BLACKROCK

Based on the real life rape and murder of Stockton schoolgirl Leigh Leigh on November 3rd, 1989, Blackrock has played a powerful role in Australian culture ever since. The play adaptation is no different.

“The question of rape culture is a difficult one to answer and why it has become such a strong part of the Australian culture is also up for vicious debate at the moment,” explains co-director Samantha Cunningham.

There is a real emphasis on the illusion that nostalgia and hindsight can bring with age and it is something that the play really hopes to highlight.

“I think that if you tap into the rose-coloured ways that people look at the past and shatter that illusion, I really think it drives it home for people and makes them think about the way they grew up. How we in turn are raising our children now, that’s what I’d like them to walk away with,” says Cunningham.

Presented by Epicentre Theatre Company, this play is much more than just a recreation of a horrific event, it is a discussion that the director says needs to continue to happen. (AH)

Dec 5-14, O’Kelly Theatre, Saint Ignatius’ College Riverview, Tambourine Bay Rd, Lane Cove, $27-32+bf, trybooking.com/DTYU

($2 from every ticket sale will be donated to Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia)

BY ANDREW HODGSON