From 1955 with Ray Lawler\u2019s landmark play The Summer of The Seventeenth Doll, Australian playwrights have been leading voices in the emergence and development of Australia\u2019s cultural identity. The Coming-of-Age stories they told through their plays reflect the emergence of modern Australia.<\/p>\n
Coming of Age in Australia, runs the gamut from laugh-out-loud comedy to heart-breaking tragedy, embracing the political, the personal, our migrant and multicultural experience, and the struggle for gender equality and freedom of self-expression.<\/p>\n
Directed by one of Australia\u2019s leading directors, Wayne Harrison AM (former Artistic Director of the Sydney Theatre Company), the graduating actors have drawn together key moments from the \u2018The Doll\u2019, and Lawler\u2019s prequel Kid Stakes, Michael Gow\u2019s Away, The Chapel Perilous by Dorothy Hewett, The Peach Season by Debra Oswald, and many more to create memorable evening of theatre, infused with their own lived experience of the joys and struggles of growing up in Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe plays selected by the graduating students capture the richness of the ever-evolving Australian experience. With intelligence and artistry, and remarkably generous dedication to their ensemble, they are bringing these plays to life with a unique voice. Through these stories, they mark their own coming-of-age important new voices in South Australian culture.\u201d<\/em> With design supervision by Kathryn Sproul, and Lighting Design by Tom Kitney, the performance with fill the Matthew Flinders Theatre with touchstone Australian stories from July 26 to 29.<\/p>\n The production features excerpts from plays by leading Australian playwrights Ray Lawler, David Williamson, Michael Gow, Debra Oswald, Dorothy Hewett, Janis Balodis, and Peter Kenna.<\/p>\n The 2022 graduating actors at the Flinders Drama Centre are: Chrissy Miller, Dion Lopresto, Ella Le Fournour, Elvy-Lee Quici, Jack Calver, James Starbuck, Mili Damjanovic, Rhys Griffin and Zoe Mills.<\/p>\n Coming of Age in Australia
\n\u2013 WAYNE HARRISON \u2013 DIRECTOR<\/p>\n
\nVenue: Matthew Flinders Theatre, Flinders University Bedford Park Campus
\nPerformances: Preview July 26. Performances July 27-29, 7:00pm
\nContent: Coarse language, adult themes
\nAge Guide: 15+
\nRun time: 2 hours 30 mins (including 15-minute interval)<\/p>\n