A co-production with La Boite Theatre Company

Watch our Gwen in Purgatory trailer here

Tommy Murphy

Neil Armfield

Nathaniel Dean, Grant Dodwell, Sue Ingleton, Melissa Jaffer and Pacharo Mzembe

Brand new play examines the grace needed to be old in suburban Queanbeyan

Gwen is 90. Being in her new house on the edge of town feels like purgatory.

Whenever she tries to turn on the air-con she ends up accidentally roasting herself by muddling the remote with the one for the fan-forced oven. The kids are due round though, so there are plenty of reasons to put a brave face on things: Father Ezekiel is coming to bless the place and she’s still got the oomph to have one last hit on the old tennis court.

Tommy Murphy’s funny and moving drama imaginatively locates students within Gwen’s plight, beset by the baffling realities of modern life and technology. His ear for re-creating speech rhythms in dialogue highlights that extraordinary gift families have for not listening to each other. Through Father Ezekiel’s faithful eyes we see the attempts of her family to wrangle Gwen in all the ways they think best.

Neil Armfield directs this illuminating look at the wilderness of Australian suburbia from the perspective of an African missionary. It’s a rousing reminder of the real worth of wireless connection, the sort that happens between human beings.

Preparing to see Gwen in Purgatory

DOWNLOAD A SCHOOLS PERFORMANCE BOOKING FORM

Recommended for...

• Years 9-12
• DRAMA HSC: Contemporary Australian Theatre Practice
• ENGLISH HSC: Texts and Society: Into the World
  

All schools performances start at 11.30am