PLAYLAB'S QLD SYLLABUS SUGGESTIONS 2022
UNIT 3: CHALLENGE (THEATRE OF THE ABSURD)
The following list of plays has been curated by Playlab Theatre’s staff in order to provide an extended list of plays suitable for study in Unit 3: Challenge. For convenience we have separated the following titles into categories based on the dramatic styles that are to be studied in this unit. Each selected play engages the audience to explore a political, social, philosophical or economic conversation and uses the conventions relevant to their theatrical style in order to communicate their unique view point and voice the difficult questions of the human experience.
One More Hour
by Mary Anne Butler
THEMES: Climate Change, Mortality and Companionship
LENGTH: 90 Minutes
CHARACTER AGES: 18+
CAST SIZE: 9
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years & Adults
Mary Anne Butler's One More Hour is quirky, dark and hilarious. ... Read more
New Babylon
by Stephen Carleton
THIS IS A DIGITAL PUBLICATION
THEMES: Climate Change Crisis, Class and Status, Survival
LENGTH: 105 Minutes
CHARACTER AGES: 30s–50+
CAST SIZE: 5
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years & Adults
Stephen Carleton's New Babylon is a macabre comedy exploring themes of decadence, ... Read more
Not Like Beckett
by Michael Watts
THEMES: Absurdism, Colonialism, Love
LENGTH: 90 Minutes
CHARACTER AGE: 18+
CAST SIZE: 1
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Students
Michael Watt’s unique play is a raw and dangerously funny reflection on the ... Read more
Delirium
by Amy Bell
THEMES: Nature, Macabre
CHARACTER AGES: Adult
LENGTH: 1.5 Hours
TARGET AUDIENCE: Adult
CAST SIZE: 1 – 2 Cast Members
PLAYLAB'S QLD SYLLABUS SUGGESTIONS 2022
UNIT 3: CHALLENGE (EPIC THEATRE)
Fuel
by Hayden Jones and Sam Foster
THEMES: Domestic Abuse, Control, Toxic Masculinity, Patriarchal Systems
LENGTH: 55 Minutes
CHARACTER AGES: 16-40s
NO. OF CHARACTERS: 23, Large Cast
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years & Adults
Shock Therapy Productions' Fuel takes an honest look at the complex ... Read more
Chinese Take Away
by Anna Yen
THIS IS A DIGITAL PUBLICATION
LANGUAGE: English and Cantonese
THEMES: History, Family, Poverty, Chinese Culture, Traditionalism
LENGTH: 45 Minutes
CHARACTER AGES: 30
CAST SIZE: 1
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years
Read more 
Oedipus Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
by Daniel Evans
THEMES: Family, Community, Tragedy, Loss
CHARACTER AGES: 18-40
LENGTH: 1.5 Hours
CAST SIZE: 5 – 6 Cast Members
TARGET AUDIENCE: Senior Years & Adult
Undertow
by Hayden Jones and Sam Foster
THEMES: Resilience, Mental Health , Relationships and Identity
LENGTH: 50 minutes
CAST SIZE: 17 Characters
CHARACTER AGES: 16-30+
SUITABLE FOR: Middle & Senior Years
Ma Ma Ma Mad
by Merlynn Tong
THIS IS A DIGITAL PUBLICATION
THEMES: Suicide, Depression
LENGTH: 60 Minutes
CHARACTER AGES: Various
CAST SIZE: 1
SUITABLE FOR: Adult
Merlynn Tong's Ma Ma Ma Mad is based on the true ... Read more
I Love You, Bro
by Adam J.A. Cass
THIS IS A DIGITAL PUBLICATION
THEMES: The Internet, Identity, Sexuality, Deceit
CHARACTER AGES: 14
LENGTH: 1.5 Hours
TARGET AUDIENCE: Adult
Playlab Indie
CAST SIZE: 1 – 2 Cast Members
Johnny is a digital chameleon, able to change who he is with ... Read more 
Talking To Brick Walls
by Claire Christian & The Empire Arts Impact Ensemble
THEMES: Young People, Coming of Age, Parenting
CHARACTER AGES: Middle – Senior Years
LENGTH: 1 Hour
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years
CAST SIZE: Large Cast Without Doubling
PLAYLAB'S QLD SYLLABUS SUGGESTIONS 2022
UNIT 3: CHALLENGE (THEATRE FOR SOCIAL COMMENT)
Rising
by Hannah Belanszky, Madeleine Border, Emily Burton, Lauren Sherritt and Sarah Wilson
THEMES: Climate Change, Extinction, Politics and Governance
LENGTH: 90 Minutes
CHARACTER AGES: 20s–40s
CAST SIZE: 3
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years
Rising by Hannah Belanszky, Read more
The 7 Stages Of Grieving
by Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman (25th Anniversary)
THEMES: Grieving, Death, Indigenous People, Aboriginality
CHARACTER AGES: Any age
LENGTH: 1 Hour
TARGET AUDIENCE: Middle & Senior Years
CAST SIZE: 1 – 2 Cast Members
DISCLAIMER: This new edition is a celebration of the 25th Anniversary of this iconic work. The script remains unchanged in this 25... Read more
Brutal Utopias
by Stephen Carleton
THEMES: Idealism, Communism & Capitalism
LENGTH: 90 Minutes
CHARACTER AGES: 30s, 40s & 50s
NO. OF CHARACTERS: 10, Large Cast
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years & Adults
Stephen Carleton's Brutal Utopias (A Fugue for the Twenty First Century) examines the intersection between ... Read more
Return to the Dirt
by Steve Pirie
THEMES: Death, grief, identity
LENGTH: 90 Minutes
CHARACTER AGES: 20s – 40s
CAST SIZE: 4
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years & Adults
Winner of the 2020-21 Queensland Premier's Drama Award, Steve Pirie's autobiographical Return ... Read more
Very Happy Children With Bright and Wonderful Futures
by Joshua Maxwell
Wisdom
by David Burton
THEMES: Civic Responsibility, Political Agency, Youth & Aging
LENGTH: 60 Minutes
CHARACTER AGES: 13–17
NO. OF CHARACTERS: 16, Large Cast
SUITABLE FOR: Middle & Senior Years
David Burton's Wisdom is a politically charged black comedy that unpacks ... Read more
Back to Back Theatre Collection
THEMES: Responsibility, Human Rights, Sexual Politics, AI, Myth, Death, Fragility, Dark and Light, Vulnerability & Superpower, Acting & Performance,
CHARACTER AGES: 20-30s
CAST SIZE: Large
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years & Adults
Multi-award-winning, Geelong-based Back to Back Theatre creates new forms of contemporary theatre to question the assumptions about what is ... Read more
April’s Fool
by David Burton
THEMES: Drug Culture, Drug Overdose, Death
LENGTH: 60 Minutes
CAST SIZE: 9+
SUITABLE FOR: Senior Years
CHARACTER AGES: 15-50
Read more