Studio Co followed this with an acclaimed production of Harold Pinter’s THE DUMB WAITER, directed by Peter Evans, at Belvoir Street. Then in 2004, in association with Riverside Theatres, came Studio Co’s exciting version of HAMLET. Mark adapted the text, directed and played the title role. The production also appeared at the Ensemble Theatre, had a return season at Riverside Theatres and toured NSW.


This was followed by a production of KING LEAR, adapted and directed by Mark, which also played at Riverside Theatres and toured NSW.



 

Mark Kilmurry (artistic director) and Patrick McIntyre (producer) formed STUDIO CO in 2001 to provide a new choice for Australian theatre goers, combining polished naturalism with daring theatrical innovation. With a distinctive, pared back, cinematic style, Studio Co has had great success with its productions.


The company’s premiere at Darlinghurst Theatre, MERCY THIEVES, was named fringe play of the year by the Sun-Herald, had a return season at the Old Fitzroy Theatre in 2003, was published by Currency Press and performed in New York by Outhouse Theatre Company.





 

studio co reviews

KING LEAR

“Director Mark Kilmurry is a master of interpreting Shakespeare with beautiful simplicity... It is the clarity of staging, design and performance which make this a delight to watch. Kilmurry’s seamless scene changes, sound design and scenographic skills are breath-taking. He has an eye for strong imagery and you grasp that the fall of Lear is mirrored in all the characters.”

Daily Telegraph


HAMLET

“There is so much to admire in this Hamlet and yet it is presented with so little fuss. In a small studio space, in the round, with minimal stage properties, simple costumes and well-considered cuts to the text, Mark Kilmurry leads a finely tuned ensemble in delivering an engagingly paced, imaginatively staged and strikingly clear performance. Kilmurry's own performance as Hamlet reflects many of the strengths of this remounted co- production ... This is a Hamlet of great nuance and sensitivity, where contradiction and indecision coexist with clarity of purpose, as instinct proves impossible to reconcile with action.” The Sydney Morning Herald


MERCY THIEVES

"The multi-talented Mark Kilmurry wrote, directed and acted in this terrific comedy-thriller … the story is inspired by Shakespeare, the telling of it pays homage to the conventions of film noir, the road movie and anti-hero buddy flicks such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Performed with superb physicality, one could almost feel - ouch! - those ribs breaking."

Sun-Herald


THE DUMB WAITER

“Kilmurry and Trutwin are assured, disciplined actors. They persuasively manifest the simple potency of Pinter's theatre of menace - not just the fear of the unknown, but the nightmare of an unidentifiable, unstoppable terror ripping comfort and certainty apart.”

The Sydney Morning Herald