Green washing, corporate spin and tangled lies — playwright Eloise Snape delivers a whirlwind of laughs and truth bombs in this dark Australian comedy.
WORLD PREMIERE
Margot’s back from mat leave — and she’s not messing around.
Before nappies and sleepless nights, Eco Engines was spiralling through a PR meltdown, tanking faster than you can say “carbon footprint.” Now she’s back in the CEO chair, ready to rally her team of corporate eco-warriors and clean up the mess.
But her comeback hits a snag when she gets stuck in the office lift. As tensions rise, Margot’s cool starts melting faster than the polar ice caps.
THE ELEVATOR is a sharp, funny and fearless dark comedy that’s anything but clean. Green washing, corporate spin and tangled lies — playwright Eloise Snape delivers a whirlwind of laughs and truth bombs in this new Australian play.
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PRICE PER TICKET
| TICKET TYPE | PREVIEWS | IN SEASON |
|---|---|---|
| FULL PRICE | $90 | $95 |
| SENIORS CARD | $87 | $92 |
| PENSIONER | $83 | $88 |
| GROUP 10 - 19 | $83 | $88 |
| GROUP 20+ | $78 | $83 |
| FULL-TIME STUDENT / UNDER 30s | $46 | $46 |
| INDUSTRY INSIDER / MEAA / AWG | $46 | $46 |
| SCHOOL GROUP | $25 | $25 |
★★★★ "An exuberant show that kicks up its heels in the face of life's messiness" The Sydney Morning Herald (for Griffin's PONY)
"A helluva ride" Time Out (for Griffin's PONY)
Eloise Snape
Playwright; Griffin Theatre Company: PONY. Acting credits; Ensemble Theatre: MIDNIGHT MURDER AT HAMLINGTON HALL, MCGUFFIN PARK. Television: COLIN FROM ACCOUNTS Season 1 and 2. Training: Bachelor of Media in Writing at Macquarie University 2006, Advanced Diploma of Performing Arts majoring in Acting from Actors Centre Australia 2011. Awards: PONY – Queensland Premier’s Drama Award 2022-23, Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award 2021, Patrick White Playwright’s Award 2022, Griffin Award 2022, Sydney Theatre Award Nomination for Best New Australian Work.
Anthea Williams
Belvoir: WINYANBOGA YURRINGA, HIR, KILL THE MESSENGER, CINDERELLA, FORGET ME NOT and OLD MAN. Carriageworks: SLEEPLESSNESS. Griffin Theatre: PONY and SINCE ALI DIED. Melbourne Theatre Company: COST OF LIVING. National Theatre of Parramatta: FLIGHT PATHS & THING I COULD NEVER TELL STEVEN. NIDA: POSSESSIONS, FIRST LOVE IS THE REVOLUTION, LOVE AND INFORMATION, THE COLBY SISTERS OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA and #KILLALLMEN. PYT: THE HEN HOUSE. Red Line: THE HUMANS. Performing Lines: M’AP BOUL´E. The Bush (UK): TWO CIGARETTES, 50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER, TURF, SUDDENLOSSOFDIGNITY.COM, and THE GREAT BRITISH COUNTRY FETE. The Court (Aotearoa): THE APPLETON LADIES POTATO RACE and THE PINK HAMMER. Film: SAFETY NET. Awards: Best Director, Sydney Theatre Award, Hir. Training: UNSW and Victorian College of the Arts. Anthea is the Associate Artistic Director at Griffin Theatre Company.
Di Adams
Theatre: Ensemble Theatre: WHEN DAD MARRIED FURY. Akimbo & Co: TONGUE TIED. Apocalypse Theatre: ALL MY SLEEP & WAKING. Bell Shakespeare: KING LEAR. Fixed Foot Productions: TOM AT THE FARM. Griffin Theatre: WICKED SISTERS. Mi Todo Productions: MARY JANE. Outhouse Theatre Co: TREVOR, AUSTRALIAN OPEN FOR BUB. Mophead Productions / Redline Productions: THE HUMANS. New Theatre: PARRAMATTA GIRLS. Sydney Theatre Company: TARTUFFE, THE CRUCIBLE, ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. Wild Thing Productions: SEVENTEEN, WILD THING. Film: TWO UGLY PEOPLE, JUNE AGAIN, THE BUTTERFLY TREE, THE TURNING, A FEW BEST MEN. TV: THE PEOPLE VS. ROBODEBT, THE KILLINGS AT PARRISH STATION, TROPPO, WHILE THE MEN ARE AWAY, THE TWELVE, THE MESSENGER, RAKE, PIECES OF HER, TOP OF THE LAKE CHINA GIRL, SECRET CITY, WAKE IN FRIGHT, THE PRINCIPAL, A PLACE TO CALL HOME, THE OTHER GUY, LOVE CHILD, HOME & AWAY.
