A Stretch of the Imagination, starring John Wood

A surreal, black comedy, which introduces us to the painfully lonely work of Monk O' Neill (played by John Wood), one of the great comic creations of Australian dramatic literature. * * * Monk's colourful, rambling monologue cuts to the quick of what Australia once was and what one day it could become. The resilient ironies of the play will not be lost on today's generation. From its first performance in 1972, Jack Hibberd's one-man play A Stretch of the Imagination was immediately recognised by astute judges and audiences alike as a classic of the Australian theatre. In her preface to the first published edition of the play, drama academic Dr Margaret Williams nominated Stretch as "the contemporary play, which future generations may accept as a classic". From his corrugated iron bush hut atop One Tree Hill, we are invited to spend an entertaining day with the irascible Monk O'Neill - bush philosopher and yarn spinner, epic lover and mate, heroic battler and individualist, sardonic iconoclast, sportsman, cultured man-of-letters and bon-vivant - as he acts out his memories and fantasies while heroically fighting against his own physical decline and the depredations of his environment. Through our witness and involvement in his virtuoso performance, Monk encourages us all to 'stretch our imaginations' and come to new ways of thinking about ourselves and the country in which we live. This play contains strong language and adult themes. Starring John Wood Director Denis Moore Set and Costume Designer Shaun Gurton Composer Andrew Pendlebury Presented by QUT Gardens Theatre and HIT Productions PERFORMANCES Monday 15 June, 8pm Tuesday 16 June, 8pm Wednesday 17 June, 2pm and 8pm