Personal Life - FAILED, Professional Life - FAILED, Social Life - NON EXISTENT. All that is about to change.
Jawbone is a provocative, bold, dark comedy about a man on the edge trying to come to terms with his place in the world. You will laugh. You will cry. You will laugh again. You will cry again.
Lykos is the only person on stage but viewers watch mesmerised, as he plays more than a dozen characters in a fascinating way that makes the audience both laugh and cry.
The one man show, written and performed by Alex Lykos, examines the mythology pf the modern day "successful man" who, by modern definition, is married, has two children, a high-paying job, an investment property and takes the family on regular holiday.
Tim has achieved none of these milestones. His family, friends, and society in general see him as a failure - as does he. It's at this rock-bottom state that he breaks from the shackles of his own existence.
Alex Lykos is a theatre maker and filmmaker based in Sydney. Whilst a lot of Lykos' work has been inspired by his Greek roots, he says he has been mindful to explore the telling of stories that reflect not just the Greek diaspora, but all of humanity.
Alex has earned a number of awards as an actor, a writer and director, making him one of Australia's leading story tellers.
He is most well known as the creator of Alex & Eve (2016) starring Andrea Demetriades, which was a hit across Australian cinemas and played at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and Me & My Left Brain (2019), which played in international festivals across the world, Europe, US and South Africa. It has sold to over 24 territories and is now on Amazon Prime in the US and UK.
His theatrical productions also include Australia's Game: The Musical, It's War, Better Man and the Alex & Eve stage trilogy.
"Writing and performing this show has been both a cathartic and painful experience," says Alex.
"Cathartic in that the frustrations and anger I have had in life over the past 12. months I purged out onto the keyboard.
"Painful because in many ways this is a show about regret and I was forced to look back at my life and relive the regrets I have had."
[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oax5gdsoNlU" width="700" title="Jawbone One Man Show Trailer by Alex Lykos"]Original music by Australia's most admired conductor, composer, and musical arranger George Ellis, brilliantly heightens the emotion throughout the production.
George’s career highlights have included Olympic Opening Ceremonies, Arts and Cultural Festivals, opening nights, ARIA Awards, and sporting finals such as the NRL and Davis Cup.
When asked about working with the musical mastermind, Alex says, “For me, it has been one of the most rewarding and pleasing collaborations. When you collaborate with someone, you don’t necessarily know how it will play out. But there was something quite organic with George, we just jelled.”
“At first he read the play, we spoke about it and then he went away thinking about the music.”
“George was the first person I performed the show to at his place, and I was bloody scared he was going to think, "what the hell did I get myself into?"” confesses Alex.
“He didn't, thank goodness. Then he started writing pieces of music, and playing it in front of me, and it was just so thrilling.”
“His music highlights certain emotional moments within the show...and to be quite honest, there are times when my character gets very emotional, and as an actor I don't have to do much other than listen to George's music because it stirs the emotions and takes me to where I need to go emotionally,” says Alex.
"The music of the production, even on its own, is really beautiful to listen to."
"You reach a point in your life where you are not where you'd hoped you'd be and you start looking back and asking yourself, "if only I did....my life would be...." and that can play on your psyche.”
Described by 'The Writers Room' as "a sustained, immersive theatre experience, with lots of laughs", Jawbone opens this coming Wednesday 26th May at the Factory Theatre.
When: 26th May, 3 - 13th June (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Where: Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Road, Marrickville
Adults: $20.50
To book: www.factorytheatre.com.au 02 9550 3666
Felicia Aroney: The Renowned Greek Australian Artist Taking Us Home to Greece
