Two women, two plays, two powerful voices.
This double volume pairs powerhouse playwright Patricia Cornelius, in collaboration with Susie Dee and Nicci Wilks, with rising star Benjamin Nichol in two searing monodramas about women who are dispossessed and dismissed.
In RUNT, Cornelius, Dee and Wilks have created an expansive work about the runts of this world—the lesser, the weak, the insignificant, the 'unders'. Runt, a small woman who has endured nothing but misery, toughens up to face her oppressors and fight for equality and decency. But just as she starts to sense greatness rising in her, something shifts and she feels the dirt sucking her back in.
'[Cornelius's] art has a conscious rhythm, poetry and structure that make other writers seethe with envy. Her language doesn't sound naturalistic but when it's spoken by an actor, it sounds like it could never be anything but their voice' —Time Out
In kerosene, Nichol's unlikely protagonist Millie yearns for love and acceptance, finding instead rejection and humiliation at every turn … except from her sad, soft old grandfather, and her best friend Annie. Millie shapes her loyalty to Annie into a bond that burns hotter than any romantic furnace. Life sends them on different paths, but when Annie turns up bruised and bloodied on the doorstep, Millie sets out to honour her childhood friend in the only way she knows how: revenge.
'Nichol builds a world that is dense and rich with life. The writing is so subtle but poignant, with dialogue that carries the audience down a path that we can all relate to, even if we haven't walked it ourselves' —Australian Arts Review
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.
BENJAMIN NICHOL (he/him) is an award-winning writer, actor, director and educator based in Naarm/Melbourne. He has had writing developed with the Melbourne Theatre Company, City of Melbourne, Darebin Arts Speakeasy, ATYP, fortyfivedownstairs, Fresh Theatre for Social Change and Theatre Works. In 2021, he was Chantilly Studio’s Artist in Residence. For his writing and directorial debut, kerosene, Benjamin received awards for Best Direction and Best Production at the 39th Green Room Awards. He has received additional nominations at the Green Room Awards for Best New Writing (Independent Theatre) and been shortlisted for the Rodney Seaborn and Max Afford Playwrighting Awards. As an actor Benjamin has worked both nationally and abroad, with performance highlights including a national tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and a European season at the Teatro Biennale in Venice of Patricia Cornelius’ LOVE. Benjamin holds a BFA (Acting) and a MFA (Writing) from the VCA.
| Cast Info | 1F |
| Genres | Drama, Poetic |
| Themes | Solo Performer, Significant female roles, Political/Social themes |
| Audiences | Adult |
| Extent | 64 |
| Edition | Standard |
| Size | 210 x 137 mm |
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