In 2023 Marist College Canberra will be presenting LONG TAN by Verity Laughton, as our Big Brothers production!
Short overview:
This semi-verbatim play depicts The Battle of Long Tan – one of the most historic battles of the Vietnam War which took place on a hot, rain-sodden afternoon in 1966. In the glutinous mud of a rubber plantation in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam, 105 Australian and three New Zealand soldiers clashed with approximately 2,500 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army troops. In the ensuing battle, 18 Australians died (17 were killed in action and one died of wounds 9 days later) and more than 245 Vietnamese were killed.
Composed from interviews with the surviving Australian soldiers, Vietnamese contributors and family and friends of those who died, Long Tan isn’t simply a work about a contentious time and iconic battle. Rather, it’s a meditation on the fractures in collective memory, the consequences of extreme demands on human beings in military conflict, and the need for forgiveness, empathy and faith in our common humanity.
Directors - Ms Vanessa Johnson & Miss Maggie Haigh
Producer - Mr Jarrod Schindler
Supporting - The Performing Arts Team & other teachers
Students currently in Year 8, 9, 10 & 11 are welcome to audition. Due to the content and dramatic nature of the play students in 2023 in Yr 9-12 will make up the cast & crew of the produciton.
Auditions will take place on TUESDAY 29TH NOVEMBER 3.30-4.30PM IN THE THEATRETTE WEEK 18 of Term 4 2022. Rehearsals will begin the in Week 1 2023
The production week is scheduled for WEEK 12 Term 1, 2023.
Rehearsals will begin in Week 1, Term 1 and will take place each Tuesday & Wednesday. Closer to the production there will be some Sunday rehearsals. A detailed rehearsal schedule will be provided to all students involved in the production.