Produced by the State Theatre Company of South Australia
Director Teddy Dunn
Actors Matilda Bailey, Annabel Matheson
Winner of the State Theatre Company’s Young Playwrights Award, 2017
https://statetheatrecompany.com.au/flinders-young-playwright-award/
The River is a one-act play, one hour in length with two characters, Rose and Beth.
Rose and Beth are kids; best friends; about to finish school. Beth has a car and Rose has cash. The bright world is beckoning them. They sit on a riverbank, and dream about what the future holds in store for them.
Ten years later, and the future has caught up with them. They are reunited at a school reunion, strangers to one another. Any trace of their friendship is gone, leaving behind only a silent tension. What happened at the river ten years ago, and where are they now?
This story is built on big themes: love, fate, hatred, and the poisonous effect of this mix. The play switches between the present and the future to tell the story of Rose and Beth, and slowly allow the audience to piece together what happened that night at the river.
The River is about struggling to find your queer identity in a small town, and what happens when it all goes wrong.
Callum McLean 