Cast7-17 October

Bille Brown Studio, The Greenhouse

Naomi Price, Original ArrangementsJason McGregor andMichael Manikus

Naomi Price and Vocal ArrangementsLuke Kennedy

Jason McGregor Musical Director/Guitars

Jason Glenwright Lighting Designer

Jamie Taylor Production Manager/Audio Engineer

Naomi Price Adele

Mik Easterman Drums

Rachel Everett-Jones, VocalsLuke Kennedy andTom Oliver

Andrew Johnson Bass

Michael Manikus Piano

Rumour Has It will run for approximately 120 minutes, including a 20-minute interval.

Follow this play facebook.com/qldtheatreco twitter.com/qldtheatreco #qtcadele Instagram.com/qldtheatrecoCover Photography: Dylan Evans

Warning: Coarse language and adult themes. Recommended 15 years and over.

Recycle this programSupport Greening QTC and recycle this program after the performance in the recycling bins provided in the foyer. Read the program before the show at queenslandtheatre.com.au

Created by Adam Brunes and Naomi Price

Queensland Theatre Company presents the little red company production

S U P P O R T E R

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Dear Patron, Supporter and Friends,

Welcome to DIVA: Rumour Has It

A diva is a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, and by extension in theatre, cinema and popular music, and Naomi Price is such a woman.

Naomi Price lives the diva life, jetting around the country performing and giving her all. But before she was a household name performing for us on our television screens, she was giving her all on the stages of Brisbane. Whether it was Gloria or her shows about other divas like Adele and Miley Cyrus or strutting her talents in hit musicals, Naomi has been on our lips as a woman to watch.

It was hard to keep our lips sealed when we had to move this season of Rumour Has It, we couldn’t tell you about the impending TV appearance but Naomi is worth waiting for. Her talent as a performer/singer/actor is peerless and

these shows that she and her writing partner Adam Brunes create are witty, charming and very naughty at times.

This is the last in our DIVA series and it has been a pleasure to watch these great women standing up centre stage and commanding our attention. Some of the other activities you may have missed in the DIVA Series included a set of commissions and developments with women artists from Queensland. Keep an eye out for an avalanche of writings from women in the near future.

Please enjoy DIVA: Rumour Has It.

Love

Wesley.

Wesley Enoch, Artistic Director

P.S. If you love Naomi in Rumour Has It, come along to Ladies in Black in November where she will be belting out songs written by superstar Tim Finn (Split Enz, Crowded House).

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The exploration of celebrity is key to the little red company’s original cabaret work. In a recent mentoring session with Ricky Martin during filming for The Voice Australia, Ricky and Naomi talked fantasy and reality and the Latino superstar remarked that a person’s truest character emerges when they go home at night and shut the door. Coincidentally, it was this exact notion that inspired Rumour Has It when we first penned the original production in 2012.

Neither of us can be certain exactly when our Adele came to life. We presume it was over a bottle of gin on Naomi’s back deck in the early hours of a Sunday morning, but we can’t be sure. While the when remains somewhat of a blur, the why is clear to this day: after years producing, promoting, crewing and appearing in other people’s productions, we wanted to create something special of our own. Naomi longed to return to her music theatre roots after a year of in-schools touring and Adam was desperate to

see his favourite leading lady back in the spotlight - where she undeniably belongs.

In its infancy, Rumour Has It was a complete send-up. It began as a short stand-up act in September 2012 when Naomi, sporting Adele’s signature red up-do and black lace with a pillow stuff down her skirt, emerged as ‘Adele’ for the first time - swearing and swigging her way through a 15-minute set that included major hits Rolling in the Deep and Naomi’s now-signature megamix version of Someone Like You. Over the years, and with countless iterations around the country, the production has matured into something we are immensely proud of.

It’s a great joy and a privilege to bring Rumour Has It back to Brisbane for its fourth home season in this new version for Queensland Theatre Company. We liken revisiting this work to putting on your favourite pair of jeans: it’s tried and tested, and in it we feel like we can conquer the world.

Adam Brunes and Naomi Price

It takes an army to create a one-woman show and we sincerely thank all the brilliant artists, past and present, who have been part of this crazy ride. Thanks also to our beautiful audiences who have championed the little red company’s work for three years and counting. In particular, special thanks to all of you who originally booked tickets to see Rumour Has It here at QTC in July and waited ever so patiently while Naomi powered through to the Live Finals with Team Ricky on The Voice Australia. How lovely it is to be back home with you all.

