Bastard Boys is the story of the fight that stopped the nation—the 1998 battle for Australia's waterfront. More than just a dispute over reform, it became a campaign for the hearts and minds of all Australians. Controversial, all-consuming and combative, it forced people to pick a side and fight for their beliefs. Political thriller, war film, buddy movie, love story and courtroom drama all rolled into one, this is the story of the people behind one of the most significant events in Australia's recent past.

Iconic Australian actors Jack Thompson and Colin Friels lead an outstanding cast that includes: Geoff Morrell, Dan Wyllie, Justine Clarke, Rhys Muldoon and Lucy Bell.

Bastard Boys has been written with the cooperation and participation of all parties to the dispute. It is the first time participants such as former Patrick CEO, Chris Corrigan and ACTU Secretary, Greg Combet have agreed to tell their stories.

Reviews:

There is so much praise to be heaped on Bastard Boys , it’s hard to know where to begin. No, it’s not. Without Sue Smith’s extraordinary script, this unruly, octopusion true story could have been a confusing, boring polemic.
(…)
Smith’s script gives us the overview and the minute detail as well as some of the best big speeches we’ve ever heard on Australian television.
(…)
The world of the wharves, the boardrooms and war rooms are places most of us will never visit or understand. Bastard Boys takes us there, makes sense and great drama all at once. It’s amazing.
Ruth Richie, Sydney Morning Herald

Sue Smith's script [is] ... a reminder of the sheer power of intelligent character-driven drama.
Graeme Blundell, Sydney Morning Herald

Deep in Western Australia’s mining country, against the blood-red landscape of the Pilbara, a cyclone has wreaked havoc in a remote railway construction camp.

Now, a small team of employees anxiously await the arrival of ‘the company man’, sent up from Perth to carry out his own investigation before a coronial inquiry. Dog-tired and in search of drink, they do their best to distract themselves, coming together in a makeshift mess hall.
But a stormy evening of shared memories soon takes a strange and unexpected turn…

From the writer of Bastard Boys and Brides of Christ comes a gripping, contemporary tale of free-will and responsibility in the face of great temptation.

To read an extract of the play click on this pdf

5 M, 1 F

Cameron Cresswell; email: info@cameronsmanagement.com.au