Playwright casts war story far and wide
Rosa Brook playwright Ross Lonnie will enjoy seeing his play Uncle Jack take to the stage in Perth this week.
The play is an autobiographical account about the toll war takes on its veterans told through the eyes of 17-year-old Doug, who goes to work on a farm with his father’s brother.
Mr Lonnie said the play, which was initially shown in Margaret River, gives a “frank and stark” description of the war through the use of actual extracts from his father’s wartime journal.
More than seven years were spent working on the play. Mr Lonnie said at one point he put it down for a year and later came back to it.
“It was the most demanding thing I’ve written but it also allowed me to have a journey around my father, ” he said.
Mr Lonnie, who usually writes social comedies, said the play was different to anything else he had written.
“It is based on true events that happened in 1962, ” he said. “It was very hard to write to start off with.”
He said the cast and crew were working hard in preparation for the opening. A preview show of the play Uncle Jack will show next Tuesday at the Blue Room Theatre with opening night on Thursday. It will close on May 10.
