“I’m like a chimpanzee because I’m mischievous and I’m stronger than a man.”
Kimberly is a character like no other. She’s powerful, wicked, in control—but she has no voice. So she sets out to find it, leaving a trail of car crashes and crying people in her wake. Then she meets Miles. And she’ll do anything he says.
From engagement parties to team-building weekends to improv comedy, The Feather in the Web is an unpredictable take on infatuation and self-discovery. Skewering our obsession with couples and careers, it asks just how much we’re willing to give (and lose) for love.
Nick Coyle (Hammerhead (Is Dead)) has written a playful, startling and surprisingly hopeful coming-of-age story. It’s part picaresque, part fable—a journey from silence to a full-throated ROAR. Directed by Ben Winspear, this Lysicrates Prize finalist is without a doubt the most inventive play you’ll see all year.
Winner Best Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Mainstage Production, Sydney Theatre Awards, 2018
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Content Warning
This show contains adult themes, and the use of strobe and haze. To discuss in more detail contact Griffin.
This production has been made possible by the generous support of The Girgensohn Foundation
Director Ben Winspear
Designer Sophie Fletcher
Assistant Designer Ella Butler
Composer/Sound Designer Steve Toulmin
Lighting Designer Trent Suidgeest
Video Designer Mic Gruchy
Stage Manager Samuel Johnson
With Tina Bursill, Gareth Davies, Michelle Lim Davidson, Claire Lovering
Preview 5 – 10 October
Opening Nights 11 & 12 October
Season 13 October – 17 November
Performance Times
Monday – Friday 7pm
Saturday 2pm & 7pm
Wednesday 14 November 2pm & 7pm
Meet The Artists
Tuesday 23 October
Captioned Performance
Tuesday 6 November
Run time
1 hour and 50 minutes without interval
[Images by Brett Boardman]
Trailer, The Feather in the Web
Meet the Team, The Feather in the Web
Lee Lewis on The Feather in the Web
Meet the Cast, The Feather in the Web
“Playwright Nick Coyle leads you into a mad tunnel of laughs, that has jokes, slapstick, silliness and satire jostling you relentlessly from all angles, until you feel pinched and punched into a state of comedic exhaustion. Then he hits you where it hurts with a mouthful of poignancy that leaves a lump in the throat. Few writers can pull this off…But Coyle succeeds, aided by a cast that switches gears as seamlessly as a luxury car.” ★★★★ John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald
“An unlikely celebration of those who exist outside the box.” ★★★★ Ben Neutze, Time Out
“Coyle plays with reality, time, and human needs in The Feather in the Web, a deliciously funny and consistently off-kilter consideration of what love means – and what falling into it does to our individuality. By taking an apocalyptically queer lens to contemporary relationships, Coyle – with director Ben Winspear – has created a world that’s all our anxieties, desires and impulses writ large.” ★★★★ Cassie Tongue, Audrey Journal
“Highly sophisticated, marvellously polished, and very funny indeed.” Suzy Wrong, Suzy Goes See
“Claire Lovering is kinetic as Kimberly, a coiled spring of fevered, manic daredevil, ready to dare anything as she gallops uncontrollably through an unattainable fantasy.” Richard Cotter, Australian Stage Online
The Girgensohn Foundation
Playwriting Australia
@griffintheatre