Blackrock (play)

Blackrock is a play by Australian playwright Nick Enright. It was inspired by the real-life rape and murder of schoolgirl Leigh Leigh in Stockton, near Newcastle, Australia on 3 November 1989.

It won the 1996 AWGIE Award for Best Play.

Origins

The play had its origin in 1992 as Enright's A Property of the Clan, a theatre-in-education piece written for Freewheels Theatre in Education in Newcastle, New South Wales. It was also shown at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1993. Enright subsequently developed it at Sydney Theatre Company into Blackrock, where it was performed in 1995 and 1996. While the new play retained at least three of the main characters, the narrative and emphasis were reshaped for an audience outside of a specifically educational environment.

Plot

Blackrock was set in a fictional Australian beach side working-class suburb called Blackrock, where surfing was popular among youths like Jared. He had his first serious girlfriend, Rachel, who came from a much wealthier part of the city. One day Ricko, the local surfing legend, came back after an eleven-month odyssey, and Jared gave him a 'welcome home' get together. A few nights later it was Rachel's brother Toby's birthday party which was held at the local beach club.Unsupervised and with alcohol freely available, tragedy soon...
Read More