Oil 2023

Oil

By Ella Hickson
Directed by Paige Rattray

A time-bending epic that drills deep

In a remote English farmhouse at the end of the nineteenth century, a young woman witnesses the blinding light of an oil lamp for the first time before running into the midwinter night. She's sacrificing the world she knows and the man she loves to build a better life for the daughter she's soon to have. So begins the story of May and Amy.

Written by Ella Hickson - one of Britain's most exciting and boundary-pushing playwrights - Oil explores the deeply relatable bond between a mother and daughter, mapped against the rise and fall of two of modernity's most powerful players: crude oil and the British Empire. Hickson sends her protagonists on a gripping quest from the Industrial Age in Europe, to the Middle East in the 1920s, through to our present moment and into the future, as she asks the question: how much is too much?

Featuring Brooke Satchwell in her STC debut with an ensemble cast of Jing-Xuan Chan, Callan Colley, Charlotte Friels and Anne Tenney, Oil sets small lives adrift in the huge tides of history and wonders what's left when colonialism, fossil fuels and individualism are allowed to burn unchecked.

Directed by STC Associate Director Paige Rattray (The Lifespan of a Fact, Blithe Spirit) and presented in the Wharf's new in-the-round configuration, this production promises an epic, globe-trotting, century-crossing night of theatrical magic.

Approx. duration 2 hrs 30 mins (including interval). Subject to change. More info.
Content Smoking and infrequent strong language. Subject to change. More info.

Ticket Information

2023 Ticket Packages
This play is currently only available as part of a 2023 ticket package. Book a ticket package of 3 or more plays to save on tickets, pay no fees and more.

Season Ticket prices
Saturday evening A Reserve $98
Adult A Reserve $93
Seniors cardholder $89
Pensioner/Student $70
Under 30 $51
Preview $51

Mini Package prices
Mon - Thu performances
Adult A Reserve $98
Seniors cardholder $94
Pensioner/Student $74
Under 30 $54

Friday & Saturday performances
A Reserve $103

Preview performances
All tickets $54

Single tickets
Single tickets for this show go on sale on Thu 2 Feb. Sign up to our enews for early access to tickets.

Transaction fees may apply
Season Ticket bookings: no fees
Single ticket bookings: $8.50 online; $8.50 telephone; $0 Box Office counter

Prices are correct at the time of publication and subject to change without notice. Exact prices will be displayed with seat selection.

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