The Demon

An action-filled, neo-noir investigation into the history of White Australia.

In modern-day Sydney, Chinese Australian street fighter Wei draws two detectives - Arab Australian Jihad and his Aboriginal Muslim partner Matthew/Muhummad - on a road trip to Burrangong, the region of the infamous Lambing Flat Riots of 1861, a dark night where violence erupted against Chinese goldminers. Here, they must confront the landscape and its demons to ask themselves: does a curse inhabit a land or its people?

Bringing together the talents of award-winning novelist Michael Mohammed Ahmad, acclaimed theatre director Rachael Swain, and choreographer of filming and surrealist dance theatre Gavin Webber, The Demon speaks to the challenges we all face as a multi-cultural, multi-faith, and multi-racial Australian society.

Stylised and dreamlike, this complex yet compelling premiere combines contemporary Australian crime thriller and magic realism with a Lynchian twist.