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