The Waiting Room
Description
WORLD PREMIERE
The Waiting Room is a thoughtful comedy by Mike Bullen, the BAFTA award-winning writer of Cold Feet and North Shore. With laugh-out-loud black humour, it looks at life, death and the joy and pain of being part of a family.
70-year-old widower Frank is dying, surrounded by his nearest and dearest. Well, perhaps not dearest. His four adult offspring come from near and far to be at his bedside as he slips out of this life and into… whatever’s next. Frank is a silent witness as he lies in a coma at home, the house in which he and his wife raised their kids, and which will form the lion’s share of his estate when he dies. Will Frank’s death bring the siblings closer together, or could the terms of his will tear them apart?
NoBAD is an independent theatre company and Not For Profit group based in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. With a wealth of creative people in the community, our vision is to unite both experienced professionals and emerging artists to produce exciting and innovative theatre. The Waiting Room features a seasoned cast, with resumes spanning Hollywood movies, American and Australian TV, and the Australian stage.
Lineup
Cast Bio's
Julian Pulvermacher plays dying family patriarch, Frank Whitby. A veteran of stage and screen, Julian’s many credits include the movie, Superman Returns, TV shows such as Wolf Creek and Rake, and, on stage, Chekhov’s The Seagull. Raelee Hill is Frank’s eldest child, Jan, who’s devoted the last decade (she would have you believe) to caring for her ailing parents. Raelee was a regular on Water Rats, Neighbours and Farscape. More recently she has appeared in the movies Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway and Long Road To Heaven. Gillian Alexy plays Meg, who hurries home from LA to be at her dying father’s bedside. Gillian will be familiar to fans of McLeod’s Daughters, in which she played Tayler Geddes. She worked for many years in the US on TV shows including Damages, Outsiders, and NCIS: Los Angeles. Chris Sadrinna is Frank’s brash older son Larry, whose business dealings are as messy as his love life. Chris appeared in 198 episodes of Home and Away as heartthrob Brad Armstrong. His other TV and film work includes X Men Origins: Wolverine, Underbelly, All Saints and Water Rats. Milan Pulvermacher plays Frank’s youngest son, Carl, approaching forty but still the baby of the family. Milan’s film work includes Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge and Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. His TV credits include Blue Murder: Killer Cop, Rake and Catching Milat. Patrick James plays Meg’s ex-husband, Nathan. Patrick starred as drag queen Wilma Bumhurt in 64 episodes of The Horizon. An AACTA award winning producer for Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt), his producing credits also include the 2023 movie, The Rooster, starring Hugo Weaving. Cassandra Magrath is Carl’s long-suffering wife, Nicole. Cassandra is best known for her role as Miranda Gibson in Sea Change. She had a starring role in the hit movie, Wolf Creek. She has also appeared in both Neighbours and Home and Away. Ewa Sliter vel Szreter plays Frank’s live-in carer, Magda. Ewa trained at the National Academy of Dramatic Arts in Krakow, Poland. Besides film and TV, she has acted on stage in Waiting For Godot, Measure For Measure and The Seagull.
Director Bio
The Waiting Room is written and directed by Mike Bullen. Mike is best known as the writer of the TV series, Cold Feet, which ran for 9 series in the UK and for which he won a BAFTA award. Other TV shows he’s created include Life Begins and North Shore. The Waiting Room is his first play.
FAQs
- Is there allocated seating?
No - tickets are general admission only. Please arrive early to secure your seat. Doors open at 6.30pm for the 7.30pm evening shows and 2pm for the 3pm matinee show. Our pop-up refreshment bar will be open at these times.
- Is there an interval?
No - the running time is approximately 90 minutes, with no interval.
- Are there any content warnings?
The Waiting Room includes coarse language, sexual themes and references to suicide.
- Is there a discount for group bookings?
Yes! For groups of 8 or more, a discount of 15% will be applied to your cart at checkout.
- Can I purchase food and beverages?
Yes! A small selection of snacks and alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase at our pop-up refreshment bar prior to the show.
- What about public transport & parking?
The Mona Vale Performance space is centrally located in the Mona Vale shopping village and a short walk to/from the B-line bus terminal for city connections. Time-limited parking is available in the Bungan Court carpark at 13-17 Waratah St, the Woolworths carpark at 25-Park St, The Gateway Centre on Bungan Lane and Pittwater Place on Park St.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
