The unbelievable true story of one of the strangest sporting events of all time – the 1904 Olympic Marathon.
Breathless. Sweaty. Hunched over and losing it. The crowd goes wild.
It’s St. Louis, 1904, and the Olympic Games are still figuring out what the heck they’re doing.
Thirty-two athletes get set at the start line. Drawn by the promise of glory, redemption and a medal awarded by the First Daughter, Alice Roosevelt, they have no earthly idea what they’ve signed up for.
What follows is a perfect storm of incompetence, stupidity, betrayal, cheating, wild dogs and rat poison.
Six of the best, boldest – and hopefully somewhat athletic – actors and comedians unite to run head-first into the chaos.
Brynley STENT, Chris PARKER, Batanai MASHINGAIDZE, Brett O'GORMAN, Kura FORRESTER, and Brayden CRESSWELL.
When everything is going wrong, just keep running
Nic Sampson's mainstage theatre debut tells the unbelievably true story of one of the most disastrous races in Olympic history - a race so chaotic it nearly killed its contestants, and the event itself, for good.
A play about friendship, ambition and falling short, spectacularly, Marathon finds the comedy and heart in sporting disaster, celebrating the losers, the cheats and the ones history remembers for all the wrong reasons.
Marathon is a stitch-inducing and hilarious night at the side of the racetrack. Too chaotic to be fiction and promising to have you breathless in the audience.
Get set. Book fast.
Commissioned by Silo Theatre with support from Creative New Zealand and Silo Theatre Patrons.
Sponsor:
The Milford Asset Management Season
Presented by:
With support from Q Theatre
Creative Team:
Written by Nic Sampson
Direction: Ben Crowder
Design: Daniel Williams, Sean Lynch, Christopher Stratton and Leon Radojkovic
Cast: Brynley Stent, Chris Parker, Brett O'Gorman, Batanai Mashingaidze, Kura Forrester, and Brayden Cresswell
