Picnic at Hanging Rock A play by Tom Wright
Adapted from the novel by Joan Lindsay
Directed by Ian Michael

17 February – 5 April 2025

In the Drama Theatre

Sydney Theatre Company

Theatre

Crack open one of the most famous fables of contemporary Australia in this heartstopping and thoroughly contemporary investigation of innocence, cultural clash, and the enduring power of the wilderness.    

Contemporary horror meets a timeless tale

Tom Wright’s acclaimed adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock is an eerie, beautiful and visionary take on the gothic tale that changed Australian storytelling forever.  

Five modern teenage girls recount a story burnt into the Australian psyche. St Valentine’s Day, 1900. In the summertime heat of the Victorian Highlands, four schoolgirls sneak away from their excursion to climb the imposing monolith of Hanging Rock, pulled higher and higher by a mysterious force. All but one disappears without a trace.    

Seen through the eyes of director Ian Michael, with a cast featuring some of this country’s finest young performers; Olivia De Jonge, Kirsty Marillier, Lorinda May Merrypor, Masego Pitso and Contessa Treffone this production infuses the archetypal mystery with the chilling energy of twenty first-century horror while preserving the haunting enigma at its heart.  

Presented by Sydney Theatre Company

Watch the teaser

Cast and Creatives

Director Ian Michael 
Designer Elizabeth Gadsby 
Lighting Designer Trent Suidgeest 
Composer & Sound Designer James Brown  
Movement Director & Intimacy Coordinator Danielle Micich
Fight Director Tim Dashwood

With  
Olivia De Jonge 
Kirsty Marillier 
Lorinda Merrypor 
Masego Pitso 
Contessa Treffone 

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