What's On

Heart is a Wasteland by John Harvey
17 Oct - 1 November 2025
Presented by Yirra Yaakin Theatre CompanyDirector Maitland Schnaars
Songwriter Lydia Fairhall
Designer Eilish Campbell
Lighting Designer Lucy Birkinshaw
Composer & Sound Designer Rachael Dease
Projection Designer Mia Holton
Intimacy Choreographer Molly TippingCast Claire Fermo, Maitland SchnaarsRaye, is a country-music star in the making, playing in one back-water pub after another along Australia’s vast desert highways. Trying to make a living in the hope of returning home to her young son Elvis, her lyrics blaze through the landscapes of love and longing. A chance meeting and Raye’s life becomes entwined with that of another wanderer, Dan, a carefree miner disconnected from community. A turbulent love affair unfurls over the four-day drive to Alice Springs.John Harvey’s humorous and deeply heartfelt story examines the complexities of Aboriginal people living in contemporary Australia. A soul warming battle of egos and recognising everyone’s worthiness of, and right to, love.