Black Swan State Theatre Company of Western Australia acknowledges the Whadjuk people of the Nyoongar Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live.

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Assassins

Past Show

16 Jun - 01 Jul

Heath Ledger Theatre

Stephen Sondheim's multiple Tony Award-winning theatrical tour-de-force.

Assassins

“… begins with an invitation to “C’mon and shoot a president” and then goes considerably further.” New York Times

Building on Black Swan’s success in presenting contemporary musical works (Next to Normal, Clinton: The Musical), comes the multiple Tony Award-winning theatrical tour-de-force, Assassins.

In a fairground, a rogue’s gallery of nine misfits gather. The Proprietor of the game entices them to play, promising that their problems will be solved by killing a President of the United States, with the song “Everybody’s Got the Right”. A revue-style portrayal follows of the many and varied ways that each of the men and women have committed (or attempted to commit) the ultimate crime. It is a highly entertaining diorama of America’s cult of celebrity through the ages and the means that some have used to obtain it.

Sondheim (Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd) is considered a ‘titan of musical theatre’. This work personifies his signature blend of intelligently stunning lyrics and beautiful music, embracing a range of American musical traditions from the 1860s to the 1980s, from marches to spirituals, to folk and rock. Bold, original and alarmingly funny, Assassins is a timely reminder that those in power ignore the marginalised in society at their peril.

Assassins is based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr.

Playwrights Horizons, Inc. – New York City produced ASSASSINS Oﬀ-Broadway in 1990. Licensed exclusively by Music Theatre International (Australasia). All performance materials supplied by Hal Leonard Australia.

Dates

16 Jun - 01 Jul

Venue

Heath Ledger Theatre

Duration

1 hour 35 minutes (no interval)

Content Warning

Contains Adult themes, coarse language, sex & drug references, smoking on stage, strobe/flashes, simulated executions and gun violence