Lachlan Philpott: Plays One

Three plays by multi-award-winning Australian writer Lachlan Philpott, including M. Rock, Little Emperors, and The Trouble with Harry. M. Rock is based on a true story about the enduring joys of music, dancing and self-discovery, and charts the fortunes of 18-year-old Tracey and her grandmother Mabel. Little Emperors: ‘Little Emperor Syndrome’ is a term used to describe the behavioural time-bomb created by China’s One Child Policy. Set in both Melbourne and Beijing, and weaving between Mandarin and English, Little Emperors deals with a single family as they attempt to negotiate the troubled waters of their shared history, one that includes a hidden second child, forced separation, and deep wells of regret and shame. The Trouble with Harry: Harry Crawford and his wife Annie seem happy enough. Together they lead quiet, unexceptional lives in the suburbs of 1920s Sydney, working and raising a child. But when Josephine arrives at the door, it sets in train a series of events that will result in an astounding revelation. A disorienting tale of deception and enigma which poses an essential, human question: can we ever really know what lies in the heart and mind of someone else?