The Hope Fault premieres at WAAPA

A rich tapestry of familial drama, The Hope Fault will premiere at WAAPA’s newly refurbished Enright Studio from 11 – 17 October. Produced with the support of the Minderoo Foundation and Fremantle Press, the stage play has been a passionate year-long project for West Australian writer and director Andrew Hale.

A rich tapestry of family drama, The Hope Fault will premiere at WAAPA’s newly refurbished Enright Studio from October 11-17. Produced with the support of the Minderoo Foundation and Fremantle Press, the stage play has been a passionate year-long project for West Australian writer and director Andrew Hale. “Art takes time. Good art takes a lot of time,” says Hale, who adapted Tracy Farr’s novel by the same name. Farr’s second novel, it tells the story of Iris and her extended family – her ex-husband with his new wife and baby, her son, and her best friend’s daughter. This unconventional grouping gathers on a midwinter long weekend to pack up the family holiday house after it has been sold. Over the weekend, as their connections are affirmed, their frailties and secrets are revealed, and anxiety and uncertainty begins to pervade. “A new birth has the strength of a tsunami and a death the power of an earthquake,” explains Hale, who describes the process of adapting the script and directing the play as a career highlight. “It has been an unbridled privilege to work with Tracy Farr's beautiful novel and to be afforded the resources, talent and time across multiple departments of WAAPA to bring her exquisitely imagined characters to the stage.” The Hope Fault will be performed by WAAPA’s 2^nd Year Acting students, who have been workshopping the script with Hale since November last year. Farr, who returned to Perth for the workshop, says: “It was clear from the early script development workshop I saw late last year that my novel was in very safe – and very creative – hands.”

Tracy Farr

“So much care, engagement and thoughtful interpretation has gone into the production – from Andrew Hale, the fabulous WAAPA teaching staff, the extraordinary actors, and everyone involved in production, design and staging.” Hale describes how delighted he is with the energy and enthusiasm of his student cast and creatives. “Either because they are fresh and ready to try anything or because they are young, all of the incredibly talented students involved have shown the courageous abandon needed to make a truly special production possible,” he says. Farr is looking forward to being in the audience on opening night. “Adaptation for the stage allows my novel to expand off the page and into a new form, and to become a communal experience. We’ll sit together, all of us in the audience, and watch The Hope Fault – the characters and stories and ideas that started in my imagination – come to life.” Copies of The Hope Fault novel can be purchased in the WAAPA foyer on Friday 11, Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 October, with Farr available after these performances to sign purchased books. When: Oct 11 - 17 Where: Enright Theatre, ECU Mount Lawley Tickets HERE

Images: Courtesy of WAAPA

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