The Passion of Saint Nicholas

A hilarious and heart-breaking cabaret about siblings, following your dreams and the friction of divergent paths.

Produced by:
Geraldine Quinn

Touring Window:
Jun/Jul & Sep 2025

Genre:
Cabaret

Suitable Venues:
Venue mainstage – community hall – black box, end on, cabaret style, flat floor, raised stage, hall.

*This production is great for
Community Presenters

Duration:
60 minutes

Audience:
15+, Adult themes (death and grief), occasional coarse language

Synopsis

Ever since the 1991 St John’s College, Dandenong, Talent Quest, Geraldine and her brother Nick shared a passion for music. But he got a “normal job”, and she went into musical comedy. Could things get worse? Spoiler: they did…

The Passion of Saint Nicholas takes the audience on a journey through growing up in a huge family in Wagga Wagga, being arty kids in a sporty school and shared sibling dreams of a music career. Cathartic and hilarious, packed with original music, and with a profound message of moving forward with love and loss in your heart, ‘Saint Nicholas’ moves audiences to tears of sadness and joy all at once.

A fantastic tale about following your heart, the friction of divergent paths, and keeping the band together when you lose your biggest cheerleader.

Woman with red hair and drag make-up
Woman in blue lighting holding a microphone

Book this show

Geraldine Quinn (Spicks and Specks, The Weekly)is an award-winning rock cabaret artist. She’s a featured vocalist on Get Krack!n’, co-starred with Tony Martin in his and Sarena Rowell’s award-winning podcast Childproof and was nominated for both the Golden Gibbo and Most Outstanding Show in 2022 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Theatre Dimensions

Stage minimum 2.5 – 3m deep, 3m wide. Stage height – If flat floor seating/non-raked, minimum 0.3m for sight lines Wing space – wings are not essential. Performer can enter from elsewhere in the venue, as they remain onstage the entire show. If wings available, 1.5 to 2 metres is sufficient for pre-show. Similarly, backstage isn’t essential, however an offstage area somewhere to prepare/leave valuables appreciated.

Audience Seating

Rowed or cabaret seating (tables and chairs); can adjust to space.

Bump in/out

3 hours bump in (standard door entry is sufficient for bump in) 1.5 hours bump out.

Technical Rehearsal

2 hours to troubleshoot and check sound and lighting cues (QLab pre-built)

Loading Dock

Access to a loading dock is helpful but may not be essential. No large set pieces.

Staging and Set

Staging consists of a single microphone on a stand centre stage, one small cabaret table or similar onstage, one large ottoman, and minimal props, the largest being 2 x A1 corflutes. Small trestle table for lighting/sound desks can be provided. It would be appreciated if the venue could supply a chair for the technician if possible. The minimum preferred stage area is approximately 2.5 metres deep x 3.5m wide. This show can be performed on the floor, sight-lines permitting. Otherwise, there are no special requirements regarding staging or set.

Lighting

Basic cool and warm and white washes with a front fill focus is enough for the production (3-5 units), a lot of which can be achieved with modern LEDs. This is a list of desirable options but has the ability to be scaled down depending on the space. Full black out is not essential. A single touring technician can operate sound and lights for the show from the tech desk via QLab x 2-4 LED PAR Can 64 (2 rigged with optional 2 on-floor backlights) x 1 front fill lantern (e.g. ellipsoidal reflector spotlight (ERS) or LED alternative) Electrical supply and distribution board Electrical cabling and patching DMX interface such as Enttec DMX USB Pro Control cabling x 1 Lighting control desk with minimum 3-5 dimmable channels 2-3 riggable lighting trees Individual items – power required for lighting: Approx 6 inputs (powerboard)

Audio

The production requires stereo audio playback, 1 x vocal microphone (wireless handheld), and 1 x straight stand with appropriate clip. No live instruments are used for the performance beyond voice. No communications are required. Geraldine Quinn – The Passion of Saint Nicholas Technical Specifications Audio Equipment: x 1 Wireless Handheld (pref Shure ULX-D or similar) x 1 Wireless Mic transmitter with XLR Audio Cable & power x 1 straight microphone stand x 1 vox SM58 and stand with XLR Audio Cable (back up – artist can provide) x 2 EV ELX 15″ Powered Speakers 1200watts & XLR Audio Cables x 2 Speaker Stands x 1 foldback monitor & XLR Audio Cable x 1 Audio mixing desk with stereo input/line (for MacBook playback), minimum of 3 inputs and 3 sends (2 x FOH and 1 x Monitor (requires power) Laptop with QLab (requires power) Individual items – power required for audio: Approx 6 inputs (1 x power board) Note: length of cables will depend on lay-out of room – 3 – 6m minimum. Cable protectors/gaffer to be factored into budget as part of risk assessment. Additional power extension cords.

Dressing Rooms

The show consists of a solo performer. One small dressing room area is sufficient. Mirror, chair and access to water and tea/coffee facilities appreciated.

Writing Workshop: Adapting a True Story

Allows participants to explore the challenges of writing about real events and people. Can you claim ownership of your own story? How does it effect other people in your life and how can you navigate those potential complications? Can altering events betray the authenticity of your story, or allow you to distill the essence of your message?

The Passion of Saint Nicholas allowed both myself and director Declan Fay to learn a lot about our own process, negotiating the core of a trauma within a large family, negotiating a personal experience of loss separate from but adjacent to the wider family.’ – Geraldine Quinn

Running time: 1.5-2 hours
Tech: Audio playback, video (laptop is fine)
Venue: Show venue or break-out room
Participants: 5-15
Cost: $300

Fees

Fee range: $2,300 + GST performance (subject to change), $300 workshop.

Royalties: N/A

APRA: N/A

Book

Contact the Touring Team to talk about your program. Please let us know which show you are interested in and provide us with your contact details. Then one of our touring team will be in touch.

  • Winner – Best Cabaret Production, Best Artiste and Best Musical Direction – Green Room Awards 2022

  • Winner- Golden Gibbo Award – MICF 2011
  • Nominee – Most Outstanding Show – MICF 2022

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“An endlessly energetic set stacked with stupendous original songs, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry and wonder why Quinn hasn’t conquered Broadway yet.”

– The Age

“A perfect way to demonstrate how art can be poignant, funny, devastating and healing”

– Audience Member

DISCLAIMER: All details are correct at the time of publishing. Images and information provided on this page about the production are for descriptive purposes and do not always represent the content of the show.