Beaumaris Theatre Inc. acknowledges the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation, the Traditional Owners of the land on which Beaumaris Theatre stands. We pay our respects to Victoria's First Peoples and their Elders past, present and emerging.

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KNIFE EDGE

Every day comes down to moments. Moments of decision, or change. Moments that fall between ‘before’ and ‘after’. Moments where you’re balanced on the edge of who you are and who you might be. Do you reach for it or don’t you?

Knife Edge explores pivotal moments in life, in relationships, and in self-discovery as the characters dissect, carve up and attempt to cut through to a deeper understanding of themselves and each other.

Please note, Knife Edge contains adult themes and conversations about suicide and mental illness.

If you, or someone you know, needs help, we encourage you to connect with a mental health service such as:

Lifeline 13 11 14 or www.lifeline.org.au
Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or www.beyondblue.org.au
Headspace on 1800 650 890 or www.headspace.org.au

Is it a thriller? Is it a murder mystery? What’s with the knife? Relax, it’s a metaphor!

My mother-in-law really did peel her vegetables with a small, curved knife with a bone handle – for some reason I remembered that and for some reason it became the opening lines to Knife Edge.

The image of women wielding knives in the daily activity of preparing meals for husbands, partners, children, and guests offered a rich opportunity to imagine what else they may have been thinking of at those times, when relationships were under pressure or when life-altering decisions had to be made. The action of wielding a knife speaks into so much of what we do as we manage life, for good and for ill, from the gardener’s careful pruning, to the surgeon’s healing blade, to the butcher’s blow.

Knife Edge is a different style of storytelling for me, departing from the linear approach of previous works and inviting the audience to eavesdrop on some selected scenes from the characters’ lives as they pass by, sometimes merging and mirroring each other in the universal search for clarity, acceptance and rescue.

Imagine the lighted windows of a train carriage at night as they flash past you, revealing snapshots, not the whole, of the lived human experience within, even as it disappears from view. I invite you to fill in the blanks as you choose.

Alison Campbell Rate

Playwright

Alison Campbell Rate - Playwright

Alison is a Melbourne-based actress and writer across several genres including playscript, short fiction, non-fiction, memoir, songs (music and lyrics) and screenplay.

Her short fiction has been published in literary journals Wet Ink and Island, and she received prizes in The Age Short Story Awards and The My Brother Jack Literary Awards for The Heron and Eulogy for Frank White, respectively.

Apart from assisting private clients to complete their life-stories, Alison ghost-wrote Whatever happened to Diana Trask, the memoirs of the Australian singer (Melbourne Publishing, 2010), which was shortlisted for the 2012 Recorded Music Memoir Award for Excellence, USA.

Her strong interest in the power of memoir prompted her first full-length drama The Peppercorn Tree, published by Australian Plays Transform. It enjoyed a professional world premiere in 2010 by Ellis Productions and has since been mounted by several non-professional companies across Melbourne and regional Victoria to great acclaim.

Two further full-length plays Counting Sparrows (drama, published by Australian Plays Transform) and Hats Off (comedy) had non-professional premiere seasons in 2017 at Malvern and Brighton Theatre companies, respectively.

She has also written one-act and short plays, which have enjoyed non-professional seasons in Melbourne and further afield.

Her latest full-length play, Knife Edge, was a successful submission into The Melbourne Writers Theatre’s ‘Page to Stage’ development program 2022 and is making its world premiere here at Beaumaris Theatre under the immaculate direction of Deborah Fabbro.

Alison has a published catalogue of close to 40 songs composed for Christian worship, including With Hearts on Fire which won a national Christian songwriting competition in 2016. She has also co-authored audio-visual resources and associated teaching materials for schools since 1988.

Alison thoroughly enjoys being on the stage as well as writing for it, performing mainly with Brighton, Peridot and Malvern Theatre companies.

Over the years, she has been awarded best female actor for both leading and supporting roles at Malvern Theatre Company and received nominations for best supporting female actor in The Victorian Drama League and Lyrebirds Awards.

Alison and her husband Paul have three adult children and an exquisite baby granddaughter whose currently unintelligible yet determined efforts at conversation promise much more storytelling to come.

I am honoured that playwright Alison Campbell Rate has once again entrusted me with one of her plays. I was privileged to read Knife Edge as it was being written and was at once struck by the beautiful cadence of the language and the clever threading of the motif throughout the play.

