State Educate
State Educate is designed to provide high school students and teachers with the opportunity to see professional live theatre, engage with the artists, creative team and cast involved, and participate in Q&A sessions held only for these shows. We also offer backstage tours, workshops associated with our State Educate productions and specifically tailored workshops to support classroom learning. Engaging with the professionals that you have just seen performing provides an insight to theatre-making that is hard to find elsewhere.
Education resources, videos and activities for individual or classroom use are available on the State Educate Resources page. This page includes both show specific and general resources, addressing topics such as characterisation, theatre terms and playwriting.
If you have any questions, please email education@statetheatrecompany.com.au
Our school booking Terms and Conditions have changed recently, please take the time to read them thoroughly before booking.
About State Educate 2024
State Educate offers a variety of resources for students and teachers to help them get the most out of their theatrical experience, including filmed interviews with the cast and creative team to help gain an insight to the creative and rehearsal process.
The advantages of booking State Educate performances are:
- Daytime performances specifically for high school students. Each play is followed by a Q&A with the cast.
- Detailed study guides with in-depth information on key themes, dramatic style, characters and design elements. Study guides also include assignment questions for continued learning back at school.
- Tours of our annual Education Show to provide access to theatre for students in the wider metropolitan area, rural towns and regional centres.
To book a 2024 State Educate performance for your school, please check the performance availability page and complete the 2024 State Educate Booking Form.
If you have any questions, please email education@statetheatrecompany.com.au.
2024 State Educate Shows
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SYMPHONIE OF THE BICYCLE
BY HEW PARHAM
Hew Parham writes and stars in Symphonie of the Bicycle, a funny, heartfelt show about cycling and obsession, envy and ambition, winning and losing, and finding the inner grit to dominate the mountain stages of life. Directed by Chris Drummond, this gem of a show weaves together a series of outrageous characters and stories across time and space.
Symphonie of the Bicycle is an absurdly hysterical, yet ultimately moving portrait of the quest for glory and heroism.
Symphonie of the Bicycle and its outer metropolitan and regional tours are proudly presented in collaboration with Brink Productions, Country Arts SA and Education Partner Flinders University.
Guidelines & Content:
Age guide: Year 10 – 12
Run time: Approx. 80 minutes, no interval
Content warnings: Mild coarse language
Curriculum links: Creative Arts, Drama, EnglishSchool performances
Space Theatre
Tuesday May 14 11.00am
Thursday May 16 11.00am
Friday May 17 11.00am
Monday May 20 11.00am
Tuesday May 21 11.00am
Wednesday May 22 11.00amRegional Tour Dates
Matthew Flinders Theatre, Flinders University – May 10th 11am
Maitland Town Hall, Maitland – May 28th 1pm
Lea Theatre, Port Augusta – May 30th 12pm
Nautilus Theatre, Port Lincoln – June 4th 11am
Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre, Mt Gambier – June 12th 1pm
Trinity College, Gawler – June 18th 12:45pm -
THE CHILDREN
BY LUCY KIRKWOOD
The Children is set in an imagined future in a small coastal town in England. The play takes place in the aftermath of a disaster at a nuclear energy facility. Electricity and water are being rationed and an ‘exclusion zone’ has been established within the circumference of the facility.
Centering on the experiences of three retired nuclear scientists in their sixties, The Children grapples with the aftermath of the disaster and delves into the complex questions surrounding their roles in its creation and whether they must also participate in finding a resolution. This thought-provoking play explores themes such as moral responsibility, fidelity, loyalty, survival, and mortality.
