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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.    

Our most beguiling modern myth, boldly reimagined

Five modern teenage girls recount a story burnt into the Australian psyche. In Tom Wright’s lyrical and daring adaptation, Joan Lindsay’s classic becomes a form-shattering mix of storytelling, gossip, and reenactment. 

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 Merrypor, Masego Pitso and Contessa Treffone, this acclaimed adaptation brings an archetypal mystery into the twenty-first century while preserving the chilling enigma at its heart.   

Presented by Sydney Theatre Company


Director Ian Michael 
Designer Elizabeth Gadsby 
Lighting Designer Trent Suidgeest 
Composer & Sound Designer James Brown  

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

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