A Town Named War Boy

A Town Named War Boy is a research driven play based on the diaries of young Anzac soldiers who fought in the first World War. The idea of creating a piece around the harrowing tales of doomed young men came from a conversation between the play’s director, Fraser Corfield, and the general manager of the State Library which had first exhibited the diaries. Corfield, who is also manager of The Australian Theatre For Young People, was struck by the irony of the fact that the young men sent to die in the trenches of WWI were of the same age as the young people involved in his youth theatre programs. With this in mind he approached writer, Ross Mueller, and together they came up with a theatre piece which offered a fresh new take on the impact of the war on individuals and, in turn, the impact on generations to follow. 

“Ross is very good at writing male characters with grit and at combining Aussie masculinity with poetic voice,” said Corfield. Much of the play is set in a psychiatrist’s office with the main character, Snow, a one handed former army signaller refusing to answer questions on what happened to him on the battlefields. Evocative lighting and resourceful staging combine to create a diorama of war.

Jun 12-13. Riverside Theatres, Cnr Church & Market Streets, Parramatta. $26-$31+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.riversideparramatta.com.au

By Renee Dallow.