Adam & Naomi

Connect with the little red company

Facebook: the little red company

Instagram: @thelittleredco

Twitter: @thelittleredco

www.thelittleredcompany.com

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Adam Brunes and Naomi Price

Queensland Theatre Company: Debut. Other Credits: As Writer: the little red company: Rumour Has It, Wrecking Ball. Television: As Digital Producer: Big Brother Australia 2013, Big Brother Australia 2014. Positions: La Boite Theatre Company: Marketing & PR Manager; Expressions Dance Company: Communications Manager; Endemol Australia: Digital Producer. Awards: Matilda Award – Best Musical or Cabaret Rumour Has It: Sixty Minutes Inside Adele. Training: Bachelor of Journalism, Queensland University of Technology.

Queensland Theatre Company: Gloria. Other Credits: the little red company: Rumour Has It, Wrecking Ball, A Time For Us; Queensland Music Festival: One Hundred and One Years; RedChair/Judith Wright Centre: Women In Voice 20; La Boite Theatre Company/Matrix Theatre: The Wishing Well; Harbour Agency/QLive: The Class of 69; shake & stir theatre company: Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Bard to the Bone, Chop Logic, Tragic Magic, Vacant, Say It To My Facebook;

AdamBrunesWRITER

Queensland Pops Orchestra: Chartbusters 2; Echelon Productions: Jungle Bungle; Alstar Productions: Elvis To the Max; Oscar Theatre Company: The Last Five Years; Harvest Rain Theatre Company: Jesus Christ Superstar, Still Hurting, Songs For a New World, Scott Alan: Live in Melbourne, The Awfully Big Adventures of Peter Pan, Divas, Alice, Children of Eden, Into the Woods, Little Shop of Horrors, Big Black Box; Schonell Productions: Rent, Tell Me On a Sunday; Brisbane Powerhouse/QUT: Tashi Stories. Television: The Voice Australia 2015, Creative Generation, Carols in the City, NRA Fashion Awards. Awards: Matilda Award – Best Musical or Cabaret Rumour Has It: Sixty Minutes Inside Adele. Training: Bachelor of Creative Industries (Drama), Queensland University of Technology.

Queensland Theatre Company: 2015 Season Launch. Other Credits: the little red company: Rumour Has It, Wrecking Ball, Luke Kennedy - A Time For Us, Off the Record. Live: Adam Brand, Luke Kennedy, Naomi Price, Tommy Emmanuel, Paulini, Matt Cornell, Mark Sholtez. Bands: The Lamplights. Awards: National Finger Styling Champion of Australia. Training: Bachelor of Music, Queensland University of Technology.

Queensland Theatre Company: As Lighting Designer: Country Song, Argus (co-production with Dead Puppet Society), I Want to Know What Love Is (co-production with The Good Room), A Tribute of Sorts (co-production with Monsters Appear), The Removalists, Faustus (co-production with Bell Shakespeare), Water Falling Down, The Little Dog Laughed, Thom Pain (based on nothing). Other Credits: the little red company: Rumour Has It, Wrecking Ball, How to Make Snow; Griffin Theatre Company: A Hoax (co-production with La Boite Theatre Company); La Boite Theatre Company: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Pale Blue Dot, Ruben Guthrie, Julius Caesar, The Kursk; Expressions Dance Company: While Others Sleep; shake & stir theatre company: Dracula, Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, The Tempest, Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes and Dirty Beasts, Tequila Mockingbird, Out Damn Snot, 1984, Animal Farm; Queensland Music Festival: Drag QueensLand; Harvest Rain Theatre Company: Cats (Arena Spectacular), Guys and Dolls, Blood Brothers, Oklahoma!, The Wizard of Oz, Hairspray, Grease, Jesus Christ Superstar, Songs For A New World, The Secret Story of Cinderella, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Awfully Big Adventures of Peter Pan, The Sound of Music, A Midsummer

