Cirrus@Austlit

'Ryan and Sophie are a golden couple in Melbourne, the charming, salt-of-the-earth country boy and the charismatic, gorgeous social butterfly. When Ryan’s father dies, leaving them the family farm, it seems like a chance for Ryan to get back to his roots and for Sophie to embrace the bucolic country life she always dreamed of. But reality proves very different, and years spent struggling against an implacable drought have pushed their marriage – and finances – to the absolute limit.

'Things change when a jovial middle-aged man hires out their guest house. George’s curiosity, optimism and eccentric ideas prove to be a strange kind of balm for the couple. But as his suggestions for fixing their marriage take on a dangerous, sinister edge, both Ryan and Sophie are forced to confront how far they are willing to go to avoid hard truths – and whether George is in fact who he says he is.

'Meanwhile, across the country, a young fugitive named Maggie is hunting for a man with whom she shares a twisted mutual obsession. A man who has a lot in common with George. And one who might be doing everything in his power to draw her into a final, decisive showdown.

'Patricia Highsmith meets Jane Harper in this psychological thriller from the author of The Hitchhiker.'  (Publication summary)

'Jack Harris, the disgraced son of Australia’s most powerful business tycoon, has just been exiled to Byron Bay as a junior journalist at his father’s smallest regional newspaper, The Beacon. His arrival coincides with the disappearance of the newspaper’s editor, Patrick O’Shaughnessy, while out on his morning surf. When Patrick’s body is discovered in the ocean, with a severed leg, it appears certain that he’s fallen victim to a shark attack. 

'But when rumours emerge that Patrick was about to publish an explosive article – its subject unknown – Jack begins to suspect his death is not what it seems.' (Publication summary)

'It is the opening night of director-writer Shane Tweed’s new murder mystery, MIDNIGHT MURDER AT HAMLINGTON HALL.

'Seven of the amateur theatre company’s cast are down with the dreaded lurgy. So the Middling Cove Players’ director and two of the remaining actors, and whoever else Shane can co-opt, pitch in to continue the long tradition of ‘the show must go on.’ Juggling nerves, props, and absurd miscasting, will they manage to pull it off? Or will everything go horribly, terribly and awfully wrong?'

Source: Ensemble Theatre.

'“I want twenty-five thousand pounds by this afternoon, or I’ll feed him to the sharks.”

'In June 1960, travelling salesman Bazil Thorne won 100,000 pounds in the Opera House Lottery.

'Five weeks later jubilation turned to tragedy when Bazil’s eight-year-old son Graeme was kidnapped and held to ransom.

'On 16 August, 1960, Graeme’s body was found in bushland at Seaforth.

'Gods and Little Fishes is loosely based on this tragic event. Rather than a factual retelling, this magical play interprets the story through the lens of a father’s overwhelming grief and a child’s imagination.

'The delightful humour, quirky characters and theatrical in-jokes lead to a shattering climax that will leave you breathless.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.