Playreads in the Afternoon

Sit back and let local actors bring to life scenes from a selection of works by some of the finest playwrights from the Territory and beyond.

Enjoy an excerpt from award-winning playwright Mary Anne Butler’s, Fire, part of her trilogy of climate change plays in development. These plays blend realism with magic realism to give natural elements a voice in a time of increasing natural disaster. Betty Sweetlove’s new theatrical work, Lurker, is a twisted love letter to the early days of the internet, and to deep and impossible friendships. Darwin-based author and playwright Sean Guy’s psychologically gripping The Leaving is in the Forgetting explores trauma, grief, and the way the past intrudes up on the present (CW: references to mental health, suicide and domestic violence).

After the readings, join the playwrights for a discussion with theatremaker and writer, Dani Powell, about the pleasures and challenges of putting words on the stage.