When the Rain Stops Falling

This July, Theatre Works and Iron Lung Theatre bring Andrew Bovell’s multi-award-winning play, When the Rain Stops Falling, to Melbourne.

Starring Francis Greenslade (Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell, Winners and Losers, All Saints) this powerful story spans four generations over eight decades across two countries, between a prediction in London in 1959 and its outcome in Australia eighty years later. Described by Time Magazine as “… the best play of 2010”, When the Rain Stops Falling unfolds like a mesmerising puzzle to be solved.

Alice Springs, 2039. A fish falls from the sky. It’s been raining for days, the apocalypse moves ever closer and Gabriel York know something is wrong. And so begins this epic sprawling drama, where fish fall from the sky, a daughter inherits a secret and where the rain never stops.

Taking place between two worlds, When the Rain Stops Falling reaches from the claustrophobia of a small flat in rainy London in 1959 to the windswept coast of South Australia and beyond, following the journey of Gabriel Law as he retraces his father’s footsteps, desperately attempting to solve the mystery of his disappearance.

“Andrew Bovell has an incredible way of making the everyday reach out and touch us in an extraordinary way. And this play does that…” explains Iron Lung’s Director Briony Dunn.

It’s vast and complex and weaves a spell on a grand scale from squished London flats to rolling oceans and sweeping deserts, where Bovell uses the weather like a tenth character. What theatre does so well – and this play is a gorgeous example – is it lifts the audience and takes them to that magical realm only plays like this can. In many ways too this play has come into its own. It’s more relevant now than when it was first written in 2008.

Founded in 2018 by NIDA graduates Esther van Doornum and Briony Dunn, Iron Lung is a Melbourne-based independent theatre company producing classic and contemporary text-based work. Their inaugural show night, Mother by Marsha Norman received both critical and audience acclaim. Cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions, they now return to the stage at Melbourne’s much-loved Theatre Works with a powerful, layered production that promises to be a definite highlight on the 2021 Victorian Arts Calendar.

Winner: Victorian Premier’s Literary Award
Winner: Louis Esson Prize for Drama (2008)
Winner: Queensland Premier’s Literary Award – Best Drama (2008)
Winner: Green Room Award – Best Production and Best New Writing for the Australian Stage (2009)
Winner: Sydney Theatre Award – Best New Australian Work (2009)
Winner: AWGIE Stage Award (2009)

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Venue: Theatre Works – 14 Acland St, St Kilda
Dates: 10 – 31 July, 2021
Previews: Sat 10 and Mon 12 July 7pm
Opening Night: Wed 14 July 7pm
Wed to Sat: 7pm, Sun 5pm, Wed Matinees 1:30 or 11:30, Sat Matinees: 1pm
Tickets: $45 Full, $35 Concession, $30 Preview, $25 Student (plus booking fee)
Bookings: (03) 9534 3388 or online at www.theatreworks.org.au/program/when-the-rain-stops-falling