Holding the Man (play)


Holding the Man is a stage adaptation by Tommy Murphy of Tim Conigrave's memoir of the same title. It is one of the most successful Australian plays of recent times and the winner of multiple awards. It premiered in Sydney, and then across Australia, as well as internationally-on London's West End and in Los Angeles.

Productions

The original production, directed by David Berthold, premiered in 2006 in a critically acclaimed, sold-out season at Sydney's Griffin Theatre Company, Australia's leading new writing theatre, and became the company's highest-grossing production in its 30-year history.
The production played six, highly successful seasons in various theatres around Australia:
The production was remounted at La Boite Theatre Company with a new cast, 16 February – 9 March 2013.

West End (London) season

This original Australian production was recreated in London’s West End for a limited season from 23 April to 3 July 2010. The cast included Jane Turner,, and Simon Burke. David Berthold directed and Brian Thomson designed the sets, with costumes and puppets by Micka Agosta. The Trafalgar Studios season was produced by Daniel Sparrow and Mike Walsh, Matthew Henderson and Suzie Franke, Benjamin Jones and Neil Gooding Productions

Other productions

The North American premiere of Holding the Man was staged by San Francisco's New Conservatory Theater Center, 21 September – 4 November 2007.
A New Zealand production was produced by Silo Theatre from 7–29 August 2009, directed by Shane Bosher.
The State Theatre Company of South Australia production ran from 21 October – 13 November 2011 at the Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre, directed by Rosalba Clemente and starring Nic English, Luke Clayson, Catherine Fitzgerald, Nick Pelomis, Geoff Revell and Ellen Steele. It was designed by Morag Cook, composed by Stuart Day, with lighting design by Mark Shelton and puppets created by Stephanie Fisher.
In 2019, Holding The Man was presented for the first time in New York as a benefit reading for Gay Men's Health Crisis starring Greg Ramsey and Charlie Munday directed by Andrew Victor Myers and Morgan Bartholick.

Los Angeles season

The Australian Theatre Company presented their production in Los Angeles in May/June 2014 at The Matrix Theater with Larry Moss directing. The production was met with much fanfare with a launch hosted by the Australian Consul General in Los Angeles. The cast featured Nate Jones, Adam J. Yeend, Cameron Daddo, and Roxane Wilson and was very well received by US critics citing Moss' direction, Murphy's writing and the performances of the cast, particularly the two leads.

Publication

The stage version was published by Currency Press in November 2006 in a double volume with another play by Murphy, Strangers in Between. A new edition of the play was published in April 2010 by Nick Hern Books in the UK to coincide with the London season of the production.

Creative teams

Original Australian creative team

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