Coming in November 2025

Birthday Candles

A COMEDY WRITTEN BY NOAH HAIDLE
DIRECTED BY HELEN ELLIS

Birthday Candles

Ernestine Ashworth spends her 17th birthday agonizing over her insignificance in the universe. Soon enough it’s her 18th birthday. Even sooner, her 41st. Her 70th. Her 101st. Five generations, dozens of goldfish, an infinity of dreams and one cake baked over a century. What makes a lifetime…into a life?

“A poignant new play as fearless in scope as it is tremendous in heart” – Broadway World.

This poignant and funny Broadway hit, about the extraordinary moments that make up one woman’s ordinary life, explores the highlights and heartbreaks of 100 years in just 90 minutes.

 

WHEN:

13 – 22 November

Cast

Helen Ellis

Director

A well-respected director and actor, this is Helen’s sixth production with Mordialloc Theatre Company having directed GOOD PEOPLE in 2022 and the award winning OUTSIDE MULLINGER 2017 which won VDL awards for Best Director/Best Production, Best set and Best Sound. Helen has also appeared on our stage in ‘ALLO, ‘ALLO! in 2009 and the award winning one act play CLOSE TO CROYDON. Helen’s most recent directing credits include APPLETON LADIES POTATO RACE earlier this year at Malvern Theatre Company, SWITZERLAND for Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre which won Best Director and Best Production in the 2023 Lyrebird Awards, CUL DE SAC for Encore Theatre which won nominations for Best Director and Best Production in the 2023 Lyrebird Awards and FABULOUSO for Brighton Theatre Company in 2023
We are very pleased to welcome Helen back to Mordialloc.

Ernestine

Cat Jardine

Cat is very excited to join Mordialloc Theatre Company for BIRTHDAY CANDLES. She has been performing in theatre productions for over 20 years and in recent times has received the VDL Best
Actress in a comedy award for her role as Margery in HAND TO GOD at Stag Theatre, Sabrina Daldry in the NEXT ROOM OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY with Brighton Theatre Company and the VDL Best supporting actress award for Monica in PRESENT LAUGHTER with Heidelberg Theatre Company. Other awards   include Best Supporting Actor in the Williamstown Little Theatre awards as Sylvie in THE NANCE as well as VDL nominations for Aunt Gert in LOST IN YONKERS and Constanze Weber in AMADEUS both with Heidelberg Theatre Company.

Kenneth

Ed Kennett

Ed’s love of performing began at school many, many years ago. More recently he has performed with Strathmore Theatre, The Basin Theatre Company, Lilydale Athenaeum and 1812 Theatre. Ed has played TV favourites in M*A*S*H, STEPTOE AND SON (twice), TILL DEATH DO US PART and more serious roles in BREAKER MORANT and SUMMER OF THE SEVENTEENTH DOLL. BIRTHDAY CANDLES is Ed’s first time on stage with the Mordialloc Theatre Company and he hopes you enjoy this beautiful play.

Alice/Madeline/Ernie

Maree Barnett

Maree is a graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Having extensive experience in film, TV, corporate videos, theatre and musicals – she loves it all and has become very attached to all her

roles. Some of her favourites are Roxy in CHICAGO with Nova Musical Theatre and Sally Bowles in CABARET with Aspect Theatre. Her most recent performance was Ma Peggy, Geordie accent and all in AND A NIGHTINGALE SANG with Heidelberg Theatre Company. It was a joy to play. You may also find Maree on stage at your local fitness centre teaching Pilates.

Matt/William

Rob Blowers

BIRTHDAY CANDLES marks Rob’s first appearance with Mordialloc Theatre Company. Rob has recently performed as Johnny in the 1812 Theatre’s production of HOME, I’M DARLING. Other recent credits include THE GREAT GATSBY and NOISES OFF with 1812 Theatre and COHERENCE for Redfox3 Productions. Earlier this year Rob performed his own solo show, JOURNEYMAN, to a sold-out crowd in South Melbourne. While not on stage, Rob enjoys woodworking and furniture-making,

Joan/Alex/Beth

Candice Sweetman

A newcomer to Mordialloc Theatre Company, Candice is a Victorian Drama League, Music Theatre Guild and Lyrebird Award winning Actress. She holds a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Drama), and an Advanced Diploma of Acting from The National Theatre. Her most recent role as Francesca in THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY saw her win Best Leading actress for the Musical Theatre Guild of Victoria. Her theatre credits include Sylvia in SYLVIA, Emilie in LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES, Candy Starr in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, Claire Zachannasian in THE VISIT, Angela in SECRET BRIDESMAID’S BUSINESS, Annelle in STEEL MAGNOLIAS, May in FOOL FOR LOVE and various characters in ALMOST MAINE. She has also played many roles in musical theatre productions.