These are five special characters, each with their own story, who are just trying to do the best with their lives, and I’ve been very fortunate to have this wonderful cast to bring them to life. I have so loved working with them and have appreciated their insights, perceptions and their input to bring the characters to life.

I would like to thank everyone involved in this production for their commitment and enthusiasm in bringing this play to the stage. I have been blessed to have the wonderful creative team of Janine, Damien, Blake and Harry and thank them so much for all their amazing work. I would also like to thank Deb, Georgy, Daniel, and Steve for all their work, assistance and support, and everyone who has assisted in some way to bring this production together. And, as always, I am fortunate to have the support of my very patient husband, Ewen.

We hope you will enjoy this premiere production, and I applaud Beaumaris Theatre for supporting local playwrights.

Deborah Fabbro
Director

Cast

Amanda - Emma Spencer

Miles - Marc Jongebloed

Kayla - Bella Barker

Jack - Andrew Tomazos

Loretta - Samantha Stone

creative team and crew

Director - Deborah Fabbro

Production Coordinator - Georgy Charles

Assistant Production Coordinator - Fiona Williams

Stage Manager - Steve Morris

Set Designer - Janine Evans

Costume Coordinator - Harry Brammall

Lighting Designer - Damien Calvert

Original Music & Sound Designer - Blake Stringer

Lighting and Sound Operator - Ruby Foxworthy

Set Construction - Daniel Ischia

Prop Coordinator - Deborah Fabbro

Marketing & Program - Kristina Doucouliagos

Photography & Videography - Timothy Tselepis

Poster Designer - Ella Creaton

Front of House Coordinator - Fiona Williams

Front of House Manager - Adam Solomon

Box Office - Beaumaris Theatre Committee Members

Front of House Staff - Beaumaris Theatre Members and Friends

Special thanks to Brighton Theatre Company, Sally Fleming, Roel de Vries, Georgy Charles, Steve Morris, Janine Evans, Trevor Osburn, Jenni Osburn and Cheryllyn de Vries.

**Deborah Fabbro - Director**
Deborah is delighted to be working at Beaumaris Theatre, having last assisted on Beaumaris’ Anonymous Theatre production of *Nobody’s Perfect.*
Her recent directing credits include *Admissions* (Brighton Theatre Company), *The Lifespan of a Fact* (Malvern Theatre Company), *Agnes of God* (Williamstown Little Theatre) and *Visitors* (Mordialloc Theatre Company).
Some other credits include *All Things Considered, Counting Sparrows* (also written by Alison Campbell Rate), Disposing of the Body, Face to Face, Halpern and Johnson, Hotel Sorrento, The Female of the Species, Man Alive, Mr Bailey’s Minder, Scotland Road, Table Manners, The Architect, The Cemetery Club, The Shoe-Horn Sonata and *The Return.*
Her production of the play *Second Sight*, written by local playwright Alwyn Lewis, received numerous directing, production and acting awards for her and her cast at several of the One-Act Plays Festivals around Victoria. They then toured to Tasmania at the invitation of the playwright to present a short season in Hobart.
She has also been honoured to receive nominations and awards from The Victorian Drama League, Brighton Theatre Company and Encore Theatre Company.

**Emma Spencer - Amanda**
*Knife Edge* marks Emma’s return to Beaumaris Theatre after 24 years - her first performance was in 2001 in *Olivia!* at the age of 10.
After growing up acting, singing and dancing, life eventually pulled Emma in a different direction. However, in 2019, after a life-changing experience, Emma realised life is too short not to do what you love. For her, that was her first love, performing. Since then, Emma has trained extensively, she has especially enjoyed Meisner-based training with The Impulse Company, which she praises for helping her “let go” and find confidence in showing her vulnerability.
Emma has also starred in various short films, including Scent of a Killer, Red Lawn, Just Desserts, Birds and Bees; as well as the soon-to-be-released web series, *Linda Ellie & Char*; and she is currently shooting a feature film, *Waiting for Snow.*
Outside of acting, Emma shares her love of movement as a Pilates and Barre teacher and shares her workouts on her YouTube channel and Instagram, Club Forme.
Emma is thrilled to take on the edgy role of Amanda and can’t wait to excite audiences with this brilliantly sharp and thought-provoking play.