Leeanna Walsman
Ensemble Theatre: Debut. Belvoir: OPENING NIGHT, PERIBANEZ. Malthouse Theatre: SOLARIS, MELANCHOLIA. Sydney Theatre Company: STOCKHOLM, SATURN’S RETURN, THE SHAPE OF THINGS, LA DISPUTE. State Theatre company of South Australia: SPEAKING IN TONGUES. Bell Shakespeare: OTHELLO. Queensland Theatre Company: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. Film: BOSCH & ROCKIT, PENGUIN BLOOM, DON’T TELL, 2076, SINGLE RIDER, MANNY LEWIS, DAWN, CAUGHT INSIDE, BITTER AND TWISTED, STAR WARS: ATTACK OF THE CLONES, LOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI, BLACKROCK, WOMAN WITH AN EDITING BENCH. Television: HUMAN ERROR, NCIS: SYDNEY S3, EAST OF EDEN, NAUTILUS, PREPPERS. EDEN, SAFE HARBOUR, SEVEN TYPES OF AMIGUITY, JANET KING S2, CLEVERMAN, DRUNK HISTORY, BLACK COMEDY, CATCHING MILAT, WENTWORTH, UNDERBELLY: BADNESS, THE PACIFIC, THE STARTER WIFE. Awards: FCCA Annual Award Australian Film Winner for Best Supporting Actress BOSCH & ROCKIT, Auckland International Film Festival Winner for Best Actress WOMAN WITH AN EDITING BENCH.
Shirong Wu
Belvoir: MISS PEONY, CURSED! Between the Buildings Theatre Company: WHAT EVERY GIRL SHOULD KNOW. Black Swan State Theatre Company: THE LEFTOVERS (Development). Dirty Pennies Theatre Project: FLAGMAN. Half Symbolic: SWEET JUICES. Hartwell Players: I, COCKROACH. Javaad Alipoor Company: THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD. Old Fitz Theatre: ALL THE FRAUDULENT HORSE GIRLS. Purple Tape and Empty Seat Productions: WERKAHOLICS. Sydney Theatre Company: 4000 MILES, A FOOL IN LOVE, WHITE PEARL. Film: DON’T YOU DARE YUCK MY YUM, SWEET JUICES, MOTHERTONGUE, PENCIL TO THE JUGULAR. Television: ALL HER FAULT, MOTHER AND SONS S2, STRIFE S2, BUMP S3, NEIGHBOURS, APPETITE.
Kelsey Lee
Ensemble Theatre: Lighting Designer: TOP SILK, BETTE & JOAN, MASTER CLASS, THE MEMORY OF WATER, A LETTER FOR MOLLY, UNQUALIFIED 2: STILL UNQUALIFIED, KILLING KATIE, OUTDATED. Costume Designer: SWITZERLAND. Other: Lighting Designer: Sydney Theatre Company: PURPOSE, 4000 MILES. Melbourne Theatre Company: DESTINY. Belvoir Street Theatre: BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY, WELL BEHAVED WOMEN, CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME, A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN. Bell Shakespeare: MACKENZIE, COMEDY OF ERRORS. Griffin Theatre Company: THE LEWIS TRILOGY, SEX MAGICK, WHITEFELLA YELLA TREE. Greendoor Theatre Company: SISTREN. Australian Theatre for Young People: APRIL AARDVARK. 25A Belvoir: LIFE IS A DREAM, AN OX STAND ON MY TONGUE, DESTROY SHE SAID, EXTINCTION OF THE LEARNED RESPONSE. Force Majeure: GURR ERA OP. Hayes Theatre: TELL ME ON A SUNDAY. Marrugeku: MUTIARA. National Theatre of Parramatta: QUEEN FATIMA. Set & Costume Designer: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SELF DEFENCE, NOTHING. Sydney Dance Company: THE JOURNEY ITSELF IS HOME, SPELL, SOMOS. Set, Costume & Lighting Designer: Australian Chamber Orchestra: THERES A SEA IN MY BEDROOM, WILFRED GORDON MCDONALD PARTRIDGE.
