GenQ - For the not so straight individual

MELBOURNE THEATRE COMPANY presents the World Premiere of

THE GLASS SOLDIER

by Hannie Rayson

With Craig Annis, Kerry Armstrong, Steve Bisley, Jay Bowen, Roderic Byrnes, Ben Geurens, Sara Gleeson, Ben Grant, Asher Keddie, Robert Menzies, Julie Nihill, Thomas Wright

Previews from 4 August 2007

Opens Wednesday 8 August 2007

At the Arts Centre Playhouse until 8 September 2007

“Thank goodness for Hannie Rayson.  She combines wit, verve and theatricality with a candid, documentary-style scrutiny of Australian society.�

- The Sun-Herald

 "Here is a playwright in full command of her powers" - The Age

 "Australia's most essential writer" - The Daily Telegraph

Based on a true story, Hannie Rayson’s THE GLASS SOLDIER is a deep, sincere tribute to two generations of Australians that had little, but gave everything.

When artist Nelson Ferguson went to war, he promised his sweetheart Madeleine that he would not die. But for keeping that promise, the gods exacted a terrible price: the destruction of the sight that was his livelihood and the spirit that made his life sweet. Only his mate ‘Wolfie’ understands his pain; only Madeleine has the faith to outlast it.

“This is a true story, a great story, and one that can’t help but inspire and move anyone who hears it,� says MTC Artistic Director Simon Phillips, who directs the World Premiere of this latest work from the author of Two Brothers, Inheritance and Life after George.

“It’s a story of love, mateship and the bond between husband and wife, friend and friend, father and son,� Simon says.  “But it is also a time capsule, a former Australia preserved like an old love letter, aching like an old war wound, showing how two generations endured and how enduring they were: those Australians from the first half of the 20^th Century, whose spirits were tempered by two World Wars and the Great Depression.