Stop wanting to be different.

About

Lette thinks he’s normal.  But he’s wrong.  His personal marketability is dire and his wife thinks he’s unspeakably ugly.  Banned from presenting his newly invented plug at a Swiss convention, the mild-mannered Lette takes matters into his own hands with some transformative aesthetic surgery.

The operation is a raging success – after the bandages come off women want him, men want to be him and the surgeon’s even thinking of cloning him.  It’s not long, though, before Lette learns there might be such a thing as too beautiful.

Marius Von Mayenburg (Moving Target, Eldorado,The Cold Child), one of Germany’s finest writers, brings you a pitch perfect black comedy and scalpel-sharp social satire about identity and contemporary narcissism.

A modern day allegory that asks the question – how far would you go to fit in?

An Arts Radar and Griffin Independent Sydney Premiere Production

 

Cast & Creatives

Translated by Maja Zade
Director Sarah Giles
Designer Michael Hankin
Lighting Designer Tom Willis
Sound Designer Caitlin Porter
With Jacinta Acevski, Gig Clarke, Eden Falk, Jo Turner

 

Performance Times

PERFORMANCE DATES
Previews 23, 24 November
Season 26 November – 17 December

PERFORMANCE TIMES
Monday – Saturday 7pm
Saturday Matinee 17 December 2pm

RUN TIME
55 minutes, no interval

Reviews

‘Your assessment of Falk’s face seems to change purely based on the reactions of his fellow cast members. It shows not only how clever this play is, and how well staged it is here, but also how susceptible we all are to this kind of surface judgment’. Sydney Morning Herald

It’s a terrific ride, and you won’t be bored for a second.’ Time Out

‘The Ugly One… isn’t so ugly, it’s rather perfect’. Alt Media Group

‘The subsequent confusion and upset is absurd enough that you don’t feel bad about it, but hits close enough to home that feeling bad about not feeling worse comes into effect’  Concrete Playground

‘Marius von Mayenburg has written a play that’s both funny and sad and which says a lot that’s serious and seriously silly about contemporary western society.’ Stage Noise

‘Sarah Giles has directed a tight, caustic production that leaves a lasting impression (or possibly a scar).’ Australian Stage

Press

‘What is it about the 2007 German play The Ugly One that has seen three major theatre companies across Australia separately mount productions of the work this year alone?’ The Daily Telegraph

‘How will Falk pull off the two vastly different looks in German playwright Marius von Maybenburg’s play?’ Sydney Star Observer

‘Director Sarah Giles is staging another contemporary German play through Griffin’s Independent Theatre arm following up from the highly successful run of The Pigeons last year.’ Alternative Media Group

‘If you’re a good-looking person you’ll get the front-of-house job at KFC; if you’re not so attractive you’ll be on the deep fryer. It’s this foul, bitter truth about life’. SX