In 2019, Waverley Council was one of the first organisations in Australia to declare a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2030. As part of our commitment to a sustainable future, we are proud to present Noëlle Janaczewska's latest masterpiece, The End of Winter, at Bondi Pavilion Theatre on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 August at 7.30pm.
The End of Winter, a Siren Theatre Co and Critical Stages Touring production, directed by Kate Gaul and presented by Waverley Council, explores loss and resilience in hot, bushfire-prone Australia and the yearning for places one can search for cold weather.
This one-woman performance starring Jane Phegan —winner of the Best Performance in a Leading Role at the 2022 Sydney Theatre Awards —asks the audience: will climate change erase winter leaving it to exist only in fairy tales, paintings and historical accounts?
It's a reasonable question to ask says the Mayor of Waverley, Paula Masselos, who in December 2019 joined her fellow Councilors in voting unanimously to declare a State of Climate and Biodiversity Emergency that requests all levels of government to act now to protect our environment and community for future generations.
The motion of Council states that with urgent collaborative action it is still possible to help prevent the most serious environmental, social and economic impacts.
"Waverley Council is committed to making sustainability second nature and helping our community achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2035," Mayor Masselos said.
"Theatre productions such as The End of Winter remind us that climate change threatens our very existence and has made bushfire risks considerably worse and our winters drier by adding to the dry fuel load in our reserves, parks and bushland, and higher temperatures are accelerating transpiration and evaporation."
Chris Bendall, Artistic Director, Bondi Pavilion, said The End of Winter, created by the award-winning team who also produced Good with Maps, is a remarkable and moving new work of theatre, that manages the seemingly impossible task of weaving wry humour with poignant and potent observations about the uncertain future we face due to our changing climate.
"There is no more important conversation that we could be having at this time, and I'm so pleased to be able to bring Jane Phegan's phenomenal performance in this beautiful production to Waverley audiences as part of our new theatre program at the Bondi Pavilion," Mr Bendall said.
The End of Winter is suitable for general audiences ages 13+. To book, visit bondipavilion.com.au/whats_on.
REVIEWS:
"The "performance essay-cum-monologue" is beautifully realised by Jane Phegan. Her clear-eyed calm and gentle humour undercut the ferocious messages and discoveries revealed in less than an hour of intense and engrossing mind travel. The End of Winter is often enlightening, often sobering, and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. Recommended." Diana Simmonds
"...an elegy for the imminent loss of seasons and a love letter to the cold.." SMH
From director Kate Gaul, "What a privilege and pleasure it is to be working alongside a treasured colleagues and incredible artists. Jane proves again that there is nothing she can't do and this haunting tale is a testament to her courage and artistry."
"Exquisitely written ... directed with light touch by Kate Gaul, it is one woman's cerebral, deeply personal, eco-poetic odyssey, in which she travels through the realms of childhood memories and forgotten histories, science and art, folklore and myth to present a paean to winter, sung in the key of anticipatory loss." Audrey Journal
"It's a bravura performance from Jane Phegan...a complex final image and the ghostly sway of the curtains on occasion, leads to a mimetic and stringed conclusion which creeps those icy fingers towards the heart. As crisp and clear as a frosty night, it is a theatrical experience of bone- warming depth and of hope." Reviews by Judith
