21 – 24 November 2007
"Homer himself could not do your story justice"
The MARY BRYANT story begins in the late 1800s, when she is sentenced to seven years deportation to the Botany Bay penal colony. After the eight month journey on board the First Fleet, Mary and her fellow convicts are given the task of building a new world at the polar end of civilisation but food supplies quickly diminish, and starvation and disease claim the lives of many.
Desperate and hungry, a small band of convicts including Mary, her husband Will and baby Charlotte escape to sea on the colony′s fishing boat, setting their sights on the Dutch port of Timor. Alone in a small boat in the most isolated part of the world, the escapees face conditions far worse than they left behind - furious storms, harsh open sunlight, and depleted food and supplies as they navigate the then uncharted Great Barrier Reef and the Torres Strait.
Now regarded as one of the greatest sailing voyages in history, Mary Bryant′s escape took 66 days and over 5,000 kilometres.
TICKETS
Full $25
Concession $22
Written and Created by
NICK ENRIGHT
Directed by
AARON JOYNER
Dramaturged by
JESSICA ENES
Performed by
JAN ATWILL, PAUL BEBBINGTON, DON BRIDGES, TERENCE DONOVAN, SHAUN KINGMA, NICHOLAS KONG, LISA-MARIE PARKER, COLE RINTOUL
Musical Directors
SUE GOESSLING, SOPHIE THOMAS
Lyricist
NICK ENRIGHT
Composer
DAVID KING