462 struggle to complete their list of tasks. When the install of a de-bugging patch backfires, they attempt to fix the problem by writing their own code, inadvertently generating a radical and unpredictable boost to Qubit’s abilities. As the night rolls on, events take a chaotic turn, a dance party breaks out, and, finally, One arrives back, just in time to take receipt of an unexpected delivery.
Cast: Emma Richardson, Bridget Haylock, Sarah Cody, Jamie McDonald, Thea Sydes, Josh Cody
Director’s bio Kate Stones has directed numerous productions for the CTC including: Peter Panto or One Flew over the Second Star on the Right (2023); The Tempest (podcast) 2022; Gallipoli: The Musical (2017); Monkey and the Monk (2015); and Burqa (2013). Kate has worked with the CTC since 2009 in various roles including actor, committee member, secretary, stage manager, production manager, front of house manager and president. Kate leads at CreateA (https://www.createa.org.au/), an ensemble of actors and filmmakers with disabilities based in Bendigo. She has an MA in Directing for Performance, and from 2011-2020 was co-director at The Red Room Theatre in Campbells Creek with her partner Kenneth MacLeod.
Libby Angel, writer
Libby Angel is an Australian writer who works across multiple forms. Her first novel, The Trapeze Act (2017) was short-listed for the South Australian Premier’s Award for an unpublished manuscript, and won the Penguin/University of Melbourne Award and the 2018 Barbara Jefferis Award (for a novel which depicts girls or women in a positive or empowering way). Libby’s most recent novel, Where I Slept (2023), is a work of autofiction. Both novels received outstanding reviews. Libby’s poetry, fiction, non-fiction and other short-form writing appears in publications including Overland, Going Down Swinging and The Age. Her poetry collection, ‘Stealing’, was published as part of the Friendly Street/Wakefield Press New Poets Series. Libby holds a degree in English Literature and Anthropology from the University of Adelaide, a PhD in Creative Writing and Literary Studies from the University of Melbourne, and has taught literature subjects at a number of Victorian universities. Her research interrogates the homeless subject in relation to Australian women’s writing. Qubit, a collaboration with Helen Johnstone, is her first play. Libby and Helen also recorded and released a series of spoken word tracks, under the name Avian. Libby currently lives and works as a writer and personal carer on Dja Dja Wurrung country, Castlemaine.
Helen Johnstone, writer
Helen Johnstone is a composer, musician, lyricist and writer. She has written and performed musical scores for theatre in New Zealand and Australia, including Crow Station by Sally Rodwell and Madeline McNamara, (1993), Stone Telling by Rose Beauchamp, (1996), and most recently, Mother Courage and her Children by Bertolt Brecht and Margarete Steffin for Queensland TAFE, Bachelor of Acting and Performance students, (2014). Crow Station was awarded a Creative NZ grant to appear at the Magdalena International Theatre Festival, Cardiff, UK, in 1994.
Helen has a BA in English and German Literature and an MA in Corpus Linguistics from Victoria University of Wellington. In 2022, she completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Writing for Performance: Stage and Screen, from the University of New England, NSW, with Distinction. Qubit, a collaboration with Libby Angel, is her first theatre piece. Helen is currently working on a children’s play – Cedric the Green Star. She is employed by Red Bee Media Australia as a television captioner.