**Marc Jongebloed - Miles**
Marc is excited to be making his Beaumaris Theatre debut as Miles in *Knife Edge.*
He most recently appeared in *Admissions* for Brighton Theatre Company, receiving the VDL Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for his portrayal of Bill Mason.
He is reunited with Deborah Fabbro, having previously been directed by her in *Admissions, Visitors* (Mordialloc Theatre Company) and *Man Alive* (Malvern Theatre Company). Other plays of note that featured Marc include *Dinner with Friends* and *Barefoot in the Park* (both with Brighton Theatre Company), *The Effect* (Mordialloc Theatre Company), and *Dead Man's Cell Phone* and *In the Garden* (both with Malvern Theatre Company).
Marc is enjoying the opportunity to play an Australian male in an insightful contemporary play, and is grateful to be working with such a talented and committed cast.

**Bella Barker - Kayla**
Bella is thrilled to have the opportunity to return to the Beaumaris Theatre stage in *Knife Edge,* working with such a brilliant creative team.
Her stage credits include *Home, I’m Darling* (Mordialloc Theatre Company), *The 70th Anniversary Christmas Panto - Revue (*Beaumaris Theatre), and *Things I Know to Be True* and *Night Must Fall* (Peridot Theatre), for which she received a Lyrebird Award nomination for Best Performer in a Supporting Female Role and Highly Commended Performance in a Drama.
Other productions include *No Reception, Heads or Tails?, Bad Habits,* and *Oopsy Daisy* (Drama King Theatre Company), *Things That Go Bump in the Bite* (Board Shorts at The 1812 Theatre), *The Session in Areté: Zeta* (Dionysus Theatre), *The Jewel by the Sea* (Black Rock House), *000: The Play* (Melbourne Creatives), and *Inspector Drake’s Last Case* (Brighton Theatre Company).
Bella is incredibly grateful to be part of this production and extends her heartfelt thanks to the *Knife Edge* team and the wonderful Beaumaris Theatre community for their support. She hopes you enjoy the show!

**Andrew Tomazos - Jack**
Andrew has been an actor since 2009, first performing in an amateur production of *A Midsummer Night’s Dream* (Dandenong Theatre Company) for which Andrew won a Lyrebird Award. For 16 years Andrew’s performance experience has extended to acting, children’s entertainment, improvisation, emcee and hosting, screen, background and extras work.
Andrew has received informal training from 16th Street, NIDA, Melbourne Actor’s Lab and his own readings and exercises to develop his craft.
*Knife Edge* will be Andrew’s 34th theatrical production, and third production with Beaumaris Theatre. Andrew’s recent scripted theatre credits include: *A Christmas Carol* (The Basin Theatre Group ), *Arsenic and Old Lace* (Encore Theatre), *Find Me* (Gemco Players – also directed), *The Three Musketeers* (Beaumaris Theatre), *Photograph 51* (The Basin Theatre Group), Cosi (Beaumaris Theatre), *The Invisible Sword* (Thespian Theatre), *A Company of Hearts* (Thespian Theatre), *After Isobel* (ARK), *A Man For All Seasons* (The Basin Theatre Group), *Visiting Mr. Green* (ARK), *Realism* (Hartwell Players – The Victorian Drama League nominated), *Aftermath* (Gemco Players – winner of best actor at Mansfield OAP Festival).

**Samantha Stone - Loretta**
Samantha is delighted to once again be working with Beaumaris Theatre, having made her debut last year in *Steel Magnolias* as M’Lynn.
She has thoroughly enjoyed bringing a contemporary Australian play to life and working with Deborah and the highly talented team of creatives involved.
Sam has recently played Sybil Birling in *An Inspector Calls* and some of her other favourite roles have included Olive in *The Female Odd Couple*, Snug the Joiner in *The Popular Mechanicals* and Bettina Barnes in *Psycho Beach Party*. On her bucket list of roles to perform are Dotty in *Noises Off* and any role in *Minefield’s and Miniskirts* by Terence O Connell.
Sam is not a cat person but rather a bird nerd and hopes you enjoy the performance.

**Steve Morris - Stage Manager**
Steve could rightly be classified as a veteran of Beaumaris Theatre, defined by his age, CV of productions and 20 years on the Beaumaris Theatre Committee.
His first appearance on the Beaumaris Theatre stage was in 2003 in *Blackrock*. Since then, his onstage shows include *1984, The Castle, Fawlty Towers, To Kill a Mockingbird* and *Arsenic and Old Lace.*
He has also been active backstage with shows including Deathtrap, Buddy, Blood Brothers, One For The Pot, Echoes, Murdered To Death and *The Three Musketeers.*
Steve has also appeared in productions with MOTTS, Malvern Theatre, Ace Theatre, Kismet Productions and LOTS.

