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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.    

Contemporary horror meets a timeless tale

Tom Wright’s acclaimed adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock is an eerie, beautiful and visionary take on the gothic tale that changed Australian storytelling forever.  

Five modern teenage girls recount a story burnt into the Australian psyche. 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 May Merrypor, Masego Pitso and Contessa Treffone this production infuses the archetypal mystery with the chilling energy of twenty first-century horror while preserving the haunting enigma at its heart.  

Presented by Sydney Theatre Company

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        Cast and Creatives

        Director Ian Michael 
        Designer Elizabeth Gadsby 
        Lighting Designer Trent Suidgeest 
        Composer & Sound Designer James Brown  
        Movement Director & Intimacy Coordinator Danielle Micich
        Fight Director Tim Dashwood

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

        Plan your visit

        Venue information

        Our foyers will be open two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.

        You may bring drinks into the venue to enjoy during the performance. Hot beverages, red wine, glassware and food however cannot be brought in due to safety and to help maintain the character of the building.  

        All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer.

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