When The Rain Stops Falling

Sydney Theatre Company and Medina Apartment Hotels present Brink Productions

When The Rain Stops Falling

2039. Fish are a rarity, almost extinct. Rainfall is incessant. The planet has been ravaged by generations of abuse. The scars left by our ancestors are deep, marking the environment and humanity itself.

Crossing continents and spanning four generations of one family, When The Rain Stops Falling delves into the past and reaches into the future, bringing to light the enduring impact of collective and individual actions.

It starts with a phone call. Gabriel York’s estranged son, Andrew, has contacted him. He wants to visit. He wants to know his father; to discover why he abandoned his own son. Andrew will not find the answers to his questions but as the stories of his ancestors are played out, the terrible history of his family unravels.

In this epic play, Andrew Bovell (Lantana, Scenes from a Separation, Holy Day) weaves a complex web of secrets, lies, misplaced loyalty and betrayal. This work re-affirms Bovell’s place as a remarkable chronicler of the Australian experience and one of our greatest story tellers.

When The Rain Stops Falling was acclaimed as the theatrical hit of last year’s Adelaide Festival, bewitching audiences with its intelligence and multi-layered brilliance. Sydney Theatre Company proudly presents this astonishing Brink production in the Drama Theatre of Sydney Opera House for a strictly limited season from 7 May 2009.

2 hours no interval

Warning: Occasional strong language

Read an interview with Andrew Bovell at smh.com.au.

Ticket and accommodation packages

Medina Grand Harbourside, located on King Street Wharf, has partnered with Sydney Theatre Company to bring you a very special deal! The Harbourside Theatre package includes two tickets to When The Rain Stops Falling and overnight accommodation in a Premier Grand Studio Room from just $325. This package is only available Monday - Friday, subject to availability of tickets and excludes peak periods. Click here to book.

Reviews

"Visually arresting, cleverly written and populated with interesting, gritty characters, Andrew Bovell's new play is a truly great addition to modern Australian theatre." The Daily Telegraph

"...a beautiful, profoundly moving drama.... Bovell's compelling play will haunt you long after the rain has finally stopped falling and the house lights turned on." The Sunday Telegraph

"Andrew Bovell's latest play is a theatrical Rubik's cube, mixing things up between London and Australia, four generations, and seven major characters, most of whom have the name 'Gabriel'. It withholds its secrets with consummate use of suspense, and when all the facets align it will knock your socks off; it may even restore your faith in the possibilities of theatre.... This is a play of astonishing ambition and emotional power." Time Out Sydney

Your Say

We value your feedback and invite you to submit your comments regarding this production. Submissions may be published on this page of the Sydney Theatre Company website.

Name: Your Email: Comment:

Preview 7 May 09. I am overwhelmed by the brilliance of this play. Everything about it was superb - every actor's performance, every word, the direction, the stage design, the music, the lighting etc Best $64 I have spent in years! Thank you all so much. - Sallie

I cried my eyes out from beginning to end. A beautiful and moving experience. Please congratulate everyone concerned, especially Mr Bovell, for his elegant, complex and subtle words and structure.- Marianne

When the rain stops falling is one of the best Australian plays of the past decade and I would commend this fine production as a great example of what Australian theatre has to offer - Ray

Both my husband and I throughly enjoyed this play. I think it will become a modern Australian classic our children will one day study at school! I thought the story was cleverly put together in a very original way. And the acting was very convincing as well.- Alison

The most moving production I have ever experienced. The play has a timeless quality and depth that hits a raw nerve. A tragedy that perpetuates from one generation to the next. Superb acting, set design and music. Congratulations STC - Lynette

This is an outstanding and intensely moving production of a thoughtful and compassionate play. It was a privilege to form part of an audience for a creative collaboration (writer, director, designer, composer, cast) which explores universal concerns in an Australian context. - Anne

This was one of the best plays I have ever seen. It was phenomenally well-written, thought-provoking, and extremely well-acted. The play came together brilliantly and it was incredibly moving. I would highly highly recommend this to anyone and everyone.- Sana

The most powerful drama I have ever experienced. The story is incredibly gripping, disturbingly relevent on many levels and emotionally confronting. The production and acting is simply excellent. - Tony

Oh my. this is the BEST show I've seen in years. thank you. - Peter

The production was excellent. The blending of the stories over generations was made easy to follow with the thoughtful use of characters and done with minimal props. How sad that future generations are left to wonder why they have been dealt a particular hand... - Vince

This play is exactly why I have a season subscription for the STC. I wasn't expecting anything in particular as I try not to read reviews or any information on the play prior so I go in without preconceptions. What an absolute thrill it was! Beautiful performances and music combined with fantastic design created a wonderful theatrical experience. If this doesn't become an Australian classic, then we aren't looking hard enough at what we can do in this country! - Pania

Cate & Andrew say...

A new play by Andrew Bovell is an event in itself but coupled with this great production (the design is by visual artist Hossein Valamanesh), we couldn't resist.

SYNOPSIS

Alice Springs in the year 2039. A fish falls from the sky and lands at the feet of Gabriel York. It still smells of the sea. It's been raining for days and Gabriel knows something is wrong.

Eighty years earlier, his grandfather, Henry Law predicted that, in 2039, fish would fall from the sky heralding a great flood that would overcome the human race.

When The Rain Stops Falling takes place between the worlds of these two men - between a prediction in 1959 and its outcome eighty years later. Through four generations of interconnected stories, from the claustrophobia of a small 1950s London flat to the windswept coast of South Australia and into the heart of the Australian desert, When The Rain Stops Falling follows the central journey of Gabriel Law as he retraces his father Henry's footsteps in an attempt to solve the mystery of his disappearance.

At a roadhouse in the Coorong he meets a young woman named Gabrielle York. Two wounded souls in a wild landscape, their connection is instant and powerful. As the young lovers' story unfolds amidst the interweaving narratives of their ancestors and descendants we are led back to 2039... to Gabriel York as he arrives home with the fish to await the arrival of his own estranged son. A son he knows will come seeking answers. A son he knows will want to understand the past. But for Gabriel York the past is as mysterious as the fish.