Ballarat National Theatre brings one of contemporary theatre's most intriguing comedies to Ballarat this October, with a talented local cast taking on Sarah Ruhl's funny, strange and wonderfully human Dead Man's Cell Phone.
Presented at the historic Ballarat Mechanics Institute and directed by Benj Beatty, the story begins in a café.
Jean is sitting quietly when the mobile phone on the next table begins to ring. And ring. Its owner isn't answering.
So Jean does.
It's one small decision that draws her into the life of a man she has never met, and into the orbit of the complicated, surprising and often very funny people he has left behind.
Ruhl is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony Award-nominated playwright with a gift for finding comedy in unexpected places. Dead Man's Cell Phone is clever and gloriously offbeat, with a warm-hearted story about love, loneliness and the ways people connect.
For visitors looking to experience Ballarat after dark or on a Sunday afternoon for a matinee, it's an opportunity to enjoy contemporary theatre performed by local talent in one of the city's beautiful historic buildings.