In 1948, Angela left Malta. Having gathered up five children, she sailed out on the Strathnavar, leaving poverty and the war behind.

Her destination: Australia. In Surry Hills, she could build a bright new life.

If only she could first learn the language, finish shoring up their dilapidated house, find new friends, get the racist neighbour off her back and keep her son away from sly grog queen Kate Leigh’s kids.

Back in Malta, someone else has made a journey. Making his way along Kalkara’s glistening harbourside, a young man with flowing black hair has returned to claim his past. Paul Capsis is walking home.

A journey that begins at a kitchen table becomes a sprawling family history and a fitting tribute to a much-loved matriarch.

An Iranian family living in Australia attempts to escape memories of torture endured back home. Their role in the 1992 raid on the Iranian Embassy in Canberra leads to persecution by the Australian government. Based on a true story.

An epic chronicle of the refugee experience, Beautiful Words weaves together three very different stories of survival, told through the eyes of three children in different times and places. The outcome is heart-rending, humorous, and surprising by turns. From the horrors of Auschwitz Concentration Camp in the final days of World War II, to Taliban-ruled Kabul, to present day Australia, this enthralling play presents a rich tapestry of human experience, overlapping lives, and the bonds that unite generations.

Over three hours, with some 20 characters, Beautiful Words tells an engaging story with poignant comedy and unashamed feeling.

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OUT OF STOCK. REPRINTING.

A fictionalised account of a true incident—the grounding of British Airways Flight 149 at Kuwait International Airport during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990—Black Box 149 explores the impact of war and terror on the lives of civilians. Written as an intense psychological and emotional journey, the play explores secrets, betrayal and guilt, and how the personal is impacted by the political.

A story of adventure, ball control and hope.

Jamal and Bibi have a dream. To lead Australia to soccer glory in the next World Cup. But first they must face landmines, pirates, storms and assassins. Can Jamal and his family survive their incredible journey and get to Australia?

Adapted for the stage by Patricia Cornelius from Morris Gleitzman's best-selling novel, Boy Overboard depicts a deeply human side of the 'asylum seekers' issue by following the journey of Jamal and Bibi from Afghanistan to Australia. Based on real life events, this is a moving play about young people overcoming the confusion of war, politics and the search for a safe haven.

Review

Morris Gleitzman’s excellent unsparing novel for young adults in an accurate, theatrically imaginative and robust staging adaptation by Patricia Cornelius, deals with both the money grubbing and perilous mechanics of a refugee journey and the eternal hunger of hope. - Stephen Dunne, Sydney Morning Herald

Late one night in the gutted façade of a building primed for redevelopment, a group of security workers, labourers, and a local teenager find themselves haunting the same territory. One by one they rule a line in the sand, and by dawn they’re set for a showdown over who builds the future and who gets to own it. Buried City is an ambitious new work about ever-changing cities like Sydney – where waves of immigrants make new lives on old land.

A fictionalised account of a true story of a Western family living in Iran during the last days of the Shah and the rise of Ayotollah Khomeini.

Published with Janet Brown's Dolly Stainer of Kew Cottages.

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In 2002 , a young man rehearses for his first armed robbery on a bookstore in Newcastle. On the other side of the world, Chechen rebels hold seige of the Moscow Theatre, demanding liberation. One is a local, small time theft and the other an international political crisis, but both are born of a similar futility and powerlessness to be heard.

Moving back and forth between Moscow and Newcastle, these real events are the basis for this exploration on what drives such acts of terror and the impact they hold on the victims - the perspective from both ends of the gun.

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Awards

• 2006 VIC Premier’s Literary Awards - Louis Esson Prize (shortlist)
• 2006 Griffin Award (shortlist)
• 2006 ANPC/New Dramatists Award (shortlist)
• 2005 AWGIEs - Best Radio Adaptation

In the outback, the law is never black and white.

Drew is a young Aboriginal lawyer fast-tracking his way from Perth to a policy job in Canberra via Broome. A stint as a public defender with the Kimberley Circuit Court offers him the street cred he needs in the Federal scene—plus a chance to ‘put something back’.

‘The Circuit’ turns out to be a tumultuous tour of the wildest parts of the far north, grappling with the often impossible contradictions between traditional and whitefella law. In the whirlwind of the travelling courtroom, cases are decided in minutes, with repercussions that go on for years. Drew has no idea what’s hit him.

Then there is the legacy of his own long-forgotten family history.

A compelling, funny and thoughtful drama series starring Aaron Pedersen, Kelton Pell, Tammy Clarkson, Marta Kaczmarek and Gary Sweet as the Magistrate, The Circuit screened on SBS TV in July 2007.
 
For more information about the TV series, please go to http://www.thecircuit.com.au

Explores the notorious ‘children overboard’ affair of 2001, transforming a Senate Inquiry into public deception into a horribly funny tragedy.

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