Type Faster Productions present
Newk (The John Newcombe Story) by Kieran Carroll
Dee Why RSL Club (Dee Why, NSW)
Sunday, 29 June 2025 2:00 pm
NEWK (THE JOHN NEWCOMBE STORY)
Written by Kieran Carroll
Performed by Paul Armstrong
Directed by Ross Daniels
Written by award-winning Australian playwright Kieran Carroll and performed
by acclaimed Melbourne classical actor, Paul Armstrong, NEWK (The John
Newcombe Story) traces the life of the great Australian tennis champion of the
1960s and 70s, John Newcombe.
Set in 2024 at Newk’s 80th birthday in Sydney, Newcombe’s journey travels
from naïve 1960s schoolboy, to the No 1 player in the world in the 1970s, to his
time as Davis Cup Captain, to the stroke he suffered in 2003.
Numerous well-known guests drop by to celebrate his special day and share the
memories. Both drama and comedy, the play portrays a highly determined and
ambitious man burning through a quickly changing world. Aware he’s putting
his family second emotionally while conscious of providing for them
financially, the play exposes the exhausting schedules that even players of
yesteryear endured. Volatile off-court politics are also rife as the game moves
into full blown professionalism.
The play also captures hilarious moments from some of Newcombe’s numerous
commercials and business enterprises: Cinzano, bananas, Canon cameras and
K-Tel tennis instruction albums!
NEWK (The John Newcombe Story) is a grand story about wanting life to be a
huge ride, where rest is secondary and finally how that zest and appetite for life
never disappears but needs to be tempered. So, grab a Cinzano and enjoy this
rollicking ride about the life of one of Australia’s greatest sportsmen.
Written by Kieran Carroll
Performed by Paul Armstrong
Directed by Ross Daniels
Written by award-winning Australian playwright Kieran Carroll and performed
by acclaimed Melbourne classical actor, Paul Armstrong, NEWK (The John
Newcombe Story) traces the life of the great Australian tennis champion of the
1960s and 70s, John Newcombe.
Set in 2024 at Newk’s 80th birthday in Sydney, Newcombe’s journey travels
from naïve 1960s schoolboy, to the No 1 player in the world in the 1970s, to his
time as Davis Cup Captain, to the stroke he suffered in 2003.
Numerous well-known guests drop by to celebrate his special day and share the
memories. Both drama and comedy, the play portrays a highly determined and
ambitious man burning through a quickly changing world. Aware he’s putting
his family second emotionally while conscious of providing for them
financially, the play exposes the exhausting schedules that even players of
yesteryear endured. Volatile off-court politics are also rife as the game moves
into full blown professionalism.
The play also captures hilarious moments from some of Newcombe’s numerous
commercials and business enterprises: Cinzano, bananas, Canon cameras and
K-Tel tennis instruction albums!
NEWK (The John Newcombe Story) is a grand story about wanting life to be a
huge ride, where rest is secondary and finally how that zest and appetite for life
never disappears but needs to be tempered. So, grab a Cinzano and enjoy this
rollicking ride about the life of one of Australia’s greatest sportsmen.