JasonMcGregor MUSIC DIRECTOR/GUITARS

JasonGlenwrightLIGHTING DESIGNER

NaomiPriceADELE/WRITER

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Night’s Dream; JUTE: Is My Lipstick on Straight, Stewed, Delirium, Soph and the Real World, At Sea Staring Up, The Shining Path, Cake; Gardens Theatre: Gaijin; Zen Zen Zo: Therese Raquin, The Tempest; La Boite Indie: The Truth About Kookaburras, My Name Is Rachel Corrie, Blackbird; Metro Arts: De Profundis, Dead Cargo, Trolley Boys, Tender, The Pillowman, My Night With Harold, Bronte; Queensland Conservatorium: Hansel & Gretel the Opera, Working the Musical, Into the Woods, Hair, Miss Saigon, Carousel, Elegies for Angels Punks and Raging Queens, Fiddler on the Roof; Goat Track Theatre: Aletheia, The Icarus Chronicles, Crash; Debase: Chasing The Lollyman, Snagged, Popping Lead Balloons; Oscar Theatre Company: Boy & Girl, Next to Normal, [title of show], The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Positions: Queensland Theatre Company Emerging Artist 2010. Awards: Gold Matilda – Body of Work (Lighting Designer) – 2013. Groundling Awards - Best Lighting Design 2010, 2012 and 2013. Del Arte Awards – Best Lighting 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014. Training: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical Production), Queensland University of Technology; Broadway Live Design Lighting Masterclass.

Queensland Theatre Company: Debut. Other Credits: the little red company: Rumour

Has It, Wrecking Ball, Luke Kennedy - A Time For Us, Off the Record; APAM: 2014 Venue Manager; Raw Dance Company: Untapped, Project X, Urban Wonderland; Artour: Earth’s Dinosaur Petting Zoo, Gene Peterson Live, Rain in the Mountains. As Audio Engineer: The Ten Tenors, Ian Moss, Luke Kennedy, Diesel, Wendy Matthews, All Time Low, Mark Seymour, LORD, The Living End, Eskimo Joe, Mental As Anything, Tina Cousins, Ja Rule, Chingy, Kelly Black, Arcane, Raw Dance Company, Human Nature, Paulini, Courtney Act, Dragon, Thirsty Merc, The Choirboys, James Morrison, Renee Geyer, Jess Mauboy, Stan Walker, Justice Crew, Andrew Wishart, Jimeoin, Merrick Watts, Spiderbait, Grinspoon, Jon English, Prinnie Stevens. Television: Rock Eisteddfod, NRA Fashion Awards.

Queensland Theatre Company: Debut. Other Credits: the little red company: Rumour Has It, Wrecking Ball, Luke Kennedy - A Time For Us; QPAC: Painted From Memory – The Music of Bacharach and Costello; Gooding Productions: The Divine Miss Bette; Queensland Cabaret Festival: Blur - The Songs Of Ellen Reed. Bands: The Lamplights, Lytwynsky. Television: Hey Hey It’s Saturday, Mushroom 25th Anniversary Concert, Recovery. Recordings: The Lamplights – What Love Is, Luke Kennedy – O Holy Night, Dawn – The

Spinning Jenny. Awards: 2011 Australian Songwriter Association Awards – Folk/Acoustic.

Queensland Theatre Company: iWar (co-production with The Danger Ensemble). Other Credits: the little red company: Rumour Has It, Luke Kennedy - A Time For Us, Off The Record; PeeWee Productions: Jesus Christ Superstar (Arena Spectacular); The Ten Tenors: Double Platinum World Tour, Nostalgica World Tour, Here’s To The Heroes World Tour; Oscar Theatre Company: The Last Five Years; Harvest Rain Theatre Company: Jesus Christ Superstar, Songs For a New World, Scott Alan: Live in Melbourne, Alice, Children of Eden, Disney’s Beauty and The Beast, The Wiz. Television: The Great South East, The Voice Australia 2013 (Runner Up), The Morning Show, The Today Show, Creative Generation, Vision Australia Carols By Candlelight, Carols in the City. With The Ten Tenors: Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, Channel 7 Perth Telethon, Sunrise, Emirates Melbourne Cup, Vision Australia Carols By Candlelight.

JamieTaylor PRODUCTION MANAGER/AUDIO ENGINEER

MikEasterman

DRUMS

LukeKennedy VOCALS

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Queensland Theatre Company: Debut. Other Credits: the little red company: Rumour Has It, Wrecking Ball, Luke Kennedy - A Time For Us. Live: Emily Williams, Paramore, Luke Kennedy, Gary Pinto, Bec Laughton, Noah Slee, Dave Dow & the Orbits, Angie Narayan, The Pressure, Gospel Inc, Back To Black, Jeremy O’Connor Gospel Band, Rush Band, Hamilton Band. Studio: Luke Kennedy, Bec Laughton, Dave Dow & Orbits, Gospel Inc, Back To Black.

