Warning
This production contains coarse language, drug references and mature themes.
Theatrical haze and mild incense in use during the show.
I tried dying and it didn’t work… I might as well try living now.
Struggling actor David can’t get enough, of anything. Alcohol, drugs, women, gambling – whatever it takes to escape the bark of the black dog. Bouncing from audition to audition as he battles his debilitating mental health issues and descends into a world of addiction, he is consumed by an overwhelming feeling of never belonging anywhere. Days and nights are lived through a thick haze of drugs, alcohol and Shakespeare’s soliloquies. This bender could be his last, but he doesn’t care – there are worse things than death.
Then David is thrown an unlikely lifeline. Finding himself in the mountains of South-East Asia he is offered a chance at redemption – but he will need to confront his inner demons, traumas and secrets long buried.
Visceral, fierce, funny and uplifting Breaking the Castle is a gripping tale with a powerful performance from creator Peter Cook as a man yearning for connection.
Directed by stage and screen Director Leah Purcell (The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson), and told with a bucket load of laughs, this is an exquisitely rendered story of hope, belonging, and finding a way to be in this world.
Join us for a post-show Q&A with Director Leah Purcell and writer and performer Peter Cook after the performance. The post-show Q&A is open to attendees of this performance.