Sit tight Canberra – Everyman Theatre’s queer epic, The Inheritance, is taking the spotlight!

Posted on 1 October, 2024

Have some tissues on standby and bring some emotional support, because this must-see production will move you and the whole theatre to tears.

To clarify, those tears will come from both a good balance of laughter and devastation – rest-assured!

Everyman Theatre is bestowing upon us a story that has been told for decades, (but with a modern flare), showcasing queer characters in a complex, relatable, and refreshing light with their take on The Inheritance. Heavily inspired by the well-loved novel written by E.M. Forster, Howard’s End, this production has earned critical acclaim internationally in recent years, earning the prestigious Olivier, Tony, and Drama Desk awards for ‘Best Play’. You read that right – BEST play.

This award-winning production was then brought to Australia for the first time in Melbourne last year, and – much to our delight – the second Australian adaptation is coming to the capital, taking centre-stage at the ACT Hub with its first showing on Saturday 12 October.

Masterfully written by Matthew Lopez, led by the vision of Artistic Director, Jarrad West, and delivered by the top-notch cast, this two-part adaptation tells the multi-dimensional stories of the lives of Eric and Toby, a gay couple living in the U.S. in the 21^st century. Set during a time we all experienced, when COVID-19 ran rampant and the U.S. presidential election worked in Trump’s favour, the show explores a web of moving and gut-wrenching stories that addresses the questions ‘What does one generation of the queer community owe to the next?’ and ‘What are the responsibilities to those who came before?’

This epic has been years in the making, beginning when Jarrad discovered the script and its potential back in 2018 while visiting the U.K. From there, it has been a six-year journey. And here we are – finally close to seeing its debut.

Whether you’re a fan of the Howard’s End novel or film adaptation, an avid theatregoer, or simply keen to witness a beautiful and modern queer story, Everyman Theatre and Jarrad has brought the story of The Inheritance to Canberrans, to explore the human experience during a unique and politically polarising time in history.

“We are the theatre company that tells queer stories, but we also tell human and universal stories. I mean, our main motto is ‘Every man, woman, and child has a story,’” Jarrad says.

“I just think Canberra is a highly intelligent audience that will get it and will love it because it’s clever, it’s funny, it’s sad, it’s sexy, it’s heart-breaking, and there’s naked men!”

And you may be thinking ‘Why is this production presented in two parts?’ Jarrad explains that there are a plethora of plots involving multiple characters happening at once, and to do this story justice and to prevent skipping out on the details, six and a half hours split between two parts is necessary.

“One thing that I have been likening it too is it’s like a Netflix binge on stage. It’s like you get to watch and binge a Netflix series in a theatre with a whole bunch of other people,” says Jarrad.

Much like watching a Netflix series, you can take as long of a break as you need after finishing the first half to watch the rest (not a whole month thank goodness). Whether you need a few hours or a few days to digest the story, it’s completely up to you.

Jarrad recommends you either enjoy watching both parts on the same day and take a necessary dinner break in Kingston in-between shows, or if you need more time to process , attend a Friday night showing and come back for the second part on the following Sunday afternoon. And trust me, you will be coming back for the second part.

Jarrad and the Everyman Theatre production has aimed to bring human stories to the Canberra audience since 2008 and looks to continue to do so with this production, and many more to come.

“The reason I do these plays and shows like The Inheritance is to tell queer stories to make sure a kid who gets dragged along to the theatre by his parents, who doesn’t know who they are and who’s still trying to figure it out, suddenly sees something quite unplanned, sees something that they relate to, and starts to see themselves on a stage,” says Jarrad.

”That’s the reason why I tell these stories and that’s the way I can contribute to the generation coming after me,.”

“If I can make my job to tell these stories and to provide these stories to other people, then I’ve done my job. And that to me, is the gay agenda.”

Photography: Caitlin Baker.