Accessible Arts / arts + disability NSW

Cohabitation: Bondi will premiere in the newly renovated theatre inside Bondi Pavilion on 9 October 2009.  The venue is wheelchair accessible and one of the lead roles, Simon, is played by actor and wheelchair user Anthony Masterson.

"Cohabitation: Bondi is about falling in love with your flatmate - and what happens the morning after the night before," playwright Jane Malone explains. "Is not about the wheelchair. The fact that the character of Simon is a wheelchair user is about as noticeable as the flags seem to be for the tourists who almost drown each week on Bondi Rescue."

Naomi Malone is heading a fundraising drive to provide state-of-the-art technology so that all performances are fully accessible for theatre goers with a hearing or vision impairment and to ensure all performances are wheelchair accessible.

Jane and Naomi are sisters and flat together in Bondi.

Cohabitation: Bondi - the core team

Writer/Director: Jane Malone

Jane has worked in and out of comedy since 1999. Her credits include print, radio, TV and Stand Up. Her first play, The Rumour, was shortlisted for the 2007 NSW Premier's Literary Prize and commended in the Victorian Fellowship of Australian Writers' Awards. She is the recipient of the Ensemble Theatre's NSW Order of Australia Emerging Directors' Grant and a Varuna Fellowship for Drama. Jane also holds a medical degree and specialises in Rehabilitation Medicine. One of her key interests in medicine - and a central theme in the play - is neuroscience. ‘Neuroplasticity and high tech MRI scans have changed the way we see ourselves and the world forever', says Jane. In 2009, she co-founded ‘The After Party Project'.

Lead male actor: Anthony Masterson

Anthony Masterson was born in Liverpool, Sydney. He was taken to Malta at the age of six and spent 17 years there before returning to Australia. He's always been interested in acting and would often do impersonations for friends. He enrolled in the the Power of Acting Course at the Actor's Centre in Surry Hills in 2005, performing a self devised play in front of family and friends to graduate. A recent accident left him paralysed from the waist down, and he now gets around in a fully sic wheelchair.
Anthony plays the role of Simon, who is torn between his love for Bondi and his feelings for the girl down the hall. ‘I'm really excited about being part of this production and playing the role of Simon, and am sure it will be fantastic!"

Accessibility Producer: Naomi Malone

Holding an Arts/Law degree and a MA in History, Naomi's work has been published in the Public History Review, which led to an Outstanding Student Award being granted by UTS. For the last 12 years, Naomi worked at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a lawyer, policy advisor and project manager, gaining an understanding of the arts industry. Being hearing-impaired has thrown up many challenges for Naomi; this has enhanced her awareness and understanding of disability issues. Naomi has served as a public speaker for the Shepherd Centre, a pre-school for deaf and hearing-impaired children, providing speeches about her ‘hearing-impaired' experiences to the public. Naomi currently works as a volunteer at the Catholic Centre for the Hearing-Impaired at Strathfield. Naomi is working round the clock, hoping to secure funding for a system that will allow vision or hearing impaired theatre goers to bring a laptop or iphone, which they can connect to The After Party Project's wireless for subtitles or audio descriptions.