Saturday, June 28, 2025

Filipino-Australians join the cast of upcoming theatre production in Melbourne

24 Carrot Productions, an independent theatre company, will be staging an event written and directed by Sharmini Kumar. 

Opening on 30th November 2022, this innovative piece of theatre will be staged in the Bishop’s Parlour at Abbotsford Convent.

The Margins of Persuasion, a clever remount of their 2017 production, is a unique take on one of Austen’s most moving pieces of literature. It offers a fascinating remoulding of these famous literary characters that allow people to enjoy their obsession with minutiae and their anxieties about social rank. 

The cast will feature two Filipinos – Dax Carney and Ricardo Magno. 

Dax lives in St Kilda and is a Non-Binary Transfeminine actor, performer and presenter with over 15 years of experience in TV, Film and Theatre. Dax will play Lady Russell. 

Ricardo is from Manilla and plays three roles in the ensemble cast. 

The Margins of Persuasion focuses on the book’s original ideas about class, women, justice, war, and revolution. These issues remain surprisingly relevant and resonant in the modern world. This interpretation invites the audience to sit amongst the action, where they can overhear conversations between the servants and the characters. In the drama around the audience, the audience is right at the centre of the action. 

The show recounts the story of Anne Elliot, the daughter of the snobbish Sir Walter Elliot. When she was nineteen, she fell in love with and was engaged to a naval officer – the fearless and headstrong Captain Wentworth. Anne was persuaded to give up the young man because he had no fortune. Eight years later, Wentworth has returned, rich and still unmarried. The story follows the social season in Bath, as the two are thrown together once again in a society filled with scandal and romantic entanglement and a place where women are forced to seek financial security through marriage. 

Sharmini says, “We are delighted to be bringing our first-ever show back to the stage in this exciting, re-imagined format. Anne is a complex character who has experienced loss as well as privilege, and we’re trying to tease out how those things work together in a romantic story. Austen touched on a lot of themes of privilege, class, gender, and disability, and we want to show how this sits alongside a very sweet romance.” 

24 Carrot Productions is a company dedicated to promoting historically marginalised perspectives. Formed by theatre and filmmaker Sharmini Kumar with a view to re-imagine and re-invigorate our most loved classics for contemporary audiences, 24 Carrot Productions has been creating new works since 2011. Past productions include 2 Gentlemen, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, The Importance of Being Ernest, The Regina Monologues, Shakespeare in Therapy, Sense & Sensibility, and the ever-popular annual Austen Con

EVENT DETAILS 

Date and Times

  • Wednesday, November 30 – 7.30pm 
  • Thursday, December 1 – 7.30pm 
  • Friday, December 2 – 7.30pm 
  • Saturday, December 3 – 3pm and 7.30pm 
  • Sunday, December 4 – 3 pm 

Tickets

Full $35 Concession $30 

Tickets available for purchase at https://www.24carrotproductions.com/ 

Running time

90 minutes approximately

Where

Bishop’s Parlour, Abbotsford Convent, Collingwood Melbourne 

Ages

All ages 

Accessibility

Wheelchair Accessible 

Content note

Discussion of slavery and colonialism 

THE MARGINS OF PERSUASION 

Written by: Sharmini Kumar 

Performed by: Avril Good, David Kerr, Dax Carney, Emily Scerri, Tania Robinson, and Ricardo Magno


READ MORE


Hot this week

Gawad Kalinga’s “Christmas in July” to cultivate future agri-entrepreneurs

Gawad Kalinga (GK) Australia is set to host its...

Sports Programs Are Becoming a Holiday Staple for Busy Parents

School holidays sound relaxing — until they actually start....

A Comprehensive Guide to Divorce Hearings in Australia

In the challenging world of marriage dissolution, knowledge is...

How four chefs made the IFEX Kitchen a cultural homecoming

There’s a certain kind of magic that happens when...

5W30 Engine Oil: The Unseen Star of Eco-Friendly Driving

In the world of automobiles, there exists a silent...

Topics

Sports Programs Are Becoming a Holiday Staple for Busy Parents

School holidays sound relaxing — until they actually start....

A Comprehensive Guide to Divorce Hearings in Australia

In the challenging world of marriage dissolution, knowledge is...

How four chefs made the IFEX Kitchen a cultural homecoming

There’s a certain kind of magic that happens when...

5W30 Engine Oil: The Unseen Star of Eco-Friendly Driving

In the world of automobiles, there exists a silent...

Cosplay Tips from Riolette: How She Creates, Transforms, and Chooses the Right Coloured Contact Lenses

Riolette's cosplay journey began with a single transformative moment...

How to Find the Right Male Performers for Private Events

We're all aware that having the right entertainer can...

A Birthday Delivery Trick That’s Better Than Flowers

Cupcake deliveries create stronger emotional reactions than typical gift...

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_img