The Damned

PRESENTED BY: BLACK SWAN STATE THEATRE COMPANY

World Premiere

250 kilometres apart, two 16 year-old girls walk into two police stations to make a confession. A confession of a crime so unimaginable that the full extent of what they are saying only slowly dawns on the police. And in Boyup, a coal mining town a few hours’ drive south of Perth, nothing will ever be the same again. What drives two teenage girls to commit a crime that has shaken their home town to the core and shocked the entire country?

Exploring the rural subculture of drugs, alcohol and the alienation of today’s youth, Reg Cribb weaves a disquieting tale inspired by true events.

Reg Cribb has twice won the Patrick White Playwrights’ Award and the W.A Premier’s Literary Award, and has also won the Queensland Premier’s Literary Award. He adapted the play Bran Nue Dae for the highly successful feature film released in 2009.

The Damned was commissioned by Black Swan State Theatre Company as part of the Rio Tinto Black Swan Commissions.

Warning: Contains frequent coarse language, implied drug use and adult themes.

"Two years ago, Reg Cribb and Andrew Lewis approached me, wanting to create a work about youth alienation in Western Australia. I was struck by their passion and immediately placed Reg under commission. The Damned is the result. I think you will be staggered by the subject matter and by Reg’s searingly insightful writing." - KATE CHERRY, BLACK SWAN STATE THEATRE COMPANY