First Seen: THE STORY OF THE OARS by Nigel Featherstone

A boat, I see

an empty boat

blown by the wind to the shore

They drowned, they said,

and I believed them

Summer somewhere on the east coast of Australia, 1987: three teenage brothers drown on a large ephemeral lake. Thirty years later, with the lake now dry, four strangers unburden themselves of the truth. Their lives will never be the same.

A play with songs, THE STORY OF THE OARS is about the repercussions of childhood, and how facts have their way of revealing themselves. It’s also an exploration of class, privilege, and the power of place to enchant, repel, and mend.

Be part of the creative development process and give us your feedback at this work-in-progress showing.

THE PLAYWRIGHT
Nigel Featherstone

Nigel Featherstone is an Australian writer who has been published widely. His war novel, BODIES OF MEN, was published by Hachette Australia in 2019 and was shortlisted in the 2019 Queensland Literary Awards and received a Canberra Critics Circle Award. His other works include the story collection JOY (2000), his debut novel REMNANTS (2005), and THE BEACH VOLCANO (2014), which is the third in an award-winning series of novellas. He wrote the libretto for THE WEIGHT OF LIGHT, a highly regarded political song cycle about an Australian soldier returning from Afghanistan; the work was commissioned by the Hume Conservatorium, produced by the Street Theatre in Canberra, and had its world premiere in 2018; it, too, received a Canberra Critics Circle Award. Nigel has held residencies at Varuna (Blue Mountains), Bundanon (Shoalhaven River), and UNSW Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy.

Director Zsuzsi Soboslay

Dramaturg Anne-Louise Rentell

Cast Tracy Bourne, Tom Bryson, Sally Marett, PJ Williams

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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.

ONLINE | LIMITED PLACES | DURATION: 120 MINUTES