The Lighthouse Girl
By Hellie Turner, based on the novels by Dianne Wolfer
Performed — 2017 at Studio Underground
A courageous story that inspired the roaming spectacular of The Giants.
Fay, a sweet young girl, lives an isolated life with her lighthouse keeper father on the bleak, windswept Breaksea Island in the Great Southern region of WA. With the outbreak of war in 1914, Fay finds purpose in transcribing Morse code messages from soldiers stationed off shore, becoming their last hope of getting messages to their loved ones before heading to the front line. On the other side of the country in rural Victoria, Charlie and his best mate Jim abandon the outback for the excitement and adventure of seeing the world. As soldiers in the Light Horse Brigade, they quickly discover the brutal realities of life on the frontline.
This gentle play entwines the lives of Fay and Charlie and brings to life the stories of those left at home during the war waiting, wondering, hoping… and the struggles of the young men who valiantly enlisted to help defend their country. Based on Albany author Dianne Wolfer’s wonderful novels Lighthouse Girl and Light Horse Boy, this evocatively written play embodies a powerful and truthful sense of a pivotal time in Australia’s development as a nation.
The world premiere of The Lighthouse Girl will take place in Albany (21 to 22 April), the birthplace of the ANZAC story, before its season in Perth.
DIRECTOR Stuart Halusz
SET DESIGNER Lawrie Cullen-Tait
COSTUME DESIGNER Lynn Ferguson
LIGHTING DESIGNER Joe Lui
SOUND DESIGNER Brett Smith
CAST INCLUDES Daisy Coyle, Benj D'Addario, Murray Dowsett, Nick Maclaine, Alex Malone, Will McNeill, Giuseppe Rotondella
