Five arctic explorers rage against the dying of their light, linked by reins on their body harnesses and by faltering memories. They trudge through squall and snow – a “glistening world without edges” – with the fear they may be “utterly alone”, despite making this final journey together.
Patricia Cornelius’s play Do Not Go Gentle, which has opened at Sydney Theatre Company directed by Paige Rattray, takes its title from a famous Dylan Thomas poem. It is a richly layered work that co-opts British naval Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated expedition of 1910-12 to the south pole as a metaphor for ageing and dementia.
Originally premiering at Melbourne’s small fortyfivedownstairs theatre in 2010, Do Not Go Gentle excavates profound human territory: the fear we are wasting our finite time; the trauma of family violence; and the difficulty some men have in telling partners and children they love them.
