An EBKM production
Heartbreak Hotel
This one’s for the young hearts, the old hearts, and the broken hearts.
About EBKM
EBKM is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most innovative contemporary theatre companies, led by co-artistic directors Eleanor Bishop and Karin McCracken who founded the company in 2017. Foregrounding intelligent and emphatic writing, formal innovation, a strong connection between actor and audience, and social utility, EBKM’s shows run the gamut from exploring consent and healthy relationships, to artistic failure, to the physiological impacts of heartbreak.
For the past five years the company has consistently toured abroad, appearing at esteemed festivals and presenting houses in the U.K., Canada, North America, Iceland, Australia, Serbia and Germany, while adaptations of their works have taken place in Hungary, Catalonia and Wales. EBKM develops new work through extensive research and in consultation with audiences, social agencies and academics, as well as long-term collaborations with leading designers and performers.
In 2024, their large-scale adaptation Gravity & Grace was commissioned by New Zealand’s two largest arts festivals, winning multiple awards including Production of the Year, and Gold Award – Spatial Design from the Designers Institute of New Zealand. In 2026, EBKM made their New York debut performing a month-long Off-Broadway run of Heartbreak Hotel.
A NOTE FROM ELEANOR AND KARIN
Thank you for coming to Heartbreak Hotel. We’re glad you’re here.
We made this show because heartbreak is brutal, normal, and ungovernable. Karin had been heartbroken for a while, and wanted to write about it. Eleanor thought this was a good idea—heartbreak being one of the most painfully beautiful and singular experiences of one’s life, rich terrain for a couple of romantics raised on Dickensian and Austen yearning (Miss Havisham, the original heartbroken woman, was sadly cut but she vows to return in another show.)
In writing the play Karin wanted to bring her own experience into conversation with the wider cultural phenomenon of heartbreak—the songs, the literature and the science. Eleanor felt honored to collaborate on such an authentic portrayal of loss, reflection and recovery. Both of us wanted to make something that felt honest, true, but not totally despairing—acknowledging that no matter how dark it gets, change is always right around the corner.
We first premiered the show in 2023 and in touring the show since we’ve had the pleasure to connect with so many people who’ve shared their stories of heartbreak with us (via conversations, DMs or simply with their eyes). Connection over what feels like a solitary experience has been important and healing for us—and for our audiences too.
If you happen to be here tonight because you like theatre, fantastic. We do too. If you also happen to be at this show because you’re in the throes of heartbreak—what Rachel Cusk would call ‘romance’s estranged cousin, a cruel character, all sleeplessness and adrenaline unsweetened by hope’ —welcome. This show was built for everyone, but especially for you.
Karin McCracken & Eleanor Bishop,
Co-Artistic Directors of EBKM
An artist living in Naarm (Melbourne)
Karin McCracken is an award-winning writer and performer based in Pōneke, Wellington, and the co-artistic director of EBKM, alongside Eleanor Bishop. Karin wrote and performs in Heartbreak Hotel, which has been presented at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, RISING Festival Melbourne and Soho Theatre London. She co-wrote (with Eleanor Bishop) the large-scale theatre show Gravity & Grace and Yes Yes Yes, a show for young people about healthy relationships. Yes Yes Yes has been presented in Canada, the USA, Germany, Iceland and Australia, and has been translated into Hungarian, Catalan and Welsh. Karin and Eleanor were the recipients of the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award in 2022, the first time in its history that it was awarded to a creative partnership. In 2025 Karin received a MacDowell Fellowship to write a new work for stage.
Katie Sfetkidis
Eleanor Bishop is a director and writer working across theatre, opera and film. As the co-artistic director of EBKM (with Karin McCracken), their works include Gravity & Grace, Heartbreak Hotel and Yes Yes Yes. Their work has toured to the UK, Canada, the USA and Europe and Yes Yes Yes has been translated into Hungarian, Catalan and Welsh. EBKM are the winners of the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award in 2022, the first time in the awards history it has been given to a partnership. Eleanor is a former Friedlander Foundation Associate Artist for NZ Opera and was a member of Jane Campion’s inaugural pop up film intensive A Wave in the Ocean supported by Netflix. Her first short film GIRL TIME recently premiered in official selection at the 82nd Venice Film Festival. She holds an MFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, USA where she studied as a John Wells Fellow and a Fulbright Scholar.
