Adapted by Vanessa Bates from Gabrielle Wang’s award-winning novel, A Ghost in My Suitcase is an action-packed adventure story that crosses cultural and spiritual worlds.
Twelve-year-old Celeste – ‘half French, half Chinese and all Australian’ – travels to China to scatter her mother’s ashes. There she meets her grandmother, Por Por, a quirky and wise woman with an unusual skill. Por Por is a ghost-hunter and her services are much in demand.
When Celeste learns she may have inherited her grandmother’s talent, she must decide whether to acknowledge her gifts and use them to save her family and friends, and if she has the strength needed for the job.
Filled with fantastical characters from this world and the next, A Ghost in My Suitcase is a beautifully told tale of mystery, grief, difference and acceptance.
WINNER: 2019 AWGIE Award for Theatre for Young Audiences.
‘This short play about twelve-year-old Celeste and her Asian family will delight many students in Years 6 and 7. There are not many plays for students in the middle years and even fewer that reflect Australian connections with Asian cultures.’ (English in Australia, Volume 55, November 2, 2020)
‘A Ghost in My Suitcase is superb family theatre – a stylish, big-hearted and vibrant adaptation of a much-loved children’s book.’ The Age
‘This is a sophisticated and poetic rendition adapted by Vanessa Bates, ostensibly for children, but calibrated also for an adult sensibility.’ ArtsHub
To read the introduction by Matt Edgerton click here.
