Suicide in B-flat

A jazz great disappears. The outline of his body haunts the stage. The city is on edge and the musicians are restless.

The keystone cops are on the case, but nothing adds up – is he really dead, or did he just frame himself? With an all-star cast of hepcats and actors, presented by Darwin Drama, Sam Shepard’s surreal exploration of jazz is a crazy ride that takes you to places you’ve never been before – just like jazz itself. Will Crawford caught up with director Hamish McDonald for Off The Leash.

I understand Suicide in B-flat has only been performed once in Australia. What inspired you to put on this piece? 

Possibly the fact that I was in that one show! And when I started hanging out with some jazz musicians in Darwin, I thought this is the perfect piece for us to do. It’s really a miniature masterpiece from the pen of the late master, Sam Shepard.

What can audiences expect?  

If you want to know how music holds together all the craziness of life and makes it bearable, see Suicide in B-flat. If you want to see theatre that stretches the boundaries, explores multiple dimensions, and makes you stare your life in the belly button (but doesn’t take itself too seriously), see Suicide in B-flat.

I understand there is a live band (Jigsaw Collective) interacting with the action of the play. How does that impact on stage and is it difficult to get the musicians to behave? 

Let’s face it, musicians never behave! Actors are relatively sane compared to musicians – they keep the whole thing together while the musicians go off on these improvisatory tangents – which is just what Sam Shepard would have wanted.

Tue 5 (Preview) – Sat 9 Dec, 7pm | Sun 10 Dec, 5pm | Brown's Mart Theatre | See the event listing