‘Grungier': Rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch heads to surprising Sydney venue
'A whole trailer park was built outside the theatre that was cordoned off and punters could come in and grab a drink,' Anthony said. 'Hedwig in the show is staying in a trailer park, staying in a caravan, a mobile home, moving around the country, performing these gigs. So we [created] that outside the venue, inside the foyers and all the way into the theatre.'
Anthony said the production would reflect the seismic political changes taking place under the Trump administration in the US.
'The show is, in itself, already referencing that,' he said 'But a lot of our discussion [developing the show] was about bodily autonomy and that that's being taken away for a lot of minorities in America.'
While iOTA starred in a production in 2006, winning a Helpmann Award ahead of Hugh Jackman in The Boy From Oz, a new Sydney season has been a long time coming.
In 2020, Hugh Sheridan (Packed To The Rafters) was cast to play Hedwig at Sydney Festival until an ugly public row. Four trans advocates organised an open letter, signed by 1700 people, that demanded he be dropped because only a trans actor could play the role.
While Mitchell and Trask defended Sheridan by saying the role was never intended to represent trans people 'because Hedwig does not freely choose a trans life', producer Showtune Productions eventually cancelled the season.
'I went into a very, very dark place,' Sheridan said the following year. Devastated to be labelled 'transphobic' because he had accepted the role, he attempted suicide twice. 'How can you crush somebody's creativity and self-expression because I have not come out as trans?' he said.
The new production is being staged by different producers – GWB Entertainment and Andrew Henry Presents – who have gone to great lengths to avoid that happening again.
Anthony said that Miley Moore, who identified as non-binary, was cast after consultation with the trans and gender diverse community.
'It was really important to us that we weren't creating a work that was in the shadows of what had happened previously,' Anthony said. 'This work is a celebration. It's joyous.
'So it was really crucial that our consultation with community was rich and that we were mindful ... that there was really accurate representation in the room of the diversity of voices in relation to gender.'
Anthony said that co-director Dino Dimitriadis identified as trans and non-binary, with many of the team staging Hedwig also non-binary.
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