Directed by Neil Armfield, written by Andrew Bovell and designed by Stephen Curtis, THE SECRET RIVER opened the Adelaide Festival to rave reviews last week:
“Neil Armfield’s brilliantly inventive direction adds the theatrical fairy-dust that makes the play soar…Andrew Bovell’s script for this Sydney Theatre Company production produces some incredibly complex characters who speak some remarkably powerful lines.” – In Daily
“The adaptation, the direction, the design elements, the acting: these weave an experience not only more than the sum of its parts, but serving the higher purpose of illuminating an originary moment for the life of this nation.” – The Conversation
“For all its eventual darkness, playwright Andrew Bovell’s adaptation of Kate Grenville’s novel is peppered with many moments of laughter, levity and elation, songs and rhymes, and a driving sense of adventure. Armfield keeps the action flowing like the river itself around the expansive stage, making clever use of the elements — fire, water, wind and dust — as well as integrating live music, song and dance to create a most memorable and moving spectacle.” – The Advertiser