Australian Premiere: Precious Little Talent

A TOUCHING and funny play about 20-somethings graduating into a world that’s sold them down the river has its Australian premiere at Harbour Theatre this June.

Written by Ella Hickson and directed by Ellis R. Kinnear, Precious Little Talent follows law graduate Joey who is £20,000 in debt and has just lost her job as a waitress.

Shunned by the world and rejected by her estranged father George, she travels from the UK to New York and finds herself falling in love with idealistic young American Sam – but she doesn’t realise her new flame works for her father as a caregiver.

“Precious Little Talent is an exploration of human connections being forged and re-forged by three people who can’t communicate effectively to save their lives,” Ellis said.

“It’s an exploration of love and loss and feeling like the world’s trying to trip you at every turn.”

The main challenge, according to Ellis, is the fact the play uses a more intimate setting and characters.

“I’m used to plays that expand over many different characters, many years and many different settings,” he said.

“This play sticks with three characters over the course of 24 hours from Christmas Eve to Christmas night.

“I’ve found it enjoyable because I’m a lover of character first and foremost and the ability to really dig into who Joey, George and Sam are, and what makes them tick, is incredible.”

Involved in theatre for the past 14 years, Ellis started treading the broads while at high school and has most recently appeared in Cosi and Masquerade at Curtin University and Romeo and Juliet and Richard III with the Graduate Dramatic Society.

Last year, he directed Radium Girls at the Old Mill Theatre, scoring him a best newcomer award at the annual Finley Awards where the play was also named in the top 10 productions of the year.

“The main appeal of directing Precious Little Talent was the character of Joey,” Ellis said.

“She’s gone through the education system, done what the world told her and has landed flat on her face with nowhere to go and no idea what to do.

“Joey now finds herself working in places that don’t fit her life and ideals and is in constant fear she’ll be forgotten.

“I found this incredibly relatable – I think we’ve all been Joey at some point, stuck at a crossroads with no guiding light to point the way out and I really felt a call to bring this character to life.”