Horizon was written as Writer in Residence at Playlab Theatre throughout 2019, and opened in May 2021 at the Brisbane Powerhouse's Underground Theatre.
Cole and Sky, are a young couple hitting the highway. He's heading to the gaping open-cut mines where his family made their fortune to face his father before he dies, and she's escaping the moral dilemma of defending a high-profile client through their messy fall from grace. The boundless plains stretch ahead inspiring conspiratorial romantic dreaming and poetic rumination about what the future holds - for them and their country.
As they leave behind familiar territory, heatwaves warp the looming horizon and the air becomes sinister. A long-forgotten mix-tape buried deep in the glovebox cracks with static - she hears the recorded voice of a teenage Cole, spitting fury and angst against women and the world. The ghosts of the desert highways howl like dingos as Sky scratches deeper, searching for traces of that boy in the man she knows. This case is personal.
The sun slips behind the horizon, and the dingos come out to hunt.
Horizon is a high-octane adrenaline rush of sweat, grit and danger set in a classic car tearing its way from Queensland’s east coast to the guts of the country.
Horizon is an intense experience… not the type of show to be enjoyed so much as provoked by ...
...the story is filled with metaphors, such is the quality and precision of Mellor’s writing.
...a thrilling ride not for the faint of heart, but rather those who like their drama with a bit of terror because once you’ve seen one monster, you see them everywhere.
A pertinent and engaging new work that speaks directly to the zeitgeist of gender and gender politics. The casting was representative of contemporary Australia and the story was incredibly well directed. This is the kind of theatre that gets people back to the theatre.
Audience Response
Horizon is a visually and aurally stunning piece of theatre. There’s an alchemy in this collaboration of creatives at the top of their game that is pure magic. The exhilarating direction and detailed performances make the most of Maxine Mellor’s poetic fury.
Katherine Lyall-Watson
Intense and unnerving in the best possible way...
Erika Tucker - Theatre Haus
