Cirrus@Austlit

'Rosie and Gen’s parents are divorced, making their trips back to their hometown a complicated journey of passive aggression and massive regression. There’s something about going back to your hometown that makes you feel so big yet so small at the same time.

'When their Paul Kelly-obsessed dad falls ill, they alternate taking leave from their jobs to care for him. Introducing: the Cancer Calendar. Why use emotion when you have Excel Spreadsheet?

'Rosie and Gen try to hold onto their current lives, relationships and jobs in the face of loss and the dawning realisation that they don’t know as much about their parents as they thought.

'Growing up once is hard, but growing up again as an adult is harder.

'The Plan (and Other Plans) is a hilarious, messy and big-hearted comedy, laced with quintessential Aussie humour, featuring a nostalgic soundtrack of Paul Kelly hits.'  (Publication summary)

'Meet Alice Anderson: Mechanic. Trailblazer. Entrepreneur. Founder of Australia’s first all-girl garage!

'It’s 1920s Melbourne—society reels from the aftermath of World War I, women’s fashion sets startling trends and the city hums with the music of the motorcar. Meanwhile, one small woman defies convention and makes her mark…

'Sparked by historical events, Garage Girls shines a light on Alice Anderson’s short but eventful life, in a world on the precipice of change.'  (Publication summary)

'Bubo is a proud, strong and stoic gorilla. He is the pride of the Zoo. Its main attraction. Visitors come in waves to gaze upon his majesty and mystique.

'But when a series of chilling events tarnish his unblemished reputation, drastic measures must be used to win back the public’s favour.

'With a sultry new ad campaign and a cast of over-the-top characters, hilarity ensues as Bubo is pushed and pulled into an arena, he is not only ill-equipped for, but one that he never imagined he would shine so brightly in.'  (Publication summary)

'The local footy team of this small coastal town have spent so long at the bottom of the ladder they might as well be welded to it. This year a new hope arrives: the Marngrook cousins are named after the Aboriginal game that inspired AFL, and they’re match fit to bring home the team’s first flag in forever.

'This powerhouse new production manifests the physical and psychological demands that a football team faces under the Friday night lights. Set within the era of Adam Goodes’s war cry – and named for the number he immortalised – 37 asks ten actors to throw themselves into this world of blood and sweat to get at the values that drive a national obsession. Community, identity, the price of winning and the meaning of a goal: they’re all up for grabs.' (Production summary)

'Golden sands, turquoise waters and a lush green golf course — Penny Poulter leads an almost idyllic life in one of Australia’s best kept secrets, Wallis Heads.

'But when this hidden coastal gem is discovered by the ruthless and immensely wealthy Alex Whittle, ambitious plans to put the town firmly on the tourist map spark a bitter rivalry. Can this human bulldozer with money to burn ever be stopped?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Drizzle Boy is autistic. Drizzle Boy is poked, prodded and diagnosed by a world that wants to change him and a family who doesn’t understand him. Then he meets Juliet — his very own star-crossed love. Could she be a safe space for a man who just wants a calm centre to his universe?

'Join Drizzle Boy as he takes back his story from a world of misunderstandings with irreverence and audacity. It’s a biting satire blending magical realism with a Kafkaesque journey of self-discovery. If you are neurotypical then you’re about to take a theatrical cold shower in the world of neurodiversity.'

Source: Queensland Theatre Company.

'Three generations of Koori women live on the edge of a country town in a shack on the banks of a flood prone river. For Nan, even life on “The Flats” represents progress of a kind, but Gladys has ambitions for a real house in town and a proper job for daughter Dolly. Set against the Queen’s visit in 1954 with music that evokes the period, this tender, funny play celebrates the fierce optimism of the women as they struggle for community acceptance in Menzies’ era Australia. ' (Source: AusStage website)

"'Why is he like this?' Christine wails. 'Remember what he's been through,' says Martha in heavy loaded tones to excuse him. Every war is different, but all wars have casualties. This is a story about a family of damaged survivors, their ongoing inner turmoil, their battles with each other, and their strategies for escape. During the Second World War, Jack is a prisoner on the Changi railway before being shipwrecked on his way to the saltmines. After clinging to wreckage in the shark-infested ocean watching his companions die, he returns home to peace-time. However, although he has survived the war, he has been so shaped and changed by it that not only Martha, his long-suffering wife, but each of their six children are forced to develop survival strategies to cope with him. Jill discovers hers in being top of her class; Johnnie finds refuge in sleep; May designs elegant dresses and dreams of wearing them; the twins have each other; and Christine finds comfort in the wild stallion her imagination has awarded her and Jack's stories of war and heroism. As the world changes and his children start growing up, Jack is left increasingly bewildered and angry. Women's Rights organisations are bad enough, but when Jill joins the anti-Vietnam War movement it feels like the ultimate betrayal. Drastic measures must be taken and nothing will ever be the same again. Patricia Cornelius's evocative debut novel is set in Melbourne between WW2 and the Vietnam War." Source: Publisher.

'‘You sure the abyss is our only option? Isn’t there like … an option to go forward into a nice warm hug? World peace? You know … nice stuff.’—Drag’na Dhuul by Michele Gould

'Surrounded by snacks, players begin a game of Dungeons and Dragons in which identities will be explored and revealed. As Russia invades Ukraine, two siblings start to remember their grandmother and the heritage she felt forced to hide. X-Box controllers in hand, two cousins decide it might be time to kill Grandma—but what about her great samosas?
'Accused by her brother of being too scared to attend their dad’s stag-do, Hen discovers that no one wants to be a chicken. And when the guy in shorts from Year 10 shows he’s not nearly as cool as she thought, will a young woman find the courage to speak up?

