Rosieville, a show perfect for school holiday family outings

Posted on 3 October, 2023

If you’ve got kids at around ten or above and you want to instil something cultural in them before the school holidays are over, book a ticket to Rosieville.

The latest production from Canberra Youth Theatre runs from Wednesday through to Sunday and provides a perfect opportunity to take in a theatrical performance with heart, some universal family themes and a crazy talking pigeon.

Canberra playwright Mary Rachael Brown has staged a homecoming production which centres on  a family and neighbours helping each other through the hard times. It has some lovely local touches as it is set in Canberra.

How do you face the day when your Dad has flown the coop, and your Mum is struggling to take care of herself, let alone take care of you? Especially when your older brother is no help, holed up all day in the shed, building a flying machine for the Birdman rally…

That’s the situation facing Rose, the 11 year-old hero of Rosieville: a comedy-drama that teaches us about the value of reslience when dealing with the big, world-shattering changes that life throws at us.

Claire Imach plays a mouthy pidgeon. Imogen Bigsby-Chamberlin plays Rosie

Continuing a trend from Canberra Youth Theatre’s production of The Trials earlier this year, Rosieville is a youth theatre show that doesn’t just feature young people: experienced adult actors act alongside young performers to paint a sensitive portrait of interconnected lives, with an emphasis on the young person’s point of view.

In Rosieville, adults are trying their best, despite illness, break-ups, and the disaster of terrible haircuts–and young people, growing up fast to fill the gaps. Life is messy. So’s the kitchen. But with care, humour, a helping hand from the neighbours (and in Rose’s case, a few wise words from a mouthy homing pigeon), the characters in Rosieville find a way through.

Playwright, Mary Rachel Brown, is a former Canberran who spent her “crazy gothic youth” at Canberra Youth Theatre, before going on to a successful writing career and an honour-roll of National Playwriting Awards, including the 2016 Lysicrates Prize, the 2008 Rodney Seaborn Award, 2007 Max Affords Award, and the 2006 Griffin Award.

Playwright Mary Rachel Brown

As a proud Canberran, Mary’s play has a distinctly Canberran flavour, featuring the triumphant return of the famous Birdman rally.

“Rosieville examines the nature of waiting and how we hold ourselves together while looking down the barrel of uncertainty. I hope to capture some of the human anxieties, habits, and distractions we create to compensate for things not being how we want them to be. This is a play about how to walk alongside unexpected loss, and how help often comes from where you least expect it,” Mary said.

“I grew up in the birthplace of this play and went to Canberra Youth Theatre. In so many respects, this work feels like a homecoming. I wish I could have told my sixteen-year-old self this would happen.”

This world premiere was commissioned by Canberra Youth Theatre during the pandemic, and the script has already been recognised for its quality and originality, taking the runner-up prize in the Shane and Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting in the Theatre for Young Audiences category.

The production has been directed by Canberra Youth Theatre’s Artistic Director and CEO, Luke Rogers, supported by a creative team of emerging artists who have spent this year as Resident Artists with the company: Assistant Director Emily Austin, Set and Costume Designer Aislinn King, Lighting Designer Ethan Hamill, Sound Designer and Composer Patrick Haesler, and Stage Manager Rhiley Winnett.