Choir Boy

★★★★★ “Choir Boy delivers in every single way.” – Time Out
★★★★½ “[Darron] Hayes is a force to be reckoned with” – Theatre Thoughts
★★★★ “Hayes is a livewire Pharus: funny and sassy” – Sydney Morning Herald
★★★★ “It’s a privilege to see an international and local cast of this calibre come together. All deliver nuanced performances“. – Limelight
★★★★ “Hayes finds that aware self-discipline in a stunning performance that reaches into the hearts of the audience” – Stage Whispers
★★★★ “A poignant work of theatre “- Suzy Go See
“a heart wrenching gut punch of a powerhouse work of masterful theatre – so carefully crafted and performed with such passion, it is not hard to see why audiences are flocking to see this production.” – Arts Review
★★★★  “Darron Hayes, is an effervescent, superbly engaging lead. He’s complemented by brilliant supporting players” – Arts Hub

Riverside’s National Theatre of Parramatta
in association with Sydney World Pride present
CHOIR BOY
By Tarell Alvin McCraney
Directed by Dino Dimitriadis and Zindzi Okenyo

Written by Oscar-winner Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight) this Tony-nominated play – threaded throughout with soul-stirring a cappella gospel hymns – is the story of a young gay black man and his battle between identity and community. Riverside’s National Theatre of Parramatta presents the Australian Premiere of this gripping story at Riverside Theatres from February 2023.

Determined to make his mark, Pharus Young is hell-bent on being the best choir leader in the 50 year history of Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys. In a world built on dusty rites and rituals, how can he maintain his shine while trying to conform to masculine expectations and gain the respect of the choristers he leads?

Directors Dino Dimitriadis (Overflow, Cleansed) and Zindzi Okenyo (seven methods of killing kylie jenner, Orange Thrower) lead a sensational Australian and International team, presenting Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney’s (Moonlight) delicate, brutal script. Music Direction by Allen René Louis (Broadway Inspirational Voices) blends the language of high school hallways with the soulful sounds of gospel for an unforgettable night at the theatre.

Additional show info: This production includes

Simulated violence, coarse language, homophobic slurs, racial slurs, partial nudity, sexual references, and haze.

– please contact our box office if you would like to discuss further. 

Choir Boy Events

Exclusive Q&A with playwright  Tarell Alvin McCraney – Thursday 2 March 8pm
Grab your tickets for our performance of Choir Boy on Thursday 2 March that will include an exclusive Q & A with playwright, Tarell Alvin McCraney and NTofP Executive Producer, Joanne Kee. This is a wonderful opportunity to gain insight into the beautiful writing of Choir Boy and ask your burning questions.

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES ON TOUR

PREVIOUS PERFORMANCES 

Tuesday 14 February 2023 at 8pm – Preview
Wednesday 15 February 2023 at 8pm – Preview TRUE WEST YOUTH  night
Thursday 16 February 2023 at 8pm – Preview
Friday 17 February 2023 at 8pm – Preview CHOIR and INDUSTRY evening
Saturday 18 February 2023 at 8pm – Opening Night
Wednesday 22 February 2023 at 8pm
Thursday 23 February 2023 at 8pm
Friday 24 February 2023 at 8pm
Saturday 25 February 2023 at 2pm
Saturday 25 February 2023 at 8pm
Tuesday 28 February 2023 at 11am (+ Q&A with cast) – Special Offer
Wednesday 1 March 2023 at 8pm
Thursday 2 March 2023 at 8pm includes access to an exclusive Q&A with playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney
Friday 3 March 2023 at 8pm
Saturday 4 March 2023 at 2pm
Saturday 4 March 2023 at 8pm
Friday 10 March 2023 at 8pm
Saturday 11 March 2023 at 2pm
Saturday 11 March 2023 at 8pm

SCHOOL PERFORMANCES
Tuesday 28 February 2023 at 11am
Tuesday 7 March 2023 at 11am

TARELL ALVIN MCCRANEY
Playwright

Tarell Alvin McCraney is an acclaimed writer. His script In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue is the basis for the Oscar-winning film Moonlight directed by Barry Jenkins, for which McCraney and Jenkins won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.  He wrote the film High Flying Bird which premiered on Netflix directed by Steven Soderbergh.  McCraney’s plays include Ms. Blakk For President (co-written with Tina Landau), The Brother/Sister Plays trilogy, Head Of Passes, Wig Out!, and Choir Boy which was nominated for four Tony Awards.

