Brisbane Powerhouse presents The Poof Downstairs.

English Comedy Takes the Stage in The Poof Downstairs

Brisbane Powerhouse presents

The Poof Downstairs

Written and performed by Jon Haynes

 

‘Exquisite. Both hilariously observed and executed.’ Culture Wars

 

‘You have to be very good to sustain such a delicate web of material and Jon is very, very good.’The Public Reviews

 

Direct from critically-acclaimed seasons in the UK, Jon Haynes (Ridiculusmus) brings his one-man black comedy The Poof Downstairs to Brisbane Powerhouse for the exclusive Australian premiere season from 24 – 27 April 2013.

 

Brisbane audiences last saw Haynes onstage in the award-winning Ridiculusmus production of The Importance of Being Ernest commissioned by Brisbane Powerhouse. Now fans can see Haynes in his first solo outing, which Haynes says combines black comedy, missing cast members and autobiography.

 

“The Poof Downstairs is a bit of an artist’s nightmare on stage. Every night I’m not sure who will turn up, and all I have to work with is a bad wig, a broken telephone and a script I wrote when I was 17.

 

“The show is meandering and covers everything from my parents’ conversations which I recorded secretly at age 14, to the fact that my upstairs neighbours used to call me ‘the poof downstairs’.

 

“Audiences can expect a slightly surreal, blackly comic and circuitous storyline performed with the energy of five people, no matter who ends up on stage.”

 

Jon Haynes is a multi-award winning playwright, director and performer. His work as one of the co-founders and artistic directors of Ridiculusmus has seen him travel the world performing alongside co-creator David Woods for the last 21 years. Ridiculusmus has won awards from Time Out, Total Theatre, Adelaide International Festival of Arts and Edinburgh Fringe Festival as well as receiving two nominations for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s Barry Award. The Barbican also won The Peter Brook Empty Space Award for their season of work with Ridiculusmus.

 

Haynes studied Drama at Sheffield University (BA Hons) and completed a Postgraduate in Acting at The Poor School, he has also completed an MA on his work with Ridiculusmus and a PHD exploring Self Revelation in Performance (On Myself) at The University of Kent.  He is currently writing a book about Ridiculusmus’ creative methodology and has given numerous talks, workshops and demonstrations at universities, festivals and symposiums.

 

The Poof Downstairs was first commissioned in 2010 as part of Battersea Arts Centre’s The Big Story.