FROM THE DIRECTOR

Following the ridiculously entertaining season of Keeping up Appearances in 2020 and the enchanting season of The Adventures of Peter Rabbit and his Friends in 2022, I felt ready to take on a drama that could tug on the heart strings. On the recommendation of a friend, I sought the script for Last Cab to Darwin and I am delighted to bring it to Tasmanian audiences for the first time.

Last Cab to Darwin tells the story of Max, a Broken Hill taxi driver battling stomach cancer, who drove 3,000 km in 1996 to be the first to die under Physician Assisted Dying (euthanasia) legislation during a brief period where it was legal in the Top End. In the early 2000s, Reg Cribb wrote the play based on Max’s story, later adapted into a film directed by Jeremy Sims in 2015.

While the topic of euthanasia is important for this play, the real story is about life. A story of home, mateship, courage, perseverance and sharing life’s journey with those you love. It’s a story of Australia in the 1990s, a country that was big and beautiful and struggling. Last Cab to Darwin is a rich blend of humour and heart and I feel blessed to have worked with the talented and committed cast and crew on this production. The cast have brought their ‘A-Game' to every rehearsal, treating the characters and story with respect. Brendon Flynn takes us on Max’s final journey, from little ol’ Broken Hill through the red centre to the big smoke. Drawing from his own lived experience, Brendon brings an authenticity to the role that seems effortless.

Securing Carolyn Whamond to design the show was an early coup. I’m so thankful for her vision and impact, and for working with me on this very special production.

Heartfelt appreciation goes to our dedicated Stage Manager, Rogan Brown, whose unwavering commitment ensures the production meets the high standards expected by Hobart Rep audiences. Special mention also goes to our Assistant Director Jon Lenthall, whose experience and insights have elevated the show, adding layers to our characters and narrative depth. He’s also pretty fab at understudying every role, including the Swedish backpackers!

My gratitude also goes to Production Managers, Eilish and Logan, stepping into a new space with professionalism. I felt secure in the knowledge that everything was on track and in capable hands. Additional thanks to Jodi for her invaluable assistance in navigating the script with cultural sensitivity, to Louise for her unique choreography and lighting design, to Cheryl for her seamless management of lighting and sound, and to Karen and her team for their exceptional coordination of costume and props. 

I’m immeasurably grateful to my family, who have once again given me the time and space to take on this show. Much love to Neil, Eve, Harris and to my broader supportive family.

Finally, a big thank you to Hobart Rep for once again believing in me and supporting me in this production. I hope to have done you proud!

Shauna-Lee Ward

DIRECTOR'S NOTES

Many Australians have heard about Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, and a good proportion have seen it, but the play remains largely unproduced overseas. The play’s strengths – the authenticity of language and character that grabbed local audiences in the 1950s – may actually work against the play internationally. Even the original production failed in New York because American audiences and critics found it hard to understand the accents, and it is a difficult play for non-Australian actors to present. Doll is supremely and stubbornly Australian.

Yet, if the language and characters of the play resist globalisation, its themes do not; indeed, they are universal, though expressed in Australian terms. Its themes are transition and change, mateship and loyalty and, above all, shimmering dreams and brute reality. The world of the play is one of proliferating fraud: of self-delusion doubling and redoubling upon itself. (What Williams called “mendacity” in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.) All the members of the main quartet of characters – Olive the dreamer, cynical Pearl, proud Roo and pliable Barney – are victims of their own self-deceptions. It’s tempting to look to the younger characters of Bubba and Johnnie Dowd as metaphors for the ‘new’ changing face of Australia in the 1950’s – but Bubba resists this change, believing that the ideal life for her is what Olive has had. The tragedy unfolds and repeats across generations.

Robert Jarman