PRESS PLAY : Tantrum Youth Arts
What will your button do?
PRESS PLAY drops audiences into opening night chaos as 50 young actors race against the clock. With just 50 minutes to premiere a show, the audience controls part of the action via buttons. This playful reimagining of Tantrum’s history blends tech and surprises – turning theatre into a shared game where every choice shapes the show.
The show hurtles through a wildly reimagined 50‑year “history” of Tantrum, a much‑loved Newcastle youth theatre company. Expect awards nights, disaster tours, condemned venues and some completely unexpected detours. Did the company once pivot into a hotdog stand after running out of money? Was there really a penguin Artistic Director? In this version of history, anything is possible.
Using live streaming, trigger switches and full audience participation, PRESS PLAY blurs the line between stage and seats. Every choice matters, momentum is everything, and no two performances are quite the same.
Commissioned by New Annual for the 2026 festival.
DURATION
60 mins
SENSORY & CONTENT WARNING
Press Play is a relaxed, family friendly show. Audiences are welcome to move around, exit and enter, eat snacks, wear headphones, do whatever they need to be comfortable in our theatre. Fun, unexpected things will happen, but a visual story will be made available closer to the show dates if you would prefer to know what to expect.
ACCESSIBILITY
The Playhouse has wheelchair access to the foyer and auditorium via the lift on Hunter Street. Wheelchair accessibly seating is available in selected rows only. Accessible toilets are located at the foyer level.
ARTISTS & COLLABORATORS
Created and performed by Tantrum’s combined ensembles of young artists (8-18 years) and Accelerate Ensemble.
Creative Director: Penelope (Nel) Kentish
Sound/Audio Design: Huw Jones
Set and Costume Design: Jada Laurie
Technologist: Joshua Ingle
Lighting Design: Nik Lyons
Co-Directors: Barnaby Donaghy, Patrick Howlett, Jada Laurie, Alana McGaughey.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Commissioned by New Annual and presented in partnership with Civic Theatre. Supported by Beyond Bank. Tantrum Youth Arts is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.
The show hurtles through a wildly reimagined 50‑year “history” of Tantrum, a much‑loved Newcastle youth theatre company. Expect awards nights, disaster tours, condemned venues and some completely unexpected detours. Did the company once pivot into a hotdog stand after running out of money? Was there really a penguin Artistic Director? In this version of history, anything is possible.
Using live streaming, trigger switches and full audience participation, PRESS PLAY blurs the line between stage and seats. Every choice matters, momentum is everything, and no two performances are quite the same.
Commissioned by New Annual for the 2026 festival.
DURATION
60 mins
SENSORY & CONTENT WARNING
Press Play is a relaxed, family friendly show. Audiences are welcome to move around, exit and enter, eat snacks, wear headphones, do whatever they need to be comfortable in our theatre. Fun, unexpected things will happen, but a visual story will be made available closer to the show dates if you would prefer to know what to expect.
ACCESSIBILITY
The Playhouse has wheelchair access to the foyer and auditorium via the lift on Hunter Street. Wheelchair accessibly seating is available in selected rows only. Accessible toilets are located at the foyer level.
ARTISTS & COLLABORATORS
Created and performed by Tantrum’s combined ensembles of young artists (8-18 years) and Accelerate Ensemble.
Creative Director: Penelope (Nel) Kentish
Sound/Audio Design: Huw Jones
Set and Costume Design: Jada Laurie
Technologist: Joshua Ingle
Lighting Design: Nik Lyons
Co-Directors: Barnaby Donaghy, Patrick Howlett, Jada Laurie, Alana McGaughey.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Commissioned by New Annual and presented in partnership with Civic Theatre. Supported by Beyond Bank. Tantrum Youth Arts is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.