The Home Front

The Home Frontis a piece of improvised theatre which explores the lives of three women in Australia during the Great War. The actors are Catherine Crowley, Ruth Pieloor and Lynn Petersen.  With ideas given by the audience, these three women explore life in 1916 in an unnamed town in Australia. We are introduced to these women by name, and then the story begins.

Each performance is different, given the audience's input, and it would certainly be interesting to see another performance of this piece.  It runs for approximately 85 minutes without an interval and it certainly makes demands upon the actors, requiring them to think on their feet, interact with each other in character while not having a prepared script, and to also use words and expressions of the time. Dianna Nixon is the language dramaturg of the piece.

Lighting, sound and set design brings to light a house of the time, with simple utensils, baskets, treasured knick knacks, and chairs and tables. 

This was developed in "The Hive" program at the Street Theatre.

Kudos to the whole team who have worked hard to bring to life the everyday happiness and trials which women at the home front would have experienced.

Rachel McGrath-Kerr

Image: Lynn Petersen. Photographer: Simon Peters.