Cloud Nine - Sydney Theatre Company

Overview

After the success of Love and Information two years ago, Kip Williams has gone to the Caryl Churchill well again, returning to STC with something strange in his pail.

Cloud Nine is, according to Williams, an "extraordinary investigation of identity politics along the lines of gender, sexuality, race and class." It tells the story of a family beset by sexual scandal and revelation over the course of a century or two. Untroubled the rigidities of conventional ageing, though, the characters gain only 25 years over the duration of the play.

Shifting from colonial Africa to London in the 1970s, with a complete character-swap by the cast between acts, Cloud Nine could well prove a head-scratcher. But Williams is quick to point out that it's also comedic, with a great sense of fun. Expect a game of hide and seek and more than a couple of songs. If the marketing's anything to go by, probably a nerf gun or two as well.

Images: Zan Wimberley and James Green.