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'Australia, 1900. An ancient land becomes the site of an impossible mystery. A group of schoolgirls and their teachers venture out into the sundrenched landscape, only for four of their number to disappear forever.
'The subsequent investigation creates more questions than answers. One of the girls is found with no memory of what happened to her or her classmates, another succumbs to hysteria for no apparent reason. Those close to the missing girls begin to meet with unfortunate ends and it becomes clear that this is no ordinary disappearance.' (Production summary)
A Black Swan Theatre Company Co-production with Malthouse Theatre. Performed 26 February - 26 March 2016 at the Malthouse Theatre and 1 April to 17 April at the Hedger Ledger Theatre.
Director: Matthew Lutton.
Set & Costume Designer: Zoë Atkinson.
Lighting Designer: Paul Jackson.
Composition: Ash Gibson Greig.
Sound Designer: J. David Franzke.
Cast: Harriet Gordon-Anderson, Arielle Gray, Amber McMahon, Elizabeth Nabben, and Nikki Shiels.
Sydney premiere at the New Theatre, 17 November to 19 December 2020.
Director: Sahn Millington.
Set Designer: Victor Kalka.
Costume Designer: Leela Landers.
Lighting Designer: Louise Mason.
Sound Designer: Patrick Howard.
Composer: Georgia Condon.
Assistant Director: Caitlin Andrews.
Cast: Megan Bennetts, Alice Birbara, Alana Birtles, Audrey Blyde, and Sarah Jane Kelly.
Presented by Sydney Theatre Company at Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House, 17 Febrary - 5 April 2025.
Director: Ian Michael.
Designer: Elizabeth Gadsby.
Lighting Designer: Trent Suidgeest.
Composer & Sound Designer: James Brown.
Cast: Olivia De Jonge, Kirsty Marillier, Lorinda Merrypor, Masego Pitso, and Contessa Treffone.
'Sydney Theatre Company’s adaptation of the beloved Joan Lindsay novel, in which four schoolgirls go missing during a bush excursion, reveals the ghost story lurking within' (Introduction)
'In this chapter, we take up the question of adaptation on the Australian mainstage. After considering the broader lineage of re-visioning the national literary canon for the theatre, we contend that it is specifically the adaptation of the Australian novel that has characterised the period between 2007 and 2020. In order to illustrate a continuum of adaptation, we offer three case studies of adaptations that deploy somatically othered bodies on stage: Andrew Bovell’s The Secret River (2013), from the novel by Kate Grenville; Kate Mulvany’s Jasper Jones (2014/16) from the novel by Craig Silvey; and Tom Wright’s Picnic at Hanging Rock (2017) from the novel by Joan Lindsay. Then, in a duologue, Mulvany and Wright discuss the status of adaptation on the contemporary Australian mainstage.' (Publication abstract)
'In this chapter, we take up the question of adaptation on the Australian mainstage. After considering the broader lineage of re-visioning the national literary canon for the theatre, we contend that it is specifically the adaptation of the Australian novel that has characterised the period between 2007 and 2020. In order to illustrate a continuum of adaptation, we offer three case studies of adaptations that deploy somatically othered bodies on stage: Andrew Bovell’s The Secret River (2013), from the novel by Kate Grenville; Kate Mulvany’s Jasper Jones (2014/16) from the novel by Craig Silvey; and Tom Wright’s Picnic at Hanging Rock (2017) from the novel by Joan Lindsay. Then, in a duologue, Mulvany and Wright discuss the status of adaptation on the contemporary Australian mainstage.' (Publication abstract)
