If you ask any theatre-maker what is involved in bringing a new show from concept to the stage, they'll tell you it is no easy feat - it's a long and difficult process that takes years to complete.
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Playwright David Cole and director Dave Letch have spent the last four years working together on The Waltz, which will premiere next month.
The play will come to life at the Goulburn Club, Crookwell Memorial Hall and Braidwood's National Theatre.
It tells the story of a pair of ageing sixties radicals named Irene and Alf who refuse to let society, or anybody else for that matter, dictate how they're going to spend their final days here on Earth.
As their rendezvous' become more frequent, a special bond forms between them, as they face the realities of ageing together.
Pauline Mullen and Martin Sanders will bring the two protagonists to life.
Mr Cole said it was about one never being too old to be young at heart.
He said the original idea for the script was born out of the dichotomy between the wild rebellious lives many seniors lived when they were young, versus the constraints placed upon them in old age.
"I was spending a bit of time in Sydney in 2015, around Bondi, when I came across a story of an older person who had a terminal illness and in spite of that they were determined to live life to its fullest," he said.
"At the same time, I was reading a book called 'Sex and Anarchy: The Life and Death of The Sydney Push', which I found fascinating. It was all about these people who were flouting authority back in the 50s and early 60s.
"They were going against what mainstream Australia considered acceptable and were living these bohemian lives where they were sexually free and not tied down to jobs and things like that.
"I just found them very interesting and that's when I realised that my two main characters were the right age and could've come from The Push (a gang in the 60s)."
The playwright initially envisaged it as a story about an older and a younger couple, with the desire to explore the parallels of their love stories.
It was not until he wrote a draft to submit to the Street Theatre's First Seen program in 2018 when he thought Irene and Alf's story was the "play within a play".
Meeting Mr Letch, one with extensive theatre and film experience, a few months later, made this vision clearer when they discussed his play.
"There are not many plays out there for senior actors," Mr Letch said.
"It's chewy, it's visceral, it has meat on the bones, it has guts, and most of all, it's really funny while also being really heart-wrenching.
"The characters are just a pair of bo-ho hippies and it makes you think: good for them."
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"The whole idea of The Waltz kinda came from Dave too in a way," Mr Cole said.
"He said, 'I want you to write it like these two are dancing, like they're doing a waltz.
"'They'll get close to each other then they'll go apart. Then they'll get closer again and then go apart again'.
"I'd never been told to write like that before but it made sense to me because if you have two characters, they are constantly dancing around each other."
Mr Letch believed the play had the potential to transform into a classic, and said there are plenty of 60s songs throughout the audience would tap their feet to.
He said the actors have embraced the characters and brought their attitudes and desires to life.
He was excited that the play would finally make its debut after being delayed due to the pandemic, but said it was disappointing that the play was not going to the Highlands.
The play received funding from the Southern Tablelands Arts in 2021.
The play will premiere in Goulburn on March 12 at 7.30pm, 7.30pm in Crookwell on March 19 and 4pm on March 27 in Braidwood.
Tickets for all three performances cost $20 and are now available from trybooking.com.
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