'Each year, ATYP brings together 20 playwrights from around Australia to create sharp, surprising, relevant scripts for teenage performers. The Intersection Festival is the creative reimagining of our popular Voices Project and Intersection plays, giving young people the opportunity to perform brand-new short plays written by some of the country’s best new writers.' (Publication summary)

'Introducing Staging Asylum, Again, an anthology that exposes Australia's mistreatment of people seeking refuge. Building on the success of its predecessor, this collection presents a timely and powerful exploration archive of artistic resistance to one of Australia's most enduring and unjust policies.   The anthology showcases a diverse range of plays that delve into different facets of seeking asylum. Tribunal, devised and performed by Kaz Therese, Joe Tan, Aunty Rhonda Dixon Grovenor, Mahdi Mohammadi, Katie Green, Paul Dwyer, and Jawad Yaqoubi, immerses readers in a truth and reconciliation commission, where newly arrived refugees and a First Nations Elder share poignant testimonies. We All Know What's Happening, conceived by Samara Hersch and Lara Thoms, involves seven young Australians devising a show about the incarceration of refugee children their age. Finally, The Audition, written by Patricia Cornelius, Sahra Davoudi, Tes Lyssiotis, Wahibe Moussa, Milad Norouzi, Melissa Reeves, and Christos Tsiolkas, is a metatheatrical play that draws parallels between an actor's audition and an asylum seeker's application for protection. The volume also includes three one-act plays showcased at the 2015 Asylum festival. Noëlle Janaczewska's Going for Gold, Tania Cañas' Three Angry Australians, and Georgia Symon's A Puppet Show for All Ages.   Editors Tania Cañas and Caroline Wake provide an introduction to the volume, along with individual essays about each play. Staging Asylum, Again is a testament to the power of theatre to shed light on injustice and spark dialogue, making it an essential read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Australia's border policies and their impacts.' (Publication summary)

'Every night, same time, same pigeon crash lands in my room.
At first I think it’s dead, But then it starts talking.

'A homing pigeon with no sense of direction becomes the unlikely saviour of a young girl up against her first encounter with heartbreak.

'Rose’s life has been turned upside down. She seems to be getting through it ok, except at night when her dream life is taken over by a mouthy homing pigeon that claims to be her subconscious.

'The last thing Rose wants is to be put through a psychological boot camp by a bossy rat with wings, but the bird’s intentions are good. It is there to help Rose to prepare for a new world order. It knows her Dad is not coming home.

'Rosieville is a universal story about getting back up after a blow to the heart. It is a homage to the instinct, loyalty, stamina and grit of homing pigeons who, despite countless obstacles and long distances, always manage to find their way home.' (Production summary)

'A little flutter, a dizzy spell, an imperceptible narrowing of the arteries and then the rest of your life is a series of doctors advising you against things.
Một chút loạn nhịp, một sự choáng váng, các động mạch dần thu hẹp một cách không thể nhận thấy, và từ đấy là một chuỗi lời khuyên từ các bác sĩ về những điều ta không nên làm.

'On the outskirts of Hanoi, a late night motorcycle ride leads to an encounter in a cluttered kitchen where no-one quite belongs.

'Duyen is a young woman reluctantly returning to her roots. Murph is coming to see his old mate, Bob, whose shady past is slowly catching up with him. 

'Dan Lee’s wry new play draws us deep into the mess and chaos of old friendships, fragmented families and the inevitable blur of aging. Meanwhile, the ancient city of Hanoi howls and crashes around outside, through the walls of the tiny basement kitchen.' (Production summary)

It begins, as always, with a storm. Sit still and hear of my sea-sorrow.

'A chaotic storm erupts. A disastrous shipwreck ensues. Refugees Prospero, Miranda and Ariel are washed ashore on Christmas Island seeking asylum in Australia. But this side of the story is yet to be seen.  

'Award-winning playwright of ideas Helen Machalias returns to The Street with another work of social commentary, reimagining Shakespeare’s The Tempest for our time in This Rough Magic - an exhilarating epic of power reckoning, survival and the cost of pursuing the promise of a better life. 

'A powerful epic where ‘brave new world’ poetry collides with ‘stop the boats’ rhetoric and interpolations of Persian poetry, philosophy and storytelling to deliver a radically different representation of offshore detention.

'Acclaimed Director Beng Oh crafts an extraordinary fast-moving spectacle conjuring an island of strange sounds and wondrous sights, enigmatic characters, and surprising relationships. A terrific acting ensemble open up the spaces between myth and reality, life and death, freedom and control.

'Ambitious and thrilling This Rough Magic is a rich theatrical conversation with Shakespeare’s The Tempest, epic in scale and full of mysticism and longing. Not to be missed.' (Production summary)

'First Nations Monologues brings together over 30 bold texts, each an excerpt from a play written by esteemed playwrights such as Jada Alberts, Kodie Bedford, Wesley Enoch, Andrea James, Leah Purcell, and many more. These gritty and poignant monologues, from a range of genres including comedies, dramas, and biographies, are selected from plays that have captivated audiences in leading theatres, often breaking box office records.

'First Nations Monologues pays homage to the diverse perspectives that resonate throughout the country, embodying a timeless ritual of storytelling that remains crucial as First Nations people continue to endure, resist, and thrive. Through this anthology, the voices and lived experiences of First Nations individuals are honoured, contributing to a body of work that seeks to decolonise and prioritise vital narratives.

'Muruwari playwright Jane Harrison has curated a collection of monologues that speaks to the multivalent experiences and unyielding spirit of First Nations communities.'(Publication summary)