Horizon by Maxine Mellor || 2024
With the horizon ahead of them, Cole and Sky drive into the guts of the country in search of freedom. Cole’s dad is sick, Sky is bored of the corporate ladder, and so they’re excited to hit the road and leave their problems behind.
Their newfound freedom is underscored by a long-forgotten mix tape buried deep in the glovebox, but out of the static emerges the past. When secrets start to leak from the car, dingoes begin to stalk them, and the bush seems more haunting than before. The road trip games aren’t fun anymore.
Horizon keeps who we are in the rear-view mirror and asks us what it is we can see in the heat-distorted bitumen ahead?
Horizon by Maxine Mellor is an AWGIE Award winning work for Best Stage Original Script and the 2022 winner of the David Williamson Prize.
Photo Credit: Morgan Roberts
| SEASON DATES | Wednesday 31 July – Saturday 10 August 2024 |
| VENUE | Underground Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse |
| DURATION | 90 minutes, no interval |
| AGES | Suitable for 16+ |
| PLAYWRIGHT | Maxine Mellor |
| DIRECTOR/DRAMATURG | Ian Lawson |
| LIGHTING DESIGNER | David Walters |
| SOUND DESIGNER | Guy Webster |
| AV DESIGNER | Nathan Sibthorpe |
| PRODUCTION MANAGER | Nicola Jones |
| STAGE MANAGER | Mikayla Hosking |
| ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER | Teddy Waddingham |
| CAST | Ashlee Lollback |
| Julian Curtis |
“Horizon is a disturbing interrogation into what walks amongst our society. Horizon is a must-see. If you’ve already seen it, Horizon is a must rewatch. Horizon is a production operating at its rawest, most tender form. But most of all, Horizon is unabashedly Australian theatre. If this revival adds to any of that, then it is unabashedly a masterwork. See it immediately.”
“Horizon is a high-octane exploration of the Australian political landscape, pushing the audience to confront their own morals, ethics, and judgments. Mellor's script weaves together poetry, realism, and gothic themes with masterful precision, making it a thought-provoking experience for Southeast Queensland audiences.”
“Horizon was thrilling and unnerving, an atmospheric journey that wove modern social commentary into a well-established genre and was made frighteningly believable by the sharp writing and skilled actors.”
Horizon by Maxine Mellor || 2021
Cole and Sky, a young couple, are driving in a classic Aussie car from the coast into the guts of the country. Cole’s father is ill and Sky is due a holiday after climbing the corporate ladder.
They set out with unbridled enthusiasm for the road ahead; swept up in romantic dreaming and poetic ruminations amid the boundless plains. They knit new narratives for themselves; give themselves new names and identities in sync with their seemingly unanimous versions of utopia. Their newfound freedom is underscored by a long-forgotten mix tape buried deep in the glovebox, but out of the static following the final song comes a blast from the past.
Equal parts Mad Max, Evil Angels, and Wolf Creek, Horizon keeps who we are in the rear-view mirror, whilst asking what it is we can see in the heat-distorted bitumen ahead?
Photo Credit: Justine Walpole
| SEASON DATES | Wednesday 19 May – Saturday 29 May 2021 |
| VENUE | Underground Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse |
| DURATION | 90 minutes, no interval |
| AGES | Suitable for 16+ |
| PLAYWRIGHT | Maxine Mellor |
| DIRECTOR/DRAMATURG | Ian Lawson |
| LIGHTING DESIGNER | David Walters |
| SOUND DESIGNER | Guy Webster |
| AV DESIGNER | Nathan Sibthorpe |
| INTIMACY COORDINATOR | Michelle Miall |
| MOVEMENT DIRECTOR | Sam Foster |
| STAGE MANAGER | Elise Baker |
| CAST | Ngoc Phan |
| Sam Foster |
"...it is a thrilling ride not for the faint of heart, but rather those who like their drama with a bit of terror because once you’ve seen one monster, you see them everywhere.”
"Intense and unnerving in the best possible way, ‘Horizon’ confronts theatre-goers with these questions and more."
"Horizon sets itself up as an in-depth and undoubtedly confrontational experience...the end result is a confronting and thought-provoking work."
Maxine Mellor
Maxine Mellor has authored over thirty plays, and had work produced throughout Australia.
Awards include the Queensland Theatre Company’s Young Playwright’s Award (2001, 2002, 2003), the QTC George Landen Dann Award (2004), and a Matilda Award for best new independent work for Performance (2005) for Magda’s Fascination with Wax Cats. In 2012 she won Inscription’s Edward Albee New York City Residency Scholarship, and the 2012/2013 Queensland Premier’s Drama Award. Maxine won the Max Afford Playwriting Award for 2014 for The Silver Alps. In 2017, Maxine received The Lord Mayor’s Young & Emerging Artists Fellowship to undertake professional development across Singapore, Iceland and the UK. In 2022 she was awarded the AWGIE award in the Original Stage Play category, and won the David Williamson Prize for Playwriting.
Recent productions include Horizon (Playlab Theatre), The Wizard of Oz (a collaboration with the Danger Ensemble for La Boite Theatre Company and Brisbane Festival), Trollop (Queensland Theatre Company), Awkward Anthem (part of mka’s Group Show), and Anna Robi & The House of Dogs (Under the Radar). Other works for children include Sleeping Horses Lie (Terrapin Puppet Theatre), Desiree Din & the Red Forest (ATYP), and Maxine Mellor’s Mystery Project (QTC & The State Library of QLD). Her adaptation of The Wind in the Willows toured nationally and through Queensland regions in 2017.
Maxine was selected to attend Inscription’s USA Playwriting and Screenwriting Tour in early 2015, and is currently working on her first feature film.
A Playlab Theatre production. Playlab Theatre is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.