Tarell is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Grant, the Whiting Award, Steinberg Playwright Award, the Evening Standard Award, the New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award, the Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, the Windham Campbell Award, and a USA Artist Award.

He is currently Chair of Playwriting at Yale School of Drama; an ensemble member at Steppenwolf Theatre Chicago; and a member of Teo Castellanos/D-Projects.

Tarell is the creator of David Makes Man, an original scripted TV series for Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network, produced by Michael B Jordan and Page Fright Productions.

DINO DIMITRIADIS
Director

Dino Dimitriadis (they/them) is an award winning theatre director, creative producer and curator. Their recent directing credits include Cleansed, Lady Tabouli, De Profundis with Paul Capsis, Omar and Dawn, multi-award-winning productions of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America Parts I & II and Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, All My Sleep and Waking, Doubt and The Girl / The Woman. They founded Apocalypse (2009-2021), an independent engine room for responsive theatre and live art projects.

With an interest in original, queer and intersectional work, producing and curatorial credits include: Liveworks Festival of Experimental Art (Festival and Program Producer, Performance Space), Executive Producer The Old Fitz Theatre, Curator Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Creative Producer Queer Contemporary at National Art School, Curator Queer Sydney for Vivid X Powehouse Museum, Festival Producer The Sydney Fringe. Dino has worked extensively on the development of new Australian work, for both Playwriting Australia and Griffin Theatre Company. Dino has co-created a queer series for television, currently in development with Arcadia Films.

ZINDZI OKENYO
Director

Soon after graduating from NIDA in 2006 Zindzi was cast in THE VERTICAL HOUR and THE CRUCIBLE  for Sydney Theatre Company and SCORCHED for Company B Belvoir. From 2009 to 2011 she was a member of the Residents Company at STC. In 2012 Zindzi toured Europe and USA with A HISTORY OF EVERYTHING and began as a presenter on ABC’s PLAYSCHOOL. In 2013 Zindzi won a Best Female Performer Award for her role in STCSA’s RANDOM. She has performed for Griffin in ORANGE THROWER, MASQUERADE and THE GIRL IN TAN BOOTS. For STC: GRAND HORIZONS, THE GOLDEN AGE, BOYS WILL BE BOYS, A HISTORY OF EVERYTHING, MONEY SHOTS, BEFORE/AFTER, BLOOD WEDDING, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, THE ORESTEIA, VS MACBETH, THE CRUCIBLE, THE MYSTERIES: GENESIS, THE VERTICAL HOUR. For Melbourne Theatre Company: AN IDEAL HUSBAND, DISGRACED, Belvoir: PRIZE FIGHTER, LA TRAVIATA, SCORCHED, Bell Shakespeare: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, Ensemble: THE RASPUTIN AFFAIR, GOOD PEOPLE, State Theatre Company of  South Australia: RANDOM,  Darlinghurst: GAYBIES, Theatre Ink: ANGELS IN AMERICA. Most recently Zindzi was Director of ORANGER THROWER at Griffin and Riverside’s National Theatre of Paramatta , Co-Director on Darlinghurst Theatre/Sydney Festival’s highly acclaimed SEVEN METHODS OF KILLING KYLIE JENNER and Assistant Director on DEATH OF A SALESMAN for Sydney Theatre Company. Zindzi is presently an Artistic Associate with Melbourne Theatre Company.

As well as PLAYSCHOOL, Zindzi’s television roles include FISK Series 2, WAKEFIELD, THE CODE, HIDING, JANET KING, HARROW and GET KRACK!N (ABC), WONDERLAND and SISTERS (Network 10), DEADLOCH (Amazon) and THE JUMP (Fremantle /Stan). In feature films she has appeared in Abe Forsythe’s LITTLE MONSTERS and Dean Murphy’s THE VERY EXCELLENT MR DUNDEE.

Zindzi also performs her own music under the name ‘OKENYO’.

Download CHOIR EDUCATION PACK

SCHOOL PERFORMANCES
Tuesday 28 February 2023 at 11am
Tuesday 7 March 2023 at 11am

Additional show info: This production includes

Simulated violence, coarse language, homophobic slurs, racial slurs, partial nudity, sexual references, and haze.

– please contact our box office if you would like to discuss further.