Sydney Theatre Company presents
THE GOLDEN AGE
by Louis Nowra

Our own heart of darkness

In 1939, a lost tribe of Europeans was discovered in the Tasmanian wilderness. They were a band of outcasts who had escaped the torture of convict life, scratching out an existence at the forgotten edge of the island, alone for almost a century.

Inspired by this true story, writer Louis Nowra (Cosi, Radiance) penned The Golden Age – an extraordinary play that blends historical fact, Australian folklore and poetic language to create a post-colonial myth for our times. Nowra’s outcasts have developed a culture and dialect all of their own, but their bodies are failing them and their very existence is in danger. Brought back into the fold of Australian society, what fate awaits this band of exiles?

The Golden Age premiered in Melbourne in 1985, with a Sydney production the following year directed by Neil Armfield. Three decades later, Resident Director Kip Williams (Suddenly Last Summer) brings it to Wharf 1 Theatre with a brilliant ensemble cast, including Sarah Peirse (Switzerland), Ursula Yovich (Love and Information) and Brandon McClelland (The Present). In their hands, this profound and emotionally-charged Australian epic makes its way out of the wilderness and back into the spotlight.

“How can I go back after all I’ve seen?”
Francis