Keerthi Subramanyam
Bell Shakespeare: MACKENZIE. Belvoir Street Theatre: THE WRONG GODS (with Melbourne Theatre Company), NAYIKA: A DANCING GIRL, LOSE TO WIN, NEVER CLOSER, AT WHAT COST. Belvoir 25A: SNAKEFACE. Darlinghurst Theatre Company: SEVEN METHODS OF KILLING KYLIE JENNER. Hayes Theatre Company: MURDER FOR TWO. Old Fitz Theatre: GOODNIGHT SWEET PRINCE, CHEWING GUM DREAMS. Queensland Theatre: BACK TO BILO. Sydney Opera House: IN THE HEIGHTS. Film: THE LAUGH OF LAKSHMI. Television: HOMEBODIES, APPETITE. Training: National Institute of Dramatic Art.
Daniel Herten
Ensemble Theatre: FLY GIRL, THE HALF-LIFE OF MARIE CURIE. Belvoir Theatre: A MIRROR, GRIEF IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS. Griffin Theatre: SISTREN, FLAT EARTHERS: THE MUSICAL,THE LEWIS TRILOGY, WHITEFELLA YELLA TREE. Hayes Theatre: MURDER FOR TWO, RIDE THE CYCLONE, FLAT EARTHERS THE MUSICAL, THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE. Sydney Festival: WILLIAM YANG: MILESTONE, SET PIECE. Sydney Theatre Company: CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION, RULES FOR LIVING. Michael Cassel Group: THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (BROADWAY TOUR). Sydney Opera House: CALAMITY JANE. Sport For Jove: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. Darlinghurst Theatre: LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. Redline Productions: THE CHAIRS, HAND TO GOD. Erth Visual & Physical Inc: ARC. Essential Workers: COLLAPSIBLE. National Theatre Of Parramatta: FADE. Awards: GRIEF IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS (BEST SOUND DESIGN AND COMPOSITION OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION), THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY NOMINATION, TONY AWARDS), THE LEWIS TRILOGY (BEST SOUND DESIGN AND COMPOSITION OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION NOMINATION, SYDNEY THEATRE AWARDS).
Krystelle Quartermain
Ensemble Theatre: BETTE & JOAN, PRIMARY TRUST, THE GLASS MENAGERIE, KILLING KATIE: CONFESSIONS OF A BOOKCLUB (Stage Management Secondment). Australian Theatre for Young People: THE DEB. Belvoir Street Theatre: WELL-BEHAVED WOMEN, MEOW MEOW’S THE RED SHOES. DV Live: LOVE ACTUALLY? THE MUSICAL PARODY. Force Majeure: GURR ERA OP. Great Big Events: SCHOOL OF ROCK: THE ARENA MUSICAL. Hayes Theatre: TELL ME ON A SUNDAY, THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE. Legs On The Wall: BEETLE, WAVERIDER. Neglected Musicals: IF/THEN, THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG; PROMISES, PROMISES; THE APPLE TREE. Randwick City Council: COOGEE CHRISTMAS CAROLS. Sydney Festival 2025: SIEGFRIED & ROY: THE UNAUTHORISED OPERA. Sydney Opera House: JAMES GALEA’S BEST TRICK EVER. Sydney Theatre Company: STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE; THE GOAT OR, WHO IS SYLVIA? Training: National Institute of Dramatic Art, Bachelor of Fine Arts Technical Theatre and Stage Management 2021.
Amelia McCann
Beacon Musical Society: MARY POPPINS, YOU’RE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, SLEEPING BEAUTY: THE PANTOMIME, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD, ME AND MY GIRL, OKLAHOMA!. Campbelltown Theatre Group: NOISES OFF. Sydney Fringe Festival: LATE TO THE PARTY – THE MUSICAL. Macquarie Musical Society: INVISIBLE, FREAKY FRIDAY. Training: Macquarie University – Bachelor of Arts (Arts Industries and Management), Nirimba TAFE – Diploma of Live Production and Technical Services.
