Date/Time
Date(s) - 16 Feb 2013
2:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Location
Canberra Theatre Centre Playhouse

Booking information at canberratheatre.com.au

Please request a seat with a good view of the caption screens at time of booking. Captions available on plasma screens, and also on mobile and tablet devices via our GoTheatrical app

By Kate Grenville

An adaptation for the stage by Andrew Bovell

Two of Australia’s most revered artists come together for the first time to adapt Kate Grenville’s prize-winning novel for the stage.

Directed by Neil Armfield and written by Andrew Bovell (When the Rain Stops Falling), this ambitious new play dramatises the story of two families divided by culture and land.

Convict William Thornhill, exiled from the stinking slums of early 19th century London, discovers that the penal colony offers something that he never dared to hope for before: a place of his own. A stretch of land on the Hawkesbury River is Thornhill’s for the taking. As he and his family seek to establish themselves in this unfamiliar territory, they find that they are not the only ones to lay a claim to the land. The Hawkesbury is already home to a family of Dharug people, who are reluctant to leave on account of these intruders.

As Thornhill’s attachment to the place and the dream deepens, he is driven to make a terrible decision that will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Warning: may contain nudity

Commissioning Patrons
David Gonski AC & Orli Wargon OAM, Catriona & Simon Mordant AM
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative, managed by the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals, Sydney Festival, Perth International Arts Festival and the Centenary of Canberra.