It’s summer 1965 in a small, hot town in Western Australia. Overseas, war is raging in Vietnam, civil rights marchers are on the streets, and women’s liberation is stirring—but at home in Corrigan Charlie Bucktin dreams of writing the great Australian novel.
Charlie’s fourteen and smart. But when sixteen-year-old, constantly in-trouble Jasper Jones appears at his window one night, Charlie’s out of his depth. Jasper has stumbled upon a terrible crime in the scrub nearby, and he knows he’s the first suspect—that goes with the colour of his skin. He needs every ounce of Charlie’s bookish brain to help solve this awful mystery before the town turns on Jasper.
Kate Mulvany’s adaptation of Craig Silvey’s award-winning novel is wise and beautiful—it features a cast of finely drawn teenagers and grown-ups, all searching for their own kind of truth. A coming-of-age story, Jasper Jones interweaves the lives of complex individuals all struggling to find happiness among the buried secrets of a small rural community.
For a study guide and other educational resources from State Theatre Company South Australia click here and here.
For study guides from Melbourne Theatre Company click here and here.
For a study guide from Belvoir Theatre click here.
To read the introduction by John McCallum click here.
