A co-production with La Boite Theatre Company 

This is Julia-Rose Lewis’ first play and she has made something wondrous. On the one hand, Samson is an Australian coming-of-age story set in a country town. On the other hand, it is a completely disarming hodgepodge of unexpectedness and originality, of metaphysics and silliness, of religious faith and topless sunbathing.

Essie, Beth, Sid and Rabbit are growing up at the arse end of the arse end of the world. Boredom, decay and violence plague their lives. And grief, for the death of a friend. Grappling with their own existence and grasping hopelessly at the future, they find themselves imagining heaven and dreaming of hell.

Samson fizzes with truth; it is brutal yet gentle, funny yet sad, young yet old. At its heart is the startling idea that the death of someone important can be the start of something excellent.

Ashleigh Cummings (Puberty Blues, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries) makes her Belvoir debut in this gem about discovering beauty in unlikely places.