Dianna Nixon takes Millicent Armstrong's plays to Yass and regions

Dianna Nixon's reproduction of Millicent Armstrong's long forgotten works - Drought and Other Plays - was staged before an appreciative audience at Goulburn's Performing Arts Centre in October, 2022. It was also staged in Gunning and Crookwell.

Now the production is headed to Yass Memorial Hall on September 22, Cobargo School of Arts and The Twyford at Merimbula on September 23, and Lanyon Homestead, Tharwa, as part of Floriade on September 24.

Ms Nixon, a producer, director and artist, discovered Millicent's plays after moving to Gunning in 2016.

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Dianna Nixon revives Millicent Armstrong's 'forgotten' plays in Goulburn

Goulburn Performing Arts Centre stages Millicent Armstrong's plays

Millicent was born in Sydney in 1888 and graduated with first class honours in English from Sydney University in 1910. She wrote plays in her early life but then when World War One broke out, served as a nurse on the western front.

She was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French Government for her bravery, then came back to a property, Clear Hills, between Gunning and Goulburn to farm and write award-winning plays. Millicent still has relatives in the area.

Ms Nixon said few were aware that Millicent existed. Her plays had largely languished with the exception of At Dusk, which was performed in Melbourne in the 1990s.

"As I delved deeper I became obsessed with bringing Millicent's story and work back into the public eye," she previously said.

Her company, Music Theatre Projects, staged Drought and Other Plays as part of the inaugural Festival of Regional Theatre in Goulburn last October.

"Featuring six of our region's wonderful actors, our show focusses on the art of pure storytelling," Ms Nixon said.

"These plays were crafted by a writer who is not yet on our theatre industry's radar, and who has never been fully introduced to the Australian audience - until now.

"Two of the plays reflect the realities of rural life - Drought, a tragedy set during the Federation drought, and At Dusk, centred on sexual violence. Then there is Thomas, a superbly constructed domestic comedy, truly laugh out loud funny; and the dark melodrama, Penny Dreadful, a drawing room thriller."

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The show features a cinematic soundscape and score accompanying the plays, created by Stephen Lindsay, of Old Binda Road Studios, Crookwell, in collaboration with Ms Nixon.

The actors, all from the region, include Heather Keens, who has performed internationally in opera, music theatre, TV, radio and concerts.

She is joined by similarly experienced talents Zsuzsi Soboslay, Caroline Simone O'Brien, Craig Alexander, Christopher Samuel Carroll and Holly Ross.

The "minimalist" production is tailored for shearing sheds, heritage homesteads and community halls.

"You will be taken on a visceral, moving, sometimes shocking but always highly entertaining journey," Ms Nixon said.

"The restriction of keeping things simple has sharpened the show's intimacy and power."

The play is suitable for people aged 15 and over.

Support for the tour has been received from the ACT Government through artsACT, from Yass Valley Council and from the donors to the Australian Cultural Fund campaign. Lanyon Homestead (ACT Historic Places) is hosting the production as part of Floriade 2023.

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