Noni Hazlehurst, a beloved Australian icon of stage and screen, takes the stage once more in ‘The Lark’, an original show written by Daniel Keene and directed by Matt Scholten.
The one woman show centres on Rose as she says goodbye to The Lark, a small inner-city pub in Melbourne. Raised there by her father, Rose struggles with the imminent demolition of the building that’s housed her whole life, the walls filled with memories both bitter and sweet. Now in her 70s, she feels bound to The Lark and trapped in her past, desperate to break free.
As Rose prepares to farewell the home that shaped her, audiences are invited into an intimate, deeply personal story about memory, loss and the difficulty of letting go.
Through Rose’s memories and reflections, ‘The Lark’ explores the people and places that stay with us long after they’re gone, and asks what happens when the foundations of our past begin to disappear.
“Daniel always writes about people who slip through the cracks, people that don’t necessarily get a spotlight shone on them,” Hazlehurst shared.
“What appeals to me is that his characters are ordinary and vulnerable, and all of us are ordinary and vulnerable, but a lot of us spend a lot of time and energy pretending that we’re not.”
After a 10 year stint touring the critically acclaimed show ‘Mother’, Hazlehurst’s legacy on the stage is far from over.
“We were commissioned to do another production because ‘Mother’ went so well,” Hazlehurst said, “so Daniel went away and came up with a completely new concept, ‘The Lark’.”
This being the second one woman show written for her, Hazlehurst’s love for the stage was home grown, as her family performed exclusively on the stage, with her a fourth generation performer.
“I just love the human to human interaction. It’s the last art form that is direct from one human being to another that doesn’t come filtered through someone else’s interpretation,” she said.
The direct connection between performer and artists is at the heart of ‘The Lark’.
With Hazlehurst alone on stage, the show relies on the power of storytelling, and Hazlehurst’s ability to bring Rose’s world to life. The role allows audiences to sit beside a woman confronting grief, the passage of time, and her complicated relationship with the place she calls home.
Hazlehurst’s talents stretch far beyond the days of ‘Play School’ and ‘Better Homes and Gardens’.
She excels in providing intimate stage performances, drawing the audience into a deeply human and emotional world, with themes that unite us all. With ‘The Lark’, one of Australia’s most enduring performers once again showcases the power of simple storytelling, told from one person to another.
‘The Lark’ is set to come to Riverside Theatre in Parramatta from September 16-27. Tickets are available online.
Madeline Dantier is the author of the Experience Parramatta series, hosted by Parra News.