The Sydney staging is directed by Neil Armfield and features the Belvoir St. Theatre’s Company B. The cast includes Paul Bertram, Wayne Blair (no relation to Tony, who appears as a character in the play), Peter Carroll, Ralph Cotterill, Russell Dykstra, John Gaden, Victoria Haralabidou, George Henare, Russell Kiefel, Rebecca Massey, Pip Miller, Rhys Muldoon, Leah Purcell, Hazem Shammas, Greg Stone and Sandy Winton. The show plays the Seymour Centre through Aug. 21. It will then travel to Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre with performances beginning Aug. 24.

As for the U.S., Hare’s agent told Playbill.com that he has been besieged by calls from universities across America who want to perform the play. However, there are still hopes for a Broadway bow, so the rights won’t be released to students just yet. No word on when it might happen in New York or with whom, but negotiations continue.

Stuff Happens depicts the run-up to the Iraq War. Hare has been at pains to point out that the show is a history play rather than a documentary, with the secret diplomacy imagined and dramatized. It started life at Britain’s NT with Alex Jennings as George Bush, directed by Nicholas Hytner. As well as Bush and Blair, Hare put such figures as U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blick, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell on stage. The title is taken from a phrase used by Donald Rumsfeld.

For more information on the Company B production in Sydney, call (0)2 9699 3444 or visit www.belvoir.com.au.