THE WORD by St Martins

The Word 

Who is in control? 

“When things went to shit, I hid into myself, into my own mountains and rivers. Before and now and after. I fought battles with gangs, with history. I’m still listening out for my gut, my soul, my magic.” 

The clock is ticking. The Word is at risk. Two rival groups hide in a disused place, an abandoned archive. They hash out clues to a feud fuelled by fragments from the past. Reaching across the Before, Now and After, the group fights, dreams and grapples with scattered pieces of truth and memory to save The Word. 

St Martins’ most artistically ambitious work to date brings together an ensemble of eleven young, diverse performers with a cohort of established practitioners.

Inside the imposing architecture of Abbotsford Convent The Word reaches across epochs, emerging out of an organic process of young people digging for light inside recent dark years via creative endeavour and artistic expression. The Word wrestles with systems of power to reclaim and rewrite new future trajectories. 

Performers / 
Frankie Lee Willcox 
Grace Annan 
Harris Tate Elliott 
Harriet Turner-Browne 
Jackson Reid 
Kleopatra Dukas 
Noray Hosny 
Oscar Munro 
Spike Angwin 
Sunday Bickford 
Vito van Hout  

Directing Intern/ Clea Carney 
Writing Intern/ Spike Angwin
Stage Management Intern/ Alice Coffey

Script/ Michele Lee, Michael Carmody, Nadja Kostich and The Word cast 
Director/ Nadja Kostich  
Composer and Sound Designer/ Allara Briggs Pattison  
Choreographic Artist/ Bridget Fiske 
Video Designer/ Michael Carmody  
Set and Costume Designer/ Matilda Woodroofe  
Lighting Designer/ Richard Vabre  
Assistant Director/ Alice Qin 
Producer/ Lara Week  
Production Manager/ Kofi Isaacs  
Stage Manager/ Steph Young  
Sound and Technical Consultant/ Justin Gardam 
Photographer and Graphic Designer/ Jason Cheetham 

Join us on Saturday 25 for a Q&A with the cast!

Accessibility / This performance is wheelchair accessible. For more details, please see the Access Guide.
Auslan interpreted performances & Tactile Tour/ Thursday 23 May.

This performance is suitable for audiences of all ages but may be best appreciated by ages 8+.
Mild coarse language present.

View and download the Program
For more information, please go to St Martins Website





The Word has been assisted by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body. It was also made possible with the generous support of VicHealth, Angior Family Foundation, City of Yarra, Robert Salzer Foundation, Australian Decorative & Fine Arts Societies - Yarra, Phil Taylor Foundation and Abbotsford Convent.