By Katherine Lyall-Watson
Directed by Caroline Dunphy
Queensland Theatre Premiere

Classic tragedy turns hilarious farce in Queensland

It’s the not-too-distant future, and with a defiant cry of QUEENSLANDER!, we’ve broken away. Again. First Lady Phaedra and President Theseus are building a mighty wall along Queensland’s southern border to keep the ‘filthy’ Newies from our gates. When Theseus takes off with the triumphant Broncos on a morale-boosting tour, Phaedra is left alone to run the country and look after Theseus’ teenage son, Hip, newly arrived from boarding school.

Hip’s arrival stirs something in Phaedra she never expected and when Hip’s mother shows up on the doorstep, too…well, you know what they say about Queensland. Beautiful one day, tragic the next.

From the minds of Queensland’s own Belloo Creative, this roaringly funny reimagining of an ancient myth is at once a biting political satire, and a timely wake-up call to our home state.

The last time Queensland “seceded” was from New South Wales in the 1800s. Queen Victoria signed the letters patent on June 6, 1859, and on December 10, the first Governor George Bowen proclaimed the formal separation of the colony. The first dramatic record we have of Phaedra is in Euripides’ Hippolytus in 428 BC.

Lighting Designer David Walters
Set & Costume Designer Penny Challen
Composer/Sound Designer Brady Watkins
Cast includes: Angie Milliken (Death of a Salesman, MDA)