The Fun Haus Factory will launch its first ever piano performance at the New Gosford Arts Centre in Mann St on Friday, August 8.
The performance of Chopin’s Last Tour, written and performed by Phillip Aughey, has been made possible by a very special gift – a baby grand piano donated through the ABC and Piano Plus Australia as part of the new ABC iview series The Piano.
To celebrate the Year of the Piano, ABC and Piano Plus delivered 20 pre-loved pianos from communities around Australia to new homes where music can live on.
Gosford is now one of those homes and on Friday that piano sings.
The poetic, deeply moving solo show explores the last year of Frédéric Chopin’s life.
Frail, heartbroken, and in exile, Chopin travels to Scotland at the invitation of Lady Jane Stirling – his student and unrequited admirer.
As he faces the end, he offers not grand performances, but intimate reflections told through music, memory, and raw humanity.
Chopin’s Last Tour is a powerful blend of live classical piano and theatre, taking audiences from his prodigious childhood in Poland to Paris’ glittering salons, through heartbreak, exile, love, and longing.
Each musical piece mirrors a chapter of his life, drawing listeners into his world with intensity, beauty, and truth.
The show has played to standing ovations across the globe – from Edinburgh to London, Adelaide to Avignon.
Stick around after the show for a Q&A with Aughey, founder of Newcastle Fringe, director of Anvil Creek Theatre, and a celebrated multi-hyphenate creator.
He said this would be the 137th performance of this piece.
“It has been performed in most of the capital cities in Australia, many regional tours and overseas in London, Edinburgh, Avignon (France), New Zealand and Tallinn (Estonia),” he said.
“It tells the life of Chopin in the first person and was designed for people who love his music but know little about the man or his circumstances.
“It is an attempt to humanise the genius, to give the audience an insight into the type of person he was.
“The play explains his upbringing, his family, the importance of Poland, his friendships and his lovers, his battle with illness, his conflicts and his trials.
“It is an insight into the type of life he led – a life that began as a child prodigy in Poland, where he was influenced by the native folk music and customs, and also by Poland’s political plight.
“At the age of 21 he left Poland to further his career; he was never to return.
“He settled in Paris and soon had a reputation as a composer and teacher.
“He didn’t like giving public recitals, only giving 30 in his life time, but did thrive in salons and drawing rooms of friends.
“He was a very likeable, polite man with a quirky sense of humour – introverted and shy.
“Even today he remains a romantic figure and this play explores the relationships with women in his life.
“The pieces played have been carefully chosen to represent the different sections of his life. “
Doors will open at 5pm for dinner from Beau’s Burgers with the show to begin at 7.30pm.
For more information and bookings go to funhausfactory.org.au
