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About Dust and Ruin

It is February 2029 and the world is on the brink of crisis. Water is scarce, the first nuke has been launched and each week, somewhere in the world natural disasters are occurring – brought on by climate change. A group of families have been pooling their resources, slowly building a bunker on some remote bushland to protect them all. To survive.


The eight families decide to spend a week in the bunker “just in case”. They drop the kids off first, because there have been riots in the nearby town (an hour's drive away) and they need to get supplies for the week ahead. But the parents do not return … not after two hours, nor three, nor four …

What’s happening outside the bunker?

How long do they stay?

14th April - 22 April, 2023

  • Mount Rowan School Theatre
  • Drama
  • Playwright: Alexandra Meerbach, Mika Wallace
  • Director: Alexandra Meerbach
  • 2 hours including interval
  • Australian, Local

This show contains swearing and complex themes. The director advises parental guidance is recommended for persons under 13 years of age. 

About the Director

Alaxandra Meerbach

Alexandra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Acting) from the University of Ballarat and has since completed her Licentiate in Teaching through Trinity College, London. She has worked with several theatre companies across Victoria as a director, playwright and actor, as well as being involved backstage as a stage manager, props and costume coordinator, production manager, photographer and marketing coordinator.

For over 15 years, Alexandra has assisted in teaching effective communication skills to medical students, doctors, nurses, gynaecologists and midwives with the Royal Women’s Hospital, Deakin University and Melbourne University.

Until recently, Alexandra has been teaching speech and drama at Damascus College, Ballarat Centre of Music and the Arts, Ballarat Grammar, and Performing Arts Headquarters. She now tutors privately and has focused her attention on creating theatre.

In 2015, she formed a choral speaking choir which has performed every year at the Royal South Street Eisteddfods and events throughout Ballarat.
Formerly the President of Ballarat National Theatre, Alexandra is now the Executive Producer of a collaborative theatre company—Cygnet & Swan. The company has multiple creative projects in development: a podcast and YouTube series RavenMad (the works of Edgar Allan Poe); in 2023, Fantastic in Plastic and Noise will be a part of La Mama’s Explorations season as well as Dust and Ruin with Ballarat National Theatre; and in 2024 an online production of literature classic, Jane Eyre.

Alexandra is committed to community engagement and connection, and is driven to create art with powerful messages.

Playwrights

Original script written by: Mika Wallace & Alexandra Meerbach with the 2019 BCMA cast; this 2023 version has been rewritten by Alexandra Meerbach & workshopped with the BNT cast.

Cast

Eloise McGifford

Newsreader & Additional fever dream characters

Gabriel Blake

Charlie

Sam Drew

Harper

Joe Appleton

Hunter

Emma Cauka

Abigail Lewis

Skye Gweneth Wilkins

Jasmine van Hous

Lei Reid

Maya van Hous

Georgia Marshall

Olivia-Grace Trelaw

Clementine Sawyer

Violet Lee

Samara Jones

Mackenzie Ray-Cobden

Atticus Benjsson

Archer Miller

Leela Sweet

Nix Miller

Crew

  • Assistant Director
    Georgia Marshall
  • Assistant Director Act 1
    Gabriel Blake
  • Assistant Director Act 2
    Sam Drew
  • Production Manager
    Eloise McGifford
  • Stage Manager
    Ruby Abbott
  • Sound design
    Alexandra Meerbach
  • Sound operator
    Brady Lucas
  • Set Design
    Gabriel Blake
  • Set Coordinator
    Georgia Marshall
  • Costumes
    Skye Gweneth Wilkins
  • Lighting design
    Matthew Heenan
  • Rigging
    Matthew Heenan and Siobhan Heenan
  • Lighting operator
    Taylor Harbour
  • Front of House Manager
    Shell Pryor
  • Photography and marketing

    Liana Emmerson

  • Props and makeup
    Lei Reid
  • Voice actor and sound recording
    Olivia French

Program