HARBOUR

Original titleHARBOUR
CategoryPlay
AgegroupAdults
Cast10 total (4 F and 6 M)
Variable cast sizeNo
RepresentationNordic representation
On the Wednesday before Easter, 1998, a few hundred metres away from the site of the new Sydney Theatre, one of the most dramatic events in recent Australian history took place. It was the culmination of a tightly planned scheme between the Federal Government and a stevedoring company. An attempt to smash the Maritime Union of Australia -- the wharfies. This play is set against the backdrop of this explosive industrial dispute. Sandy - a retired wharfie - comes home after a six year absence to find his family divided. His kids have moved on -- and up. They're on opposite sides of the political divide. His wife doesn't want to be in the same room as him. The world has changed, and it seems he no longer has a place in it. But he's a battler, with a burning desire to unite his family and set the past to rights. A past full of explosive secrets that threaten to blow them apart forever. Commissioned by Sydney Theatre Company to open the new Sydney Theatre, January 2005. Published by Currency Press 2004. Winner of 2005 NSW Premier’s Literary Award for Best New Play and shortlisted for the 2005 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize in the United States. ‘ .. a robust and wondrous play, and a fitting Australian drama to open the magnificent Sydney theatre at Walsh Bay. The opening of the STC’s playhouse was a historic occasion made all the more memorable and meaningful with the premier of such a rewardingly humorous and humane Australian play. Bryce Hallett, Sydney Morning Herald