Mountain

Mountain is a new solo performance work created by Kit Brookman and André Jewson. This new work explores the story of a man in pieces, an attempt to find hope amidst utter devastation.

Mountain will be developed in long-distance collaboration with Kit based in London, England, and André in Geelong.

Mountain is the story of a man in pieces.

Bound by paralysing grief, the man takes matters into his own hands and becomes fixated by the idea of hiking up a mountain.

At turns playful, mysterious and raw, Mountain exists at the achingly beautiful, sometimes messy intersection of fable and certitude — a world where tiny lakes appear in the kitchen and grieving men find feathers in their cereal.

The man’s journey up the mountain opens precipitously outward, to encompass not just his own voice, but the voice of the mountain, the wind, of a planet crying out for what it’s lost.

Shifting perspectives from the epic to the deeply personal, this new solo work by writer/director Kit Brookman and performer André Jewson is an attempt to find hope amidst utter devastation.

Mountain is a hymn to the transformative power of grief; to the wonder of the unknown.

About the Creatives

Kit Brookman

Co-creator, writer, director

Kit Brookman is a playwright and director. His plays have been staged in Australia, the UK, and the US. He has been a resident writer at Belvoir St Theatre and at Griffin Theatre Company. His work has won the Ensemble Theatre New Writing Commission, the Rodney Seaborn Award, and the Philip Parsons Young Playwright’s Fellowship, been shortlisted for the Griffin Award and the Patrick White Playwright’s Award, and longlisted for the Bruntwood Prize (Europe’s largest playwriting prize).

His plays include The Stones (Signal House / King’s Head Theatre, London); The Plant (Ensemble Theatre, Sydney); The Great Fire, Nora (co-writer), and Small and Tired (all Belvoir); A Rabbit for Kim Jong-il (Griffin Theatre Company); Whalesong (an original commission from East 15 School of Acting, London); Night Maybe (Stuck Pigs Squealing / Theatreworks); and Heaven (La Mama).

He frequently directs the premieres of his plays, including Heaven, Small and Tired, and The Stones. Other directing work includes co-directing the world premiere of Zoe Coombs-Marr’s Is This Thing On?

André Jewson

Co-creator, performer

André Jewson trained as an actor at VCA (Melbourne) and École Philippe Gaulier (Paris). Until very recently André was touring Asia as Zazu in the 20th anniversary production and first international tour of Disney’s The Lion King (Michael Cassel Group/Disney Theatrical).

His many stage credits include The History Boys (MTC), The Lion King (Disney Australia), Heaven, As Told By The Boys Who Fed Me Apples (La Mama), Thérèse Raquin (Critical Stages), East (La Mama/The Seymour Centre), Arabian Night (Griffin Stablemates), Summerfolk (Bob Presents) and Alaska (Under the Wharf). André also played the title role in the short film Hugo (AFC/Thaumatrope Productions). Last year he co-created the award-winning Le Vide with director Kate Walder for the Sydney Fringe Festival. Voice work includes Revealing Gallipoli (December Films/ABC TV) and writer/director Kit Brookman’s monodrama The Empty Cage (The Signal House Edition).

André was a facilitator for the inaugural Kakiseni Arts Exchange in Malaysia and has worked on developments and readings for Sydney Theatre Company, Stuck Pigs Squealing and a variety of independent ensembles.

Credits

Co-creator / writer / director Kit Brookman

Co-creator / actor Andre Jewson