Lambs

An extremely powerful piece of theatre that is sure to move any theatregoer.

Written by Director Sean Riley in collaboration with his students, it explores the residents of a fictionalised country town named St Jude during World War I, when many boys and young men sought an adventure across the world by signing up to the Australian Imperial Forces despite being below the minimum age of enlistment.

Riley says the impetus for play’s theme stemmed from his interest in recordings of WWI Diggers at the Australian War Memorial. “Students create the world, the characters, [the] truth of the piece. Then they fill me up with months and months of improvisation, and then, like a game of kerplunk, when I feel full, I write it. Then when they come to it, they have this amazing sense of ownership.”

“The eighteen ensemble members, who are aged seven to twenty three, have engaged with true stories of ANZACs and historical material from the period to bring the boys’ stories to life through a mix of soliloquies, dialogue scenes, period-accurate costuming, an original soundtrack, and film projection.” 

Riley explains that the play takes audiences from St Jude “to No Man’s Land, an army hospital behind the frontlines, northern France and the trenches”. It also shares the perspective of female characters and explores the lives of those left at home.