**Janine Evans - Set Designer**
This is Janine's fifth set design and first one for Beaumaris Theatre.
Other sets being *Deathtrap* (Malvern Theatre Company), *Fabuloso* (Brighton Theatre Company), *Veronica's Room* (Mordialloc Theatre) and *Photograph 51* (Williamstown Little Theatre).
Usually preferring to be on stage, Janine has appeared on the Beaumaris Theatre stage in *'Night Mother* and *Blood Brothers.*

**Harry Brammall - Costume Coordinator**
Harry's love for theatre stems back from as far as she can remember.
She trained as a professional actress in London, appearing in TV, theatre and film, but now prefers to concentrate on costume making and helping with her teenage kids’ school productions.
She has helped with numerous costumes for Beaumaris Theatre and was delighted to be the winner of The Victorian Drama League's Silver Award for Costume Design in 2024 for *Steel Magnolias.*

**Damien Calvert - Lighting Designer**
Damien works on and off stage with several companies across Melbourne. He has designed lighting and sets for Beaumaris Theatre since 2016: *Avenue Q; Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story; Anne & Gilbert - The Musical; Puffs, Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at A Certain School of Magic and Magic; Beaumarisical,* *The Bridges of Madison County* and *Ladies in Black*. This year, Damien has also designed lighting for *Holmes and Watson* (Mordialloc Theatre Company) directed by his lovely wife Amy.
Damien is a Committee Member of The Music Theatre Guild of Victoria, the Secretary for OSMaD, and he coordinates and organises the Melbourne Theatre Calendar.

**Blake Stringer - Original Music & Sound Designer**
This is Blake’s first time working on a Beaumaris show in any capacity and he is excited to be making his debut.
Select credits designing music and/or sound elsewhere include: *Things I Know To Be True, The Father, Photograph 51, Citysong* (Williamstown Little Theatre), *Lovesong* (Malvern Theatre Company), *Berlin* (Heidelberg Theatre Company), *The Revlon Girl* (Brighton Theatre Company).
Blake also has a passion for acting (30+ productions), videography, video games and spreadsheets.

**Ruby Foxworthy - Lighting & Sound Operator**
*Knife Edge* is Ruby’s third time in the bio box, operating tech. They operated the follow spot for The Bridges of Madison County and lighting and sound for *Arsenic and Old Lace.*
Ruby is also an excellent actor, having participated in classes with D.K Productions since 2020 and in school productions including *High School Musical, School of Rock* and Alice in Wonderland.
Ruby has an infectious passion for all things theatrical.

Beaumaris Theatre was founded by Bill and Angela Martin in 1953. Bill and Angela were thespians who built a theatre in the attic of their home. It housed about twenty audience members and had a small stage and dressing room.

Soon the demand for tickets for these productions far exceeded the space available, so the Martins along with other members of the Beaumaris Players, worked very hard to have the theatre space we now know in Wells Road.

For the last 70 years, thespians from all walks of life and various backgrounds have been treading the prestigious boards laid by Bill and Angela. We are delighted to continue their legacy of producing theatre for the Bayside community and beyond.

BEAUMARIS THEATRE COMMITTEE

President - Debbie Keyt
Vice-President - Dan Bellis
Treasurer - Jenni Osburn
Secretary & Public Officer - Lynda French
Marketing Manager & Membership Secretary - Kristina Doucouliagos
Committee Members - Adam Solomon, Camilla Klesman, Deb Carpenter, Fiona Williams, Georgy Charles and Harrison Ewart-Dart.

BEAUMARIS THEATRE LIFE MEMBERS

Bill Martin; Angela Martin; Roger North; Esme North; Roy Baldwin; Bea Beckwith; Anne Lowe; Jean Freer; Beth Kelsall; John Rees-Osborne; Nancy Sutch-Taylor; Edda Dawson; Barbara Franks; Annie Laurenson; Jenny Mullholland; Stephen Mulholland; Don Strong; Taffy Strong; Michael Coultas; Graham Eddie; Derek Curd; Janine Chugg; Debbie Keyt; Robyn Morris; Steve Morris; Neil Barnett; Rhonda Vaughan; Vince Vaughan; Danny Forward; Jenni Osburn; Trevor Osburn; Kristina Doucouliagos; Fred Pezzimenti and Camilla Klesman.