ban shakespeare present

Cool Pool Party 2: THE SECOND @ SAINT SOPHIA CHURCH, 411 BOURKE ST SURRY HILLS

Cool Pool Party 2: THE SECOND is a coming-of-age, tilting and unnerving, side-splitting and catastrophic jaunt. Built within the ‘ban shakespeare’ universe with a slew of fresh talent, the production reharmonises starkly with the here-and-now.

Written and directed by Antoinette Barbouttis, Cool Pool Party 2: THE SECOND is a reworked incarnation sequel to the (mostly) unseen Cool Pool Party (Philip Parsons Award, Belvoir 2020). This comedy/drama centres around the death of 17-year-old school captain, all-round legend and swimming champ, Cameron Goddard. The ‘cool group’ of Rosebay Grammar find themselves heavily bereaved on the cusp of the HSC and turn to other worlds for answers. Pushing through a formidable, endless rain, raging hormones unhinge the teen's pacts and earth schisms. When the Puberty Oracle descends on the night of the Year 12 Formal, earth is set for ruin. And true love is the only way to save humanity. But it’s not all that simple.

Meanwhile, a millennial/gen z, acting castaway turned self-appointed "ally" sits quietly in the wings of the stage, his assistant in tow. He proudly steps aside for his drama school peers, knowing all too well that the straight-white-male has no place on the stage in 2022. As his simmering yearning for the spotlight rears, an internal demon begins to manifest...

A Covid lockdown casualty of 2021, Cool Pool Party 2: THE SECOND rises from the ashes in this the reworked pinnacle for 2022. A new cast takes to the aptly fit Bondi Bowlo stage ushering the audience on a theatrical cruise through the dark and comedic, titillating and disastrous.

*DRINK ON ARRIVAL FOR FULL PRICED TICKET*

Dates & Times

2-6 July

Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 7.30pm

Sunday 6.00pm

Cast
Evan George Confos

Micaela Ellis

Faisal Hamza

Philip Lynch

Charli Lucas

Harry Stacey

Anna Summerhayes

Christy Tran

Ebony Tucker

Fergus Wilson

Sound Design
Daniel Herten

Lighting Design

Eleanor Weller

Dramaturg
Micaela Ellis

trigger warning - course language, discrimination/bigotry, self harm, suicide, death

Run time - approx 95 minutes

Special thanks to Daniel Mackenzie. An additional thank you to the cast and team who worked tirelessly on the show that got canned in 2021.