Description
OVERVIEW | FIRST CASUALTY
NOT pro-war. NOT anti-war. HUMAN.
This play ricochets between satire, music, and violence — drawn from the playwright’s operational experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is 2011, at the height of the surge, but the conflict is already spilling and shifting. Australian soldiers on a remote combat outpost confront Taliban insurgents, Afghan troops, and a Pashtun warlord — the next two days will echo for decades. First Casualty (150 mins) casts light on the shadows of men at war, and takes aim at the illusions of a still-unfolding tragedy. This is contemporary Australian theatre that refuses easy answers — and stays with you.
SYNOPSIS
Welcome to the remote Combat Outpost Mirage, home to eight Aussie Diggers mired in our longest war. From this tiny fortification overlooking a beautiful valley, Captain Trent Kelly and his men have a lot to deal with. When they aren’t mentoring a platoon from the National Army, they’re patrolling for insurgents, negotiating with a powerful local warlord, or simply making it through another day a long way from home.
PRODUCTION HISTORY
First Casualty was first produced by Queensland Theatre Company at the Bille Brown Theatre from the 12th of November to the 10th of December, 2022.
ISBN: 978-1-76161-119-3