The Great Australian Play

“In all directions stretched the Great Australian Emptiness, in which the mind is the least of possessions, in which the rich man is the important man… It was the exaltation of the “average” that made me panic.” — Patrick White, The Prodigal Son

Australia, 1930. As the Great Depression tightens its grip on a hungry, fledgling nation, Harold Bell Lasseter charms everyone with his story of a fabulously wealthy “reef” of gold hidden in the vast Interior. Brave adventurers set off in search of riches and salvation… but the expedition descends into a nightmare.

Australia, 2020. Relentless funding cuts have left the arts community weary and desperate. Kim Ho persuades Theatre Works that he can fashion the next great Australian play from the legend of Lasseter’s Reef. He conjures five characters and sends them into the desert to retrace the expedition’s footsteps. But for these unlucky souls, trapped inside Kim’s masterpiece, the real nightmare is yet to begin.

An ingenious new satire from Patrick White Award-winning playwright Kim Ho, The Great Australian Play is a psychedelic romp through the myths of our glorious nation’s past, present and imagined future. Featuring vanishing conmen, Nazi German dingo scalpers and an ancient evil force, this is the dazzling epic we’ve been waiting for.