BRILLIANT, BOLD AND DEEPLY UNNERVING THEATRE
The Age
POWERFUL
ArtsHub
BRILLIANTLY ACCOMPLISHED AND INNOVATIVE POWERHOUSE
Australian Book Review
REMARKABLE
Time Out
STRIKING
Limelight Magazine

IF YOU’RE A GOOD BLOKE, YOU’LL BE ALL RIGHT. RIGHT?

G’day. Welcome to the Yabba. Just passing through?

It’s the best little town in the world. Things a bit grim? Chin up.

John Grant is well-read, but an outback misadventure strands him—cashless and jobless—in a harsh and remote Aussie outpost, Bundanyabba.

So, he makes new ‘mates’: they’re quick with a drink, but with every scull a dark violence lurches forward. Are these blokes fair dinkum, or is there something more sinister at the heart of this little Aussie town?

On our Beckett Theatre stage, the entire world of Wake in Fright is conjured in a one-person show by the always-evocative Zahra Newman (The Book of Mormon) accompanied by a sonic assault from art-electronica band, friendships. Under the direction of Declan Greene, Kenneth Cook’s iconic work of Australian Gothic horror is felt in the flesh. Bring sunscreen, buy a beer and wear your ear plugs.

Once we pierce the Yabba’s ocker veneer, you better be ready for the explosive brutality pent up inside.

A Malthouse Theatre production.

Key image: Zan Wimberley 
Images: Pia Johnson

A NEW PLAY /

Adapted from Kenneth Cook’s novel by Declan Greene

CAST & CO-CREATOR / 

Zahra Newman

MUSIC & COMPOSITION BY /

friendships

SOUND DESIGN / 

James Paul 

LIGHTING & PROJECTION DESIGN / 

Verity Hampson

STAGE MANAGER /

Cecily Rabey 

Event & ticketing details

Accessibility

Wheelchair Access
Audio Described

Performance Times

PREVIEWS
OPENING NIGHT
TIME TO TALK
MONASH MEETS MALTHOUSE
AUDIO DESCRIBED

Event notes

DURATION /

70 minutes (no interval)

WARNINGS /

Contains adult material, coarse language, gunshots, smoke and haze effects, strobe lighting and extremely loud noise (Ear plugs provided).