In the isolated community of Wala Wala, Senior Constable Ray Lorkin struggles to keep an uneasy peace between Aboriginal tradition and the law he is sworn to uphold. But when a local man dies in mysterious circumstances, Ray decides he can no longer do things 'blackfella way'.
1993 The Australian Human Rights Award
1993 The NSW Premier's Literary Award for stage
1993 AWGIE, Best Stage Play
'Dead Heart is Australian history in the making, as In the Heat of the Night was for America in the sixties ... Dead Heart touches the near extinct life that just beats beneath Australian society ...' —The Times, London
'Dead Heart ... asks how blacks and whites can continue with different value systems ... The question is a burning one not only in Australia but in every other country where multicultural identities come into conflict.' —Time Magazine
'A fantastic, totally unforgettable production.' —The Observer, London
'... the force and impact of Dead Heart (is) in it's devastating lack of resolution; and its tough minded complexity.' —The Sun Herald, Sydney
NICK PARSONS is a writer and director in film, television theatre and radio. He has a BA (hons) in Philosophy from Sydney University and is a graduate of both the Australian Film, Television and Radio School and the National Institute of Dramatic Art, completing the directing and writing courses concurrently in both institutions. His stage plays include The Pest House, Dead Heart, Hollow Ground and the musical A Nasty Piece of Work. He wrote and directed the feature film Dead Heart (1996), based on his play, as well as ‘The Saviour’ (2006), a half-hour episode of the TV series two Twisted, and Tipping Point (2007) a 16-part mini-doc series for The Weather Channel. He has directed numerous plays and also written episodes of the TV series My Place (2010, 2011), The Straits (2012), and Wolf Creek 2 (2017). In 2024 Nick directed Straight White Male, a double bill of Alex Buzo’s Norm and Ahmed and own his own play Radha and Ryan for La Mama Theatre, Melbourne. Nick has three AWGIE awards, The Australian Film Critics Circle Award, the NSW Premier’s Literary Award and the Australian Human Rights Award. Series he has worked on have won two Logies and a Deadly Award.Nick is Chair and ePublishing Editor at Currency Press.
| Cast Info | 4F, 18M, (doubling available) |
| Genres | Drama |
| Themes | Political/Social themes, Large Cast, First Nations |
| Audiences | Adult, Secondary: Years 10-12 |
| Extent | 102 |
| Edition | Revised |
| Size | 210 x 137 |