'Against the backdrop of 1950s and 60s suburban Melbourne and in the wake of the Second World War, multi-award-winning writer Patricia Cornelius delivers a poetic, heart-rending tale that unpacks the shadow of war, and the trauma it leaves behind.
'The youngest of Jack and Martha’s five children, Christine idolises her father, especially his stories of wartime heroics. She cannot understand why her siblings – Jill, Johnnie and twins Door and Mouse – don’t share her love for their dad. Jill, meanwhile doesn’t understand why their mum puts up with him. As Christine watches on, one by one her siblings start to rebel against the tumultuous environment they are growing up in. Once fascinated by her father’s war stories, they slowly start to lose their shine as the conflict in Vietnam intensifies and war once again becomes front of mind for the family.'
Source: Production blurb.
Produced by Melbourne Theatre Company at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner, 23 September - 28 October 2023.
Director: Susie Dee.
Set and Costume Designer: Marg Horwell.
Lighting Designer: Rachel Burke.
Composer and Sound Designer: Kelly Ryall.
Cast including Sophie Ross (Jill).
'The playwright’s stage adaptation of her semi-autobiographical novel explores Australia’s changing attitude to war, but it never rises above the schematic'
'The playwright’s stage adaptation of her semi-autobiographical novel explores Australia’s changing attitude to war, but it never rises above the schematic'