100 Reasons For War

100 Reasons For War, presented by the Actors’ Hub, was a Gap 2 production, featuring students of the Actors Hub.

The play was originally commissioned to mark the 100th anniversary of Australia’s involvement in World War I, and examines the myriad of reasons that societies find themselves in terrible and tragic conflicts. Written as an open script, the playwright does not allocate lines to characters, nor set a number of participants, a locale or time - leaving all to each production to determine.

Director Ella Hetherington creates a space that may or may not initially be a waiting room, but becomes a variety of open spaces. The lines are allocated with thought, which gives us characters of sorts, as we ponder the nature of war, with references to warring couples, the student who can’t put their thoughts about war in order and bonobo apes, against an extensive list of all of the wars since World War 1 - the war to end all wars.

Excellent team work from Gap 2 students Anna Rettay, Stephane Latchman, Talia Hart, Laura Goodlet, Tia Rose, Gillian Mosenthal, Ricky Anderson, Ava Lyas and Ricky Melwani, who work seamlessly as an ensemble. Excellent use of physical theatre, ritual and dance.

100 Reasons For War was an interesting, thought provoking production, that may not be ‘enjoyable’ in the traditional sense of the word, was well worth seeing. 

Kimberley Shaw