Renata Beslik
Ensemble Theatre: BETTE & JOAN, FLY GIRL, HOW TO PLOT A HIT IN TWO DAYS, TRUE WEST, ARIA, UNCLE VANYA, MASTER CLASS, ULSTER AMERICAN, SWITZERLAND, ALONE IT STANDS, THE GREAT DIVIDE, THE MEMORY OF WATER, SUMMER OF HAROLD, MR BAILEY’S MINDER, BENEFACTORS, RHINESTONE REX AND MISS MONICA, THE CARETAKER, PHOTOGRAPH 51, THE ONE, OUTDATED, CRUNCH TIME, BABY DOLL, FOLK, LUNA GALE,
and many more. Bell Shakespeare: HENRY V, THE WINTER’S TALE, MACBETH. Belvoir St Theatre: FANGIRLS. New Theatricals: DARKNESS. National Institute of Dramatic Art: THE GOVERNMENT
INSPECTOR, STAY HAPPY KEEP SMILING, THE TEMPEST, WOYCECK, A LIE OF THE MIND, PORT, THE THREESOME. Pinchgut Opera: THE FAIRY QUEEN, JULIUS CAESAR, RINALDO, MÉDÉE, PLATÉE and many more. Sydney Festival: BETTY BLOKKBUSTER RE-IMAGINED. Australian Chamber Orchestra: THE NUTCRACKER.
After reading Careless People: A Story Of Where I Used To Work by Sarah Wynn-Williams, a particular moment stood out to me. Sarah (Facebook’s director of global public policy at the time) was furiously typing a work memo on her laptop, in between contractions, while in labour with her first child.
I found this particularly fascinating. The deeply human act of giving birth could not be more at odds with a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on big tech. And as we sacrifice humans and human instinct for the sake of efficiency and new technologies, are we actually forgetting ourselves, and how to be good people?
The three brilliant and hilarious women in THE ELEVATOR, all for various reasons, have to behave ‘badly.’ Not only are they competing in a corporate landscape that has been set up for them to fail, but they have all made questionable sacrifices as they deal with a huge moral dilemma. By placing them in a closed space and with this story unfolding in real time, the claustrophobia that comes with a foreboding sense of guilt and working under a glass ceiling is intensified.
There’s only so much humans can control, before it backfires on us. Tech giants love to ‘move fast and break things.’ But are they actually breaking? At the end of the day, we will age and our post-partum bodies will leak, and those are deeply human and beautiful things. And perhaps we could try stopping halfway up the never-ending mountain, take a breath and acknowledge the view from there. It might be a kinder and more generous place.
Eloise Snape
In the 1990s and 2000s, when Margot (and I) were growing up and imagining our futures, much of white Western feminist discourse seemed focused on getting women into positions of power: into boardrooms, executive offices, and the highest levels of corporate life. That progress mattered, but a small amount of representation at the top hasn’t created change. Genuine equality requires structural change at every level – a fundamental rethinking of what, and who, our workplaces, businesses and economy values.
Women are still expected to work as though they do not have people to care for, and to parent as though they do not have jobs. The strain created by these incompatible expectations is treated as a personal failure rather than the consequence of systems never designed to accommodate those who nurture. At the same time, work itself can be profoundly dehumanising, asking us to suppress our vulnerability, our responsibilities and, all too often, our consciences.
Time and again in Australia, we have seen that when women are finally given the opportunity to lead, it is at a moment of institutional crisis, the glass cliff, or in circumstances where their authority is continually undermined. Both happen to Margot.
Eloise Snape’s THE ELEVATOR offers no easy answers. Instead, it asks us to consider the ways corporations can erode our humanity: personally, when work is placed ahead of those who need our care; and socially, when profit is placed ahead of people.
It has been a great pleasure to work at Ensemble Theatre, and I have been deeply impressed by the company’s commitment to new Australian plays. The actors and creative team have brought enormous care, intelligence and generosity to this production. And, as always, it has been fantastic to work with the brilliant Eloise Snape.
Anthea Williams
Audio Described
- Tue 6 Oct 11am
- Sat 10 Oct 1.30pm
Q&A Sessions
- Thu 1 Oct 11am
- Thu 8 Oct 8.15pm
Free Teen Night
- Wed 14 Oct 8.15pm
To book, please contact the Box Office on (02) 8918 3400 or email boxoffice@ensemble.com.au