MOTH

Since its Melbourne premiere season in 2010, Declan Greene’s Moth has been widely regarded as a resounding
success with critically acclaimed seasons internationally. In 2023, Theatre Works is bringing a new production of
the work to the stage with some of the independent sector\’s most impassioned creators.

Moth is a highly charged work overflowing with nuance from page to stage, starring Lucy Ansel (most recently seen in Harry Potter & the Cursed Child) & Adam Noviello (Top 40 chartered Australian pop singer for their album Tears, Drugs & Voicemails).

The upcoming Theatre Works season has been programmed as a part of the VCE Playlist for Drama students years 11 & 12. As an educational work it explores themes prevalent to young adults such as belonging, disconnection, difference, mental health and hope. In a time full of global uncertainty this work is a love letter to every teen and those who used to be.

Our intention is to stage the play as if a graphic-novel has leapt out of its pages and onto the stage. At pivotal moments in the story, the actor playing Sebastian will seem to freeze in time as movement continues around him, or he will become larger-than-life with specific use of lighting to make him appear larger as if in close-up or in a freeze-frame. Projections will overlay across Sebastian, making him look like he is growing larger and \’leaping\’ out of the stage – the way graphic artists draw characters in graphic novels coming off the page. Contemporary theatrical techniques are utilised further when video projections show the interior of Sebastian\’s mind. Projections will be used to distort the scale of onstage items including a nightmarish macro version of the moth and the jar. This distortion places an over-importance on the moth, for example, rising its status to the high level Sebastian places on it. Employing storytelling motifs and iconic imagery from the graphic-novel genre employs story-telling techniques synonymous with teenagers. It also reinforces the notion that Moth is a story being retold through Claryssa\’s eyes with performance, lighting, projections and sound. This could be the storytelling mode Claryssa imagines is inside Sebastian\’s mind.

MOTH By Declan Greene

Erupting on onstage like an action-packed graphic-novel fiction fantasy, Moth is a visceral scream to the Gods of injustice.

Sebastian is a terminally unpopular fifteen-year-old suburban kid with an overactive imagination and an obsession with anime and death. His only friend Claryssa is an emo Wiccan art-freak, barely one rung higher than Sebastian on the social ladder. What starts as just another night drinking down at the cricket nets soon gives way to an ecstatic vision that leaves Sebastian unconscious and Claryssa gone without explanation. The next morning Sebastian wakes up with a mysterious moth by his bed, a burning passion to save the souls of all humankind and a desperate need to reach Claryssa. Sebastian spirals into a breathless ride of schizophrenic delusion and religious passion, living life at a feverish pitch that can only lead to tragedy.

Mental illness. Religious zeal. Anime. This is a highly charged rapid-fire and deeply moving production. An exhilarating two-hander brought to life by two dynamic actors, Moth is a love-letter to every teen, and to those who used to be.