

Arbus & West
Melbourne Theatre Company
‘No one had more fun with the double
entendre than Mae West’
Chicago Tribune
‘Mae, you can fool the world, you can fool your friends and you can even fool yourself, but you can’t fool me…’
Mae West was more than a sassy Hollywood sex symbol. She was a screenwriter, a jailbird, and a champion of civil rights. So much so, that when her landlord banned her African American boyfriend from visiting her apartment, she bought the whole damn building. Legendary photographer Diane Arbus saw what a piece of work West was. When the pair met in 1963, Arbus was determined to capture a portrait that went behind the spotlight, to find the real Mae West.
Drawing on actual events, award-winning Australian playwright Stephen Sewell imagines what might have transpired between these two extraordinary women, creating a powerful portrait of beauty, sexuality, wildness and longing.
Melita Jurisic (The House of Bernarda Alba) takes on the role of the irrepressible Mae West, with Diana Glenn (The Slap) as Diane Arbus in this World Premiere production, directed by MTC’s 2018 Helpmann Award-winning Associate Director Sarah Goodes (The Children).
‘Diane Arbus was one of the most powerful
American artists of the 20th century.’
The New York Times
Actor Diana Glenn and Director Sarah Goodes discuss the world premiere production Arbus & West.
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