Wollongong's Phoenix Theatre will give new 3D printed masks a run in their first major production since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
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An adaption of Oscar Wilde's Salome will begina at the Bridge Street theatre on Friday and use around 30 masks - some encrusted with hundreds of crystals - which were create by one of their cast members.
Theatre director Steen said future shows would also utilise masks as part of a "new direction" the theatre was taking, which would also see more locally commissioned works and youth taking to the stage.
The decision to change the theatre's artistic vision sprouted after receiving a cultural grant from Wollongong City Council, for their project called "Introspection".
"We started asking people ... what is it they want from theatre and no-one answered musicals," Steen said.
"It looks like we may have lost our way a little bit ... it turns out our audiences were expecting us to do a little bit more radical and strange."
There'll be no more "kitchen sink dramas", as evident in their upcoming adaption of Ubu Roi which Steen described as "South Park meets MacBeth".
It will be the company's final show of the year with a Donald Trump caricature as MacBeth.
The direction of Salome is equally poised outside the box - though without nudity. However, Steen does admits a traditional dance scene will be "saucy".
"The thing is embracing the weird," he said. "Yeah we are, but we do it better."
Upcoming shows will see the inclusion of more masks, a collaboration with Port Kembla's Tender Funerals for a local work titled Damian's Wake, as well as a youth program which is a "big change" for the company.
"We wanted to do youth theatre that wasn't Disney junior [productions]; they're working on their own scripts," Steen said.
Covid-Safe performances of Salome will run from Friday August 28 August to Saturday September 5, bookings required.
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