''The Woman with Dog's Eyes'' is a play by the Australian writer

Louis Nowra Mark Doyle, better known by his stage name Louis Nowra, (born 12 December 1950) is an Australian writer, playwright, screenwriter and librettist. He is best known as one of Australia's leading playwrights. His works have been performed by all o ...

. It is the first part of the ''Boyce trilogy'' written for the

Griffin Theatre Company Griffin Theatre Company is an Australian theatre specialising in new works, based in Sydney. Founded in 1979, it is the resident theatre company at the SBW Stables Theatre in Kings Cross. the artistic director is Declan Green. Artistic direc ...

at the behest of its Artistic Director

David Berthold David Berthold is one of Australia's most prominent theatre directors and cultural leaders. He has directed for most of Australia's major theatre companies, as well as in London and Berlin, and has led several key arts organisations. He was Artis ...

. The other two plays are '' The Marvellous Boy'' (2005) and '' The Emperor of Sydney'' (2006). The play is a single continuous scene set in a large

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

hotel room in the Blue Mountains. It was first performed at the SBW Stables on 1 October 2004 with the following cast: *Malcolm Boyce:

Danny Adcock Danny Adcock (born 29 June 1948) is an Australian actor, known for his work in television and theatre. His television acting roles include 7 different roles in Crawford Production series '' Matlock Police'' as the killer of Michael Pate's char ...

*Penny, his wife: Jane Harders *Keith, his eldest son: Jack Finsterer *Todd, his middle son:

Alex Dimitriades Alex Dimitriades (born 28 December 1973) is an Australian actor and DJ. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Nick Polides in the 1993 romantic comedy film '' The Heartbreak Kid'', and Nick Poulos in the 1994 television teen drama spin-off ' ...

*Luke, his youngest son:

Toby Schmitz Toby Schmitz (born 4 May 1977) is an Australian actor and playwright. He was born in Perth, Western Australia, attended Perth's Scotch College and briefly studied law at the University of Western Australia. He graduated from the acting course ...

*Alice, their neighbour:

Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received nu ...

The production: *Director:

*Designer: Nicholas Dare *Lighting designer: Matt Marshall The play concerns struggles for love, power and happiness within a family. It uses the 1949 song ''

Some Enchanted Evening "Some Enchanted Evening" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''South Pacific''. It has been described as "the single biggest popular hit to come out of any Rodgers and Hammerstein show." Mast, Gerald''Can't Help Singin': ...

''. Nowra says the play's conception was in hotels such as the Hydro-Majestic. On a night of the

Winter Solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...

he met a less than happy couple who were having a fortieth wedding anniversary at the Hotel Carrington, with firecrackers and a swing band.

References

Nowra, Louis, ''The Boyce Trilogy'', Sydney: Currency Press, 2007.

External links

''Variety'' review

Currency Press, ''The Boyce Trilogy''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woman with Dog's Eyes Plays by Louis Nowra 2004 plays