Billy/John

Angelo Snell

Birthday Candles is Angelo’s first appearance with Mordialloc Theatre Company. He is rapt to be working alongside a group of experienced and kind creatives. Angelo has performed in several theatre companies around Melbourne throughout the years and is often drawn to poetic writing styles and interpersonal relationships. He loves birthdays, because cake. But also hates it, because singing. Recent credits will only be shared in person in the foyer due to word count and his inability to keep it brief. 

Reviews

VDL Performance Review

Reviewed by Andrew McAliece,
7 Mar 2024

I need to confess that no matter how I try I cannot fathom the appeal of Agatha Christie, which is undeniably widespread and enduring. Her characters to me are nothing more than cardboard cut-out stereotypes with all the depth and complexity of a saucer. And they are repeated in most of her stories: the military man, the spinster, the attractive young lady, the dashing young man, the doctor, the adventurer, the policeman, the upper-class sir or lady. And they all say and think exactly, and only, what you would expect them to say and think.

Having said that, Mordialloc theatre Company’s latest offering, ‘And Then There Were None’, was very much enjoyed by the audience when I attended and there was a bum on every seat, which says a great deal about the play and Christie’s popularity.

The play was adapted by Christie from her book of the same name. The original title, when the book was released in 1939, was an extremely un-PC version, which the Americans changed immediately for its release there and which has, fortunately, now been adopted everywhere.

There’s a glaring, truck-size plot chasm (it’s much more than a hole). It’s not giving anything away to reveal that all ten people on the island have each committed, or been responsible for, a murder. How any single person could possibly know this deep dark secret about ten completely disparate individuals, especially given that most of them have never revealed their dastardly act to anyone else, is glossed over. Few people seemed to mind this, apart from me.

I don’t believe dialogue was ever Christie’s strong suit and some of it got a lot of laughs from this modern audience, which I’m sure was not what Christie was aiming for.

Most of the actors, very much looked exactly as you would imagine their character to look, clearly thanks to the director’s astute casting. The cast did as well as one could with the bombastic, dated dialogue, which they almost all imbued with as much realism as was possible.

Neil Barnett played the dementing General very well. Christine Bridge was the prim, judgemental and censorious spinster. She did a very fine job and never let her persona slip in any way.

Tim Byron was the policeman, who started off with a very convincing South African accent, which is a very tricky one to master, and then switched very neatly to a lower class English accent. Top marks. Rob Coulson played the doctor admirably, being both authoritative and anxious.

Stuart Daddo-Langlois apparently had a fifty-year acting hiatus, but you wouldn’t know it. He was eminently believable and pompous as the retired judge. Welcome back to the stage. Chris Kirby as the butler, I felt needed a little more dignified deference in his demeanour.

Rory McGrath’s upper class English accent needed refining and accentuating and perhaps more fluidity in his dialogue. Kay Morton, to be fair, had very little indeed to work with, her dialogue being some of the most banal in the play. But she made as much of it as was possible. She seemed a little stilted in her physicality. More “stage business” to keep her occupied would have perhaps helped.

Josh Radford had a very small role (only his second) as the boat skipper, and we wish him well for his future acting endeavours. Many more roles ahead, fingers crossed.

Monique Wasa gave a sterling performance as the secretary. She had the most of all the cast to work with and was very much up to the task. An impressive performance in every way. Brett Whittingham as the adventurer was very convincingly swaggering yet dashing at the same time. Well done.

Director Travis Handcock, wrangled the large cast of eleven, many of whom were on stage at the same time, very well, managing to draw our attention to where it was needed and away from other spots. Very effective and spooky illumination of the now-dead victims at the end of the play was a master touch. A grandfather clock appears earlier in the same inventive way. He realised extremely clever (yet completely safe for the actor) use of a noose, which very gradually and realistically chokes one of the victims.

The set concept, also by the director, was extremely effective. Concept, I assume, means he came up with the ideas. Then they were translated by Martin Gibbs and Neil Barnett into a design that could be drawn up and then built. Top marks to all three and to the set builders also, too numerous to mention by name. We could believe we were in an upmarket, art-deco mansion, apart from the red curtains framing each doorway which seemed a little out of place.

The very simple backdrop beyond the nicely constructed French doors opening to the terrace was illuminated in many varied colours that very convincingly conveyed the time of day and the weather. That thanks partly to the lighting designer, Julian Camara, who did an overall excellent job, especially in the eerie scene when the actors enter with real candles.

Costumes by Juliet Hayday, were all very good, especially the three piece suits for the older gentlemen, apart perhaps from Miss Claythorne’s opening dress, which seemed a bit modern.

The little “soldier” figurines, crucial to the plot, three of which are smashed during the performance, were all made by Neil Barnett. Top marks for his work, which would have meant making a large number of the intricately painted and detailed “soldiers”. As each victim died, one soldier was removed from the set, very deftly and cleverly. I never saw one being whisked away.

A fine production by a large team of skilled cast and crew.