Arts
Playwright Tommy Murphy, director Eamon Flack, set and costume designer Romanie Harper, and Belvoir's Head of New Work, Louise Gough discuss the cyclical patriarchal brutality of PACKER & SONS; a play which charts the transitions of power in one of Australia's most powerful families over three generations. Podcast recorded by Zoe Ferguson. *** Tommy writes real life like no one else – robust and brilliant, complex dramatic portraits, a pitch-perfect sense of the public interest in the private life. In other words, no one is better suited to write about the Packer line. This is about power in Sydney, and fathers and sons across generations, and the childhood traumas that drive us forward. From humble beginnings, the myth of the Packer dynasty grows in step with their increasing influence, as each son feels the weight of time, of power. Newspapers, magazines, broadcast TV – what are they? How does each generation keep the empire one step ahead of the technological race, declare himself free of the shadow of his father and build a lasting legacy. A deeply researched, muscular work, Packer & Sons puts on stage the men who have loomed large over Sydney for nearly a century, following the transitions of power from father to son over three generations. Supported by Australian Writers’ Guild’s David Williamson Prize, The Copyright Agency Cultural Fund, and the Walking Up the Hill Foundation. PACKER & SONS16 NOV - 22 DECTICKETS: https://bit.ly/2QSJRMS