Directed by Hailey McQueen

Instructions for Correct Assembly written by the incomparable Thomas Eccleshare premiered at London’s Royal Court theatre in 2018.  This Sydney production will be its Australian premiere as part of the KXT 2023 Season and we will be working closely with Thomas to Australianise the play.

 

Thematically it touches on the often arbitrary line between what we deem acceptable and unacceptable in polite society; our desire to control our environments and those closest to us. It shines a light on our contemporary obsession with the promises of technology to remove all of life’s discomfort and dissatisfaction; our perfectionism and expectations in family dynamics; and our growing need for intimacy in an increasingly individualistic society. In short, can we ever truly love someone we can’t control, and does unconditional love ever really come with no strings attached?

 

Thomas Eccleshare gives us a pretty sardonic commentary on parenthood as the foundation for this idea of ‘unconditional love’; it examines our humanity and pits our need for convenience against our need for intimacy and the results - in this dystopian tale - are surprising... or are they?
 

21st-century life has produced several generations that might bemoan the prioritising of virtual reality above the ‘IRL’ experience… but seeing that we can’t lurch back to the past, what does this mean for a species that exists to know love and to be loved? Instructions suggests that there may well be a wisdom in harnessing every form of human connection - even digital connection - that’s what will make this idea of a “flat-pack son” comedic, ridiculous, and unsettling for our audience as they grapple with these things in the moment.

 

We intend to use the wryness of this honest and confronting play to illuminate how we often try to mask our deep regret and human pain with distractions, newness, innovation, and a sort of ‘counterfeit perfection’ that often then unravels in spectacular (though unsurprising) form. This play is a great vehicle for picking at the stitches of the utilitarian approach our society has around the ethics of social and communal life which can often feel is all sewn up and beyond discussion. 

 

Much of our previous work to date has been classical and cerebral in nature and an immensely edifying experience for our audiences and creative teams alike. With IFCA, we are excited to explore these themes - the guts of the human existential experience - in this curious, contemporary, and candidly coarse play.