AWAY

In his multi-award winning play Away, Michael Gow plunges his audience into real life tragedy and lifts them into a theatrical world of lights and dancing fairies. Set in Australia during the Vietnam war, Away tells the story of three families who decide to go on a summer holiday as they try to deal with issues of death, pain and alienation. Tom, a young English boy, is terminally ill and his family is trying to protect him from the reality of his imminent death – but he already knows. He befriends Meg whose family is embittered by past tragedies and third family battles to accept losing a son in the Vietnam War. Their lives are connected by a single holiday, which becomes an uplifting journey through grief, healing and happiness. Away is a juxtaposition of humour, trauma and fantasy. It weaves Shakespearean performances through an exploration of contemporary issues of war, racism and alienation.