Written and performed by Emily Goddard | Directed by Susie Dee

A funny, dark and provocative anti-bonnet drama

1839. Cascades Female Factory, Hobart Town. In a solitary cell, on the edge of survival, Mary Ford waits alone in the darkness. Left for dead, ten thousand miles from home, she plots escape an reveals, with biting mockery, the untold tales of her captors.

In a tour-de-force performance described as ‘fearless’ and ‘nauseatingly exquisite’, Emily Goddard and acclaimed theatre director Susie Dee (Anthem and Savages) bring to life a dark, humorous and provocative anti-bonnet drama inspired by the rebellion and resistance of the female convicts of Van Diemen’s Land.

Using the same Bouffon-esque performance devices the women used to rebel, Goddard and Dee tread a fine line between the grotesque and humorous to uncover an extraordinary chapter of rebellion and survival that has seemingly escaped our nation’s history books. Winner of the 2018 Drama Victoria Award, This is Eden is at once an examination of our dark past, a parody of the way we perceive it and a vital call to arms.

As affecting and impressive as anything you will see. Australian Stage

WINNER – 2018 Drama Victoria Award

Drama Workshop:

Join performer and creator Emily Goddard as she shares some secrets of Le Jeu & Bouffon. This fun-filled workshop is designed to inspire new ways of approaching performance and theatre.

Wild, hilarious, powerful and provocative, Bouffon has been used across cultures for centuries. To unite, to ignite, to shout out and be heard. To give a voice to the voiceless, find light in the darkness and to rock, and mock, the status quo.

Suitable for ages 15+.  Get in quick- maximum participants 20.

 “Easily the most inspiring workshop I have ever attended. Emily’s teachings have had a profound impact on my work.” Carly Ford, Gladstone Park Secondary College

For more information on the workshop, please click here: THIS IS EDEN_Drama Workshop