Written by: Fleur Murphy
Development workshop / reading directed by: Alister Smith
Performed by: Luke Cadden, Jacob Pruden, Ben Adams & Claire Frost
Stage directions read by: Chris Saxton
Development workshop / reading directed by: Alister Smith
Performed by: Luke Cadden, Jacob Pruden, Ben Adams & Claire Frost
Stage directions read by: Chris Saxton
The script is currently in development. A staged reading was presented in association with the 'Cells For Writers' open day (Writers Victoria and The National Trust) at The Old Melbourne Gaol in July 2014. Fleur has recently been a writer-in-residence at The Old Melbourne Gaol. Read about her creative time behind bars here on our blog page.
Three brothers. Chained within a pit of earth. Fight to survive. Strive to tell their tale.
Just over a year ago a relative mentioned to Fleur that he had come across some rather interesting family history. He had unearthed the dramatic and tragic circumstances that lead to the deportation of Michael Duffy and his two brothers, William and Bryan from Ireland in 1846. The three brothers had been wrongfully accused of 'assault with intent to kill'. The judge wanted to make an example of them, and in the hope to cleanse Ireland of the 'vicious and immoral', the three brothers were torn from their family and sent to Van Diemen's Land.
The play follows the physical and emotional journey these Duffy boys endured, from the initial ‘crime’ and proceeding trial, through to planting their feet on distant, unfamiliar soil. A story exhumed from the grave, ‘As We Come To Wake’ is one writer’s earnest quest to restore innocence and finally lay to rest three ghosts from the past.
Just over a year ago a relative mentioned to Fleur that he had come across some rather interesting family history. He had unearthed the dramatic and tragic circumstances that lead to the deportation of Michael Duffy and his two brothers, William and Bryan from Ireland in 1846. The three brothers had been wrongfully accused of 'assault with intent to kill'. The judge wanted to make an example of them, and in the hope to cleanse Ireland of the 'vicious and immoral', the three brothers were torn from their family and sent to Van Diemen's Land.
The play follows the physical and emotional journey these Duffy boys endured, from the initial ‘crime’ and proceeding trial, through to planting their feet on distant, unfamiliar soil. A story exhumed from the grave, ‘As We Come To Wake’ is one writer’s earnest quest to restore innocence and finally lay to rest three ghosts from the past.
- Photography thanks to Michelle Myers and Matt Smolen.
