Perth Fringe Production 2015
The King and Me played at the Velvet Lounge (capacity 90) as part of the Perth Fringe festival from Feb 17 through to Feb 22 2015. Every performance of the show was sold out.
“Imagine if, in your darkest hour, Elvis Presley turned up at your door and helped you believe in yourself. That’s the core of The King and Me,” says Warner.
The genesis of the play came when Dave’s friend, the actor Shane McNamara, asked him to write a piece in which he could perform Elvis songs. Dave and Shane had worked together in Dave’s first musicals Sixties and All That Pop and Planet Pres. “Shane does a wonderful Sad-Sack, middle-aged loser, so I developed a character (Craig) who’s a cabaret performer going nowhere except down. Yet he still loves music; some part of him still burns to be a performer and a creator like his idol Elvis Presley.”
DIRECTOR
Emily McLean
CAST
Craig Nelson – Dave Warner
Elvira – Caitlin Beresford-Ord
MUSICIANS
Sam Musca
Martin Cilia also played with Sam on Feb 17, 18 & 22
Emily McLean
Emily McLean trained at WAAPA and is a founding member of Red Ryder Theatre Company. She has directed for Black Swan State Theatre Company, Perth Theatre Company, Deckchair Theatre, Red Ryder, WAAPA, Curtin University, Downstairs at the Maj, Shanghai Lil, Longwood Productions, Little y and the Moxie Collective.
In 2013, Emily was Assistant Director on Other Desert Cities and Shrine for Black Swan and, in 2014, is a Resident Artist for Black Swan and directed the world premiere of Dust by Suzie Miller. In the last eight years she has directed ten new Australian works. Emily won the Perth Equity Award for directing in 2006, for Dealer’s Choice, and in 2007 for TheMozart Faction.
Writer/composer/performer: Dave Warner
An award winning novelist and songwriter, Dave Warner has written for all arms of popular entertainment. His feature films include Cut, starring Molly Ringwald and Kylie Minogue, and Garage Days for I Robot director, Alex Proyas.
Dave has written for many TV shows including Packed to the Rafters, Rescue Special Ops, Wild Boys, McLeod’s Daughters and Sea Patrol. He is also a popular author having written six non-fiction books as well as number of adult and children’s novels. Dave won the WA Premier’s Award for his novel City of Light. His new crime novel Before it Breaks will be published in June 2015.
As well as a working behind the scene as a writer Dave has worked in the trenches as a performer. Dave began his creative life as a musician/songwriter, most notably with his ground-breaking band Dave Warner’s From the Suburbs. Bob Dylan once nominated Dave as his favourite Australian songwriter and Dave was awarded the RAM songwriter of the year in 1978. Dave has recorded nine albums of original material including the gold record Mugs Game.
Dave’s other plays include Sixties and All That Pop (1983) Planet Pres (aka Blast 1085) and Crash (1987). He has also done stand-up and sketch comedy, on-screen acting, and been a radio commentator for the Sydney Swans.