image of person or book cover 3353254942354389846.jpg
Image courtesy of Belvoir website.
y separately published work icon Seventeen single work   drama  
Issue Details: First known date: 2015... 2015 Seventeen
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'You’re in for a treat.

'Matthew Whittet is the true original mind of Australian theatre – actor, writer, muse, inventor of marvels, scribe of human beauty and lover of oddity. Seventeen is the play he’s been getting ready to write for a long time. It’s about the cusp of adulthood, and it has been specially, like really specially, written for a rollcall of the country’s great senior actors. To be precise:

'Peter Carroll, Maggie Dence, Judi Farr, John Gaden, Barry Otto. The lot of them.

'These venerables play a group of teenagers (!) drinking, singing, dancing, gabbling, worrying and maybe even pashing (!!) their way through their last night of childhood and their first night of adulthood.

'Funny, immature, wise and a little bit but quite beautifully sad, Seventeen is about the size of life.' (Production summary)

Production Details

  • Performed at Belvoir's Upstairs Theatre: 1 August - 13 September 2015.

    Cast: Peter Carroll, Maggie Dence, Judi Farr, John Gaden, and Barry Otto.

    Director: Anne-Louise Sarks.

    Set Designer: Robert Cousins.

    Costume Designer: Mel Page.

    Dramaturg: Anthea Williams.


    Presented by Melbourne Theatre Company. Performed at Southbank Theatre, The Summer : 15 January - 17 February 2024.

    Director: Matt Edgerton.

    Cast: Pamela Rabe, Fiona Choi, Robert Menzies. and Richard Piper.


    Presented by WildThingProduction and Seymour Centre at the Seymour Centre, Sydney, 27 September - 19 October 2024.

    Director: Kim Hardwick.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 2015
    • Strawberry Hills, Inner Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales,: Currency Press , 2015 .
      image of person or book cover 7777075431432499109.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 54 p, [31] pages : black and white portraitsp.
      Description: illus.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 3rd August 2015
      ISBN: 9781925005462
      Series: Currency Plays Currency Press (publisher), series - publisher

Works about this Work

Theatre Review : Seventeen, Southbank Theatre Thuy On , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , January 2024;

— Review of Seventeen Matthew Whittet , 2015 single work drama

'The collision of age and youth is explored in this comedic start to MTC's 2024 program.'

MTC’s Seventeen Is Nostalgic Fun. But Is There Deeper Meaning? Robert Reid , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 5 February 2024;

— Review of Seventeen Matthew Whittet , 2015 single work drama
'Melbourne Theatre Company’s first show for the year, Seventeen, is charming in many ways. But is that enough? By Robert Reid.' 
‘Mags ’: The Magic and Mesmerising Maggie Dence Anne Pender , 2016 single work biography
— Appears in: Players : Australian Actors on Stage, Television and Film 2016;
'At the age of fifteen, Maggie Dence wrote a letter to Chips Rafferty, informing him of her interest in a career as an actress, and asking for advice on how to begin. The popular film actor advised her to take acting classes with Rosalind Kennerdale in Double Bay, or with May Hollingsworth who taught acting at the Independent Theatre in north Sydney.' (Introduction)
Seventeen at Belvoir – a Brilliant Theatrical Event with a Happy, Hetero Ending Huw Griffiths , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 13 August 2015;

— Review of Seventeen Matthew Whittet , 2015 single work drama
Date With Kate : Barry Otto Kate Waterhouse , 2015 single work column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 30 August 2015; (p. 3)
Cast Shake off Age and Shine in Bitter-sweet Tale of Teen Life Jason Blake , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 7 August 2015; (p. 20)

— Review of Seventeen Matthew Whittet , 2015 single work drama
Septuagenarians Nail Teen Angst, High Jinks Deborah Jones , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 4 August 2015; (p. 16)

— Review of Seventeen Matthew Whittet , 2015 single work drama
Seventeen at Belvoir – a Brilliant Theatrical Event with a Happy, Hetero Ending Huw Griffiths , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 13 August 2015;

— Review of Seventeen Matthew Whittet , 2015 single work drama
MTC’s Seventeen Is Nostalgic Fun. But Is There Deeper Meaning? Robert Reid , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 5 February 2024;

— Review of Seventeen Matthew Whittet , 2015 single work drama
'Melbourne Theatre Company’s first show for the year, Seventeen, is charming in many ways. But is that enough? By Robert Reid.' 
Theatre Review : Seventeen, Southbank Theatre Thuy On , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , January 2024;

— Review of Seventeen Matthew Whittet , 2015 single work drama

'The collision of age and youth is explored in this comedic start to MTC's 2024 program.'

Date With Kate : Barry Otto Kate Waterhouse , 2015 single work column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 30 August 2015; (p. 3)
‘Mags ’: The Magic and Mesmerising Maggie Dence Anne Pender , 2016 single work biography
— Appears in: Players : Australian Actors on Stage, Television and Film 2016;
'At the age of fifteen, Maggie Dence wrote a letter to Chips Rafferty, informing him of her interest in a career as an actress, and asking for advice on how to begin. The popular film actor advised her to take acting classes with Rosalind Kennerdale in Double Bay, or with May Hollingsworth who taught acting at the Independent Theatre in north Sydney.' (Introduction)
Last amended 11 Dec 2023 13:59:00
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