Byron J Scullin
Simon Leary has been working professionally as an actor in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally since graduating from Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School in 2010. Film and TV credits include: The Brokenwood Mysteries, Dirty Laundry, Shortland Street, and Hilary. Simon played the lead in A Very Good Boy directed by Samuel Te Kani which recently premiered in official selection at the 82nd Venice Film Festival. Simon has worked in over 30 plays at Circa Theatre in Wellington as an actor including Blithe Spirit, Transmission Beta, Cock, A Servant to two Masters, and most recently as Tom in The Glass Menagerie. He has performed with Auckland Theatre Company, The Court Theatre and Centrepoint Theatre. Simon is a core collaborator with EBKM, appearing in Heartbreak Hotel and the company’s large-scale work, Gravity & Grace.
The EBKM Team
| Writer | Karin McCracken |
| Director | Eleanor Bishop |
| Production & Light Design | Filament Eleven 11 |
| Sound Designer | Te Aihe Butler |
| Creative Producer | Melanie Hamilton |
| Tour Operator | Khalid Parkar |
| Booking Agent | Pearl Herbert for Aurora Nova |
| Artistic Director / CEO | Simon Hinton |
| General Manager | Rachel Francis |
| Executive Team Coordinator | Nicole McLennan |
| Artistic Development Manager | Leland Kean |
| Producer – New Works & Touring | Annie Clapton |
| First Nations Emerging Producer | Lillie Paton |
| Director – Strangeways Ensemble | Anne-Louise Rentell |
| Artistic Associate – Artist Wellbeing | Bonnie Curtis |
| Program Manager | Penny Watts |
| Program Coordinator – Hirer Events | Dayna Huber & Jasmina Naumovski |
| Brand & Audience Strategy Manager | Amandine Durrant |
| Marketing Manager | Samantha Conridge |
| Marketing Coordinator – Artistic | Grace De Liseo |
| Marketing Coordinator – Digital Content | Mina Albert |
| Marketing Coordinator – Strategic & Development | Eileen Stapleton |
| Production & Technical Manager | Pip Rigter |
| Technical Lead | Elly Upsall |
| Senior Lighting Technician | Corey Potter |
| Technical Coordinator | Hayley Metcalf |
| Theatre Technician | Annika Bertinat |
| Facilities Coordinator | James Clarke |
| Box Office Manager | Linda Hanbury |
| Box Office Coordinator | Eliza Swan |
| Food & Beverage Services Manager | Kellie George |
| Food & Beverage Coordinator | Graeme McLuskey |
| Acting Front of House Manager | Jess Morris |
| Finance & Business Manager | Eleise Hale |
| Accounts Coordinator | Janki Dave & Jeannine Mulligan |
Key Information
To ensure patrons enjoy the performance, management asks you to note:
• Camera and mobile devices should not be used during the performance
• Switch off alarms and mobile phones prior to the performance
The management reserves the right to refuse admission and ask patrons to leave, also to make any alterations to the cast which may be rendered necessary by illness of other unavoidable causes.
Patrons are advised that the ILLAWARRA PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE has an EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE, a FIRE ALARM system and EXIT passageways.
In case of an alert, patrons should remain calm, look for the closest GREEN EXIT sign, listen to and comply with directions given by the trained in-house attendants and move in an orderly fashion to the open spaces outside the building.
The Illawarra Performing Arts Centre is a company limited by guarantee and supported by Wollongong City Council.
Merrigong is dedicated to delivering experiences that are relevant and impactful to the diverse people of our region. We invest in a range of programs with community groups, schools and artists that deliver tangible outcomes through paid residencies, employment and the development of new theatre work.
There are many ways that you can support this work, from tax-deductible donations, to corporate partnerships, to becoming part of our team of highly-valued volunteers. Your contribution can help us build a brighter future for artists, audiences and our community.
