On his shambles of a yacht in the marina, Baxter watches his wreck of a life fall with the tide. It’s Australia Day and his plan had been to get so thoroughly shickered that he’d be past caring by the time the fireworks start. And, he’s some way down the road to that ambition, when an English backpacker called Dee turns up, swearing a blue streak and threatening to rock his boat.
Barely keeping it afloat. In creating this tough yet affectionate portrait of life on an ebbing tide, award-winning writer Tim Winton brings to the stage all the humanity, larrikin humour and unsentimental pathos for which his novels are so well-loved.
WARNING: Contains strong course language
Key Photography by Earl Carter, Production Photography by Gary Marsh.
Thinking of bringing young people to the theatre? View our Parents’ Guide for information about suitability.
Please note: Since printing our 2011 Season brochure, Shane Bourne has withdrawn from Rising Water. However we have been very lucky to secure the talents of John Howard, well known for his television credits including All Saints and Packed to the Rafters.
Those who saw the brilliant adaptation of Cloudstreet a decade or so ago know that Tim Winton’s wry, compassionate stories have the dramatic elements embedded in them to make thrilling theatre. And he sure can create voices. To read Winton is to hear in your head those lithe, chiacking Australian tones that brought him four Miles Franklin Literary Awards and two Booker Prize short-listings. So I wasn’t surprised when his first play Rising Water turned up to find him in full control of the medium. Returning to profoundly existential themes, Winton reaffirms his position as our chief chronicler of fringe-dwellers and outsiders – our Camus in t-shirt and thongs. We’re delighted to welcome back MTC alumna Kate Cherry, who will direct this Black Swan production.
Artistic Director Simon Phillips