Queensland Theatre Company: The Land Mine Is Me. Other Credits: the little red company: Rumour Has It; Blake Entertainment: Rolling Thunder Vietnam (National Tour); Oscar Theatre Company: Spring Awakening, Next to Normal; shake & stir theatre company: Romeo & Juliet (Queensland Tour); Smile Entertainment: Thomas & the Hidden Treasure (Australasian Tour); Harvest Rain: Into the Woods, Pirates of Penzance, Grease; The Human Company: The Empty City; Opera Queensland: Dirty Apple. Television: The Voice Australia 2014, The Today Show.

Queensland Theatre Company: Debut. Other Credits: the little red company: Rumour Has It, Wrecking Ball. Musicals: The Lion King, Wicked, Mary Poppins, Avenue Q, Miss Saigon, Legally Blonde, Mamma Mia, Dirty Dancing, Anything Goes, Grease, Annie, Dusty, The Mikado, Glamalot. Cabaret: Rhonda Burchmore – Vinyl Viagra, Melinda Schneider - Doris Day, Debbie Byrne, Bob Downe, The Rat Pack’s Back. Live: Luke Kennedy, James Morrison Funk and Soul Band, Kate Ceberano, Doug Parkinson, David Campbell, Blackwood and the Queensland Ballet – Cloudland, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra, Queensland Pops Orchestra, Glen Shorrock, Donny Ray Evins, Bobby Rydell, The View From Madeleine’s Couch, Shannon Marshall, Calabash, Melissa Western, Josh Boyd. Studio: Mark Sholtez, Luke Kennedy, Steven Jaymes, Steve Irwin, Bindi Irwin, Josh Lovegrove, Blackwood, Francesca De Valence, Adam Lopez, Yves Klein Blue, Stacey Broughton, Brad Butcher, Shifter, Shutterspeed, Jambezi, Amanda Halloran, Lance Friend, Nightingale Floor (www.forests4orangutans.org/). Commercial: Toyota, Suncorp, Gold Lotto, Seaworld, Movieworld, Revitive and more. Training: Bachelor of Music (Hons), The University of Queensland.

Queensland Theatre Company: Debut. Other Credits: the little red company: Rumour Has It, Wrecking Ball, Luke Kennedy - A Time For Us, Off the Record; The Ten Tenors: Here’s to the Heroes World Tour, Radio Hamburg Awards Live at the Colorline Arena 2003, The Governor’s Ball Emmy Awards Dinner 2004, An Evening with John Barry Live at Royal Albert Hall, EUFA Euro 2012 Football Championships. Live: Mirusia Louwerse, Luke Kennedy, Naomi Price, Busby Marou, Catherine Alcorn. Recordings: The Ten Tenors: Live in Hamburg, Here’s to the Heroes. Television: Eurovision 2004, Wetten Das, Vie Stehen Sie Spass, Creative Generation. Awards: Golden Key National Honour Society, Margate Nickson Accompanying Prize. Training: Bachelor of Music Performance (Classical Piano), Queensland Conservatorium of Music

RachelEverett-Jones

VOCALS

TomOliver

VOCALS

AndrewJohnson

BASS

MichaelManikus

PIANO

© The State of Queensland

(Queensland Theatre Company) 2015

Disclaimer: Every endeavour has been made

to ensure that the contents of this brochure

are correct at the time of printing.

However, things can change. Queensland

Theatre Company reserves the right to vary

advertised programs and to add, withdraw or

substitute artists as necessary.

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Rumour Has It Production Staff

Costuming:Nathalie Ryner, Leigh BuchananWigs:Rebecca Hubbard (Dextress Hair)Floor Electrician:Lilith TremmeryProduction Secondment:Rose Windley

AcknowledgementsOriginally produced in association with the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts.

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COMING SOON TO THE PLAYHOUSE

17 OCT – 8 NOV

25 FEB - 5 MAR

BY KATE GRENVILLE AN ADAPTATION FOR THE STAGE BY ANDREW BOVELL

QUEENSLAND THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS A SYDNEY THEATRE COMPANY PRODUCTION

14 NOV – 6 DEC

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