First Seen: Irene's Wish

Irene's Wish by David Cole

“If you can’t help me, I will find someone else who can. I like you Stuart and I trust you and I thought this could be a way to help you out of your troubles as well. It could help us both out.”

Strong dialogue, mystery and morals come into play when a difficult, elderly woman with terminal cancer is paired with a carer, in whom she develops trust. It is a meeting that will irrevocably alter both of their lives.

Stuart is an experienced and empathetic carer, but he is battling his own demons. He is introduced to Irene by her anxious and guilty daughter, Julie.  Stuart and Irene quickly develop a trusting bond, based initially on punting on horses, a shared irreverence and humour.

Stuart reunites Irene with an old flame Alf, whom he is also caring for. Alf and Irene pick up where they left off from four decades ago and decide they don't want to lose each other again. Meanwhile, Julie observes the increasing closeness between Stuart and Irene with some suspicion and also some jealousy.

A love story all mixed up with moral dilemmas in which the issue of euthanasia is explored by the writer.

THE THEATREMAKER
David Cole

David Cole is a practising journalist based in Goulburn who has written four plays to date. Three of his plays have been produced by The Lieder Theatre Company – The Ballad of Mary Ann Brownlow (2004, 2005, ACT Region Tour in 2008); Windfall (2009) and Life's a Bitch (2014). Two of these plays received Commonwealth Arts Funding.

David was a member of The Hive at the Street Theatre from 2010 to 2013 where he developed Life's a Bitch, which went on to be successfully produced by The Leider Theatre Company.

David studied at the Australian National University and the University of Canberra, living in Canberra from 1991-2002. He was a part of the arts community as a musician in various bands, including Ice Cream Headache and Barry Drive.

He started writing plays when he was asked to help research and co-write The Ballad of Mary Ann Brownlow with veteran writer, the late John Spicer. The play is based on the true story of a woman hanged in Goulburn in 1855 for the murder of her husband.

Cast: Christopher Samuel Carroll, Lily Constantine, James Scott, Zsuzsi Sobolsay

Director: Dene Kermond

Dramaturg: Shelly Higgs

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About First Seen

Ever wondered about the steps a writer takes to develop works for the theatre? Or how new plays and performance works are chosen for upcoming seasons?

The ever popular FIRST SEEN: new works-in-progress offers Canberra audiences the opportunity to be part of our creative process helping The Street  progress performance works to production-ready stage. First Seen offers a unique insight into development and is a vital part of our planning for future years as we seek to bring original and diverse Canberra stories to the stage.

Each writer has a dedicated workshop offering time, space, support, and expertise.  Canberra audiences (that's you) are given the opportunity to participate in the development process through the public showings where we open up the floor for a conversation with playwright, director, dramaturg and the actors. By sharing your thoughts with the creative teams you help assist us progress the works to production and get a sneak peek into Canberra’s ingenious artistic community.

FIRST SEEN is a major investment in new ACT work and is supported by the ACT Government through artsACT.