On an expectant stage – a dreamscape of an Australian backyard – five actors tease out the story of a father and daughter. They question each other, they watch each other, they confess, they draw each other along. By the end of the story, modern life has been engulfed in fire, and a tale of pure love has become a tragedy of leadership and sacrifice.

Love Me Tender is a play of beauty and emotional power. Inspired by Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis, Tom Holloway has orchestrated a thrilling vision of contemporary Australia drawn from our experiences of the Black Saturday bushfires, of raunch culture and pre-teen sexuality, and of our domestic rituals. This is exquisite writing about our fears and expectations of fathers, about the extremities of love, and about the need for action when the world comes undone.

Tom is one of the country’s most exciting young writers. Matthew Lutton is one of the country’s most original young directors. Their collaboration began with Griffin Theatre Company’s Don’t Say the Words at the Stables in 2008. We’ve teamed up with Griffin and Western Australia’s ThinIce to give Tom and Matthew room to dream large. We’re thrilled to welcome them to Belvoir St.