Guidelines & Content:
Age guide: Year 11 and 12
Content warnings: Adult themes, mild coarse language, mild sexual references and the use of herbal cigarettes
Run time: Approx 1 hour and 55 minutes, no interval
Curriculum links: Creative Arts, Drama Stage 1 and 2, English Stage 1 and 2School performances
Dunstan Playhouse
Thursday 8 February 11:00am -
THE QUESTIONS
BY VAN BADHAM (BOOKS & LYRICS)
AND RICHARD WISE (MUSIC & LYRICS)She has a master’s degree in Gender Studies. He thinks Jordan Peterson would make an ideal dinner guest. They both realise this blind date is doomed, but an outside catastrophe and “shelter in place” lockdown order forces these polar opposites into the longest first date ever. And the frustrated rock band rehearsing in the apartment next door is hardly helping them stay calm.
Inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, The Questions is a rom-com edgy play with music. While in lockdown, the characters ask each other the “36 Questions that Lead to Love” a quiz originally crafted by psychologists in the 1990s, said to have the power to ignite love and intimacy between strangers. But are either of them ready for the answers?
Guidelines & Content:
Age guide: Year 11 and 12
Content warnings: Coarse language, adult themes and partial nudity
Run time: Approx 1 hour and 40 minutes, no interval
Curriculum links: Creative Arts, Drama Stage 1 and 2, English Stage 1 and 2,School performances
Space Theatre
Thursday 1 August 11.00am
Wednesday 7 August 11.00am -
JULIA
BY JOANNA MURRAY-SMITH
Julia is an extraordinary new play featuring the remarkable talent of Justine Clarke (Girls & Boys). Here, she steps into the role of former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, delivering an extraordinary performance that captures the essence of the life and career leading up to the iconic ‘misogyny speech.’
In 2012, Australia witnessed an historic moment when its first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, delivered a speech that sent shockwaves around the world. Just over a decade later, one of Australia’s most celebrated and internationally recognized playwrights, Joanna Murray-Smith, masterfully brings the untold human story behind that pivotal speech to the stage.
This production offers an intimate and compelling glimpse into the person beneath the public mask and a reflection on the experience of women in contemporary politics. Combining genuine excerpts from Gillard’s speech with Murray-Smith’s incredible dramatic imagination, Julia is a thrilling coming together of history and art.
Julia is proudly presented in association with our Education Partner the University of Adelaide.
Guidelines & Content:
Age guide: Year 10 – 12
Content warnings: Contains strong language and strobe lighting
Run time: Approx 1 hour and 40 minutes, no interval
Curriculum links: Creative Arts, Drama, English, Politics, Power and People, Women’s StudiesSchool performances
Dunstan Playhouse
Thursday 22 August 11.00am -
JACK MAGGS
BY SAMUEL ADAMSON
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY PETER CAREYThe story follows the enigmatic ex-convict Jack Maggs (Peter Carey’s version of Magwitch) returning to London from Australia and embarking on a relentless quest to find his ‘son’ Henry Phipps. Maggs soon becomes entangled in the web of Phipp’s neighbour, Percy Buckle and his bizarre household, where he makes a deal with young novelist and “mesmerist” Tobias Oates (or is it Charles Dickens himself?) to find Phipps. Oates has other plans though, and in Maggs, might just find the perfect inspiration for his new novel.
Guided by the skilful direction of former Artistic Director Geordie Brookman, Jack Maggs will take audiences on a strange and surprising slither around the Old Dart with a cavalcade of dazzling Dickensian characters all in search of the truth.
Guidelines & Content:
Age guide: Year 10 – 12
Content warnings: Contains some coarse language, and mild sexual references
Run time: TBC
Curriculum links: Creative Arts, Drama, EnglishSchool performances
Dunstan Playhouse
Wednesday 21 November 11.00am
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To book a 2024 State Educate Schools show for your students, please complete the 2024 State Educate Booking Form.
If you have any questions, please email education@statetheatrecompany.com.au or call Education Manager Fiona Lukac on 8415 5307.
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A teacher subscription can range between 4-7 plays, but must include at least four of the 2024 schools shows. Teachers participating in this program will receive a Certificate of Attendance for professional development hours. Contact us when you subscribe online to register, or tick the teacher subscription box on the booking form to choose this package.
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