Description

In Do Not Go Gentle... Scott's ill-fated Antarctic expedition is a metaphor for the elusive journey of five elderly people facing the final leg of their travels. Scott's passage across the Antarctic, as he confronts a landscape of ice and perilous weather, powerfully parallels their courage and inevitable defeat. Yet with unbroken spirit, this funny, angry, defiant group grapple with the big questions of life as they rage against the dying of the light.

The Berry Man is a searing indictment of the consequences of war, with the humour and fragile, flawed characters that are a trademark of Cornelius' writing. Eric, a Vietnam vet, has inherited a farm but struggles to grow a single crop. Marjorie, his fiercely independent but troubled neighbour, is unaware of the wartime horrors that plague him. And there's Joey, a mysterious young man whose appearance prevents Eric from moving on. Then Fish arrives. A fellow vet holding onto the idea of mateship, he forces Eric to confront his memories and Marjorie to have the courage to follow her dreams before it's too late.

Biography

Patricia Cornelius

PATRICIA CORNELIUS is a founding member of Melbourne Workers Theatre. Patricia has a fierce commitment to class and her work often examines the lives of the marginalized. She’s a playwright, novelist and film writer. Cornelius is the recipient of the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize, the Mona Brand Award and the 2019 Green Room award for Life Achievement. Her prizes for stage work include the 2011 Victorian and NSW Premiers’ Literary Awards, the Patrick White Playwright’s Award, the Richard Wherrett Prize, the Wal Cherry Award and numerous AWGIES for stage, community theatre, theatre for young people. She was awarded the Australian Writers Foundation Playwriting Award in 2015 as well as the Patrick White Fellowship (2012), and a Fellowship from the Australia Council’s Theatre Board. Patricia has won the AWGIE Major Award three times. She has written over 35 plays including: TRUTH, My Sister Jill, Bad Boy, Runt, Anthem, In the Club, Shit, Big Heart, Savages, Do not go gentle…, Slut, Love and The Call. Patricia wrote the adaption of SHIT for film and co-wrote the feature film adaptation Blessed, Patricia’s novel, My Sister Jill (Random House) was published in 2002.