Assembly of Elephants

08/05/2026

21/04/2026

We are over the moon. You know that feeling when something that has been on the horizon, coming but in the distance, for sooo long - then, suddenly it's around the corner?

AoE has been moving toward this production and the conversations that it hopefully starts for nearly 3 years now. I convinced the wonderful Bernadette Cochrane that, as the 2023 UQ Creative Fellow, instead of a seminar, she should let me run a week-end dramaturgical exploration of using drama in student workshops on coercive relationships - and her 2nd and 3rd year students were just bloody amazing in their openness and commitment to that process.

Then, the first 4 months of 2024 saw me, the amazing multi-hatted Zac Boulton and the character-whisperer Jessica Veurman testing a workshop program I'd roughed out based on that 2023 work - with two fabulous groups of students (Yeronga SHS and MacGregor SHS).
Second half of 2024, after taking onboard everything those young people said concerned or frightened them about toxic relationships, I wrote Rowan's Story.

In 2025, the remarkable Bridget Boyle and Robert Kronk (Debase TC) agreed that RS and debase's Popping Lead Balloons dovetailed together scarily. We called the double bill TOXICITY, ran a further full-day Intensive workshop with students at Redlands, and a creative development to unify design principles at PiP Theatre and that development has grown into the premiere, proof-of-concept production at Redlands Performing Arts Centre (which has offered ongoing support for a couple of years now - thank you, Brett, Emma, Dan)! Woo-hoo!

So - please come. We would love to see you there, come tell us what you think - and hear some of those young peoples' thoughts. They're in the production.

Assembly of Elephants and debase in association with Redland Performing Arts Centre are so excited to invite you to a very special theatrical event:

TOXICITY
A dazzling new double bill of theatre for young people and the people that care for them.

Featuring:
POPPING LEAD BALLOONS by Bridget Boyle, Robert Kronk and Liz Skitch
and...
ROWAN'S STORY by Elaine Acworth

When: Friday 5 June 2026, 10.30am & 7pm
Where: Redland Performing Arts Centre
Cost: FREE but strictly limited
Tickets: mailto:[email protected]

01/04/2026

Very excited about this collaboration with Debase TC and in association with Redlands Performing Arts Centre

It's been a hot minute. But debase is back.

In association with Redland Performing Arts Centre and Assembly of Elephants.

Coming soon.

24/11/2025

Just posted this on my personal FB page...

I got a phone call on Tuesday last – at 9.04 in in the morning. I didn’t recognise the number so I (almost) didn’t pick up.
I won an award. For writing Rowan’s Story.
I won the Rodney Seaborn Playwrights (RSP) Award which is a national award supported by the RSP Trust and aligned with the remarkable Seaborn, Broughton and Walford Foundation who have been supporting the arts in this country since 1986 when they bought the Stables Theatre, Kings Cross and gave it to Griffin Theatre, rent-free.
How’s that for a Foundation’s beginning?
Thank you.
48 hours after that phone call I’m in Sydney, feeling like a human participant in Planes, Trains and Automobiles (and add buses), meeting people, making a speech, and doing it all again the following day, coming home.
But. this. is. brilliant!
The thing I stressed in speaking to the 70-odd Trust members and supporters at the Awards night was how important these Arts Foundation awards are for us – they offer both critical financial support for productions AND national visibility, viability, and that magic thing – momentum…
I actually still can’t believe it.
Rowan’s Story is 1 of 2 plays in TOXICITY – a new co-pro between AoE and debase that (we ‘think-hope’… that’s a new verb for arts workers, BTW) will premiere at RPAC next year.
There are so many people to thank for their work developing the play – it’s not possible to name them all – you know who you are and how integral you all are to this process: the creative team, the wonderful cast, the extraordinary teaching artists, the teachers who believed in what we were trying to do and the students, the courageous, scared, thoughtful, determined and laughing young people of Yeronga SHS, MacGregor SHS, Cleveland District SHS, and Alexandra Hills TAFE. I can't put up photos of you or your work, my young friends, so here are a couple of photos of what came of all that effort...
Thank you, everyone. It takes a village...

20/08/2025

EIGHT reasons why you need to see 'So Many Splintered Parts' before it closes this Saturday, 23 August.

5. Grace Wilson's ‘Life According to Rachel’, explores a young woman's shock that a male politician thinks he decides what happens to her body.

Fierce, funny, and urgent – Rachel’s story demands to be heard before the final curtain falls.

THE CRITICS SAY
“Sharp poignant comment on politics, personal matters, comedy, despair, rage, and hope.” – Absolute Theatre

AUDIENCES SAY
“Truly wonderful! Pure theatre – excellent writing, intimate space, and outstanding, committed performances.” – John

Until 23 August | Diane Cilento Studio, Queensland Theatre

All tickets $39

Book now: queenslandtheatre.com.au/plays/so-many-splintered-parts

20/08/2025

EIGHT reasons why you need to see 'So Many Splintered Parts' before it closes this Saturday, 23 August.

4. Shaun Charles' 'Hum' details a bus ride home from the Myer Centre, where the boundaries between fact and fiction, past and future, 'us' and 'them', become porous.

A kaleidoscopic ride through Brisbane past and future. Miss it now, and it’s gone forever.

THE CRITICS SAY
“Leaps across time in fragments, creating a mood rather than a story – from indulging nostalgia in the (former) Myer Centre to an archaeological expedition in the far future.” – Limelight

AUDIENCES SAY
"Absolutely fantastic show! Zoe and Nick were amazing!" - Clare

Until 23 August | Diane Cilento Studio, Queensland Theatre

All tickets $39

Book now: queenslandtheatre.com.au/plays/so-many-splintered-parts

19/08/2025

EIGHT reasons why you need to see 'So Many Splintered Parts' before it closes this Saturday, 23 August.

3. Robert Forster's play, ‘Night Thoughts of an Artist’, offers us the pre-dawn ruminations of a Brisbane artist as he works through his life's choices.

His first-ever play. This week is your only chance to see Robert Forster’s debut on stage.

THE CRITICS SAY
“All the short plays are set in Brisbane, evoked perfectly with a clever stage set … I really enjoyed this gig.” – Stage Whispers

AUDIENCES SAY
“Amazing show – don’t miss it.” – Shirley

Until 23 August | Diane Cilento Studio Queensland Theatre

All tickets $39

Book now: queenslandtheatre.com.au/plays/so-many-splintered-parts

19/08/2025

EIGHT reasons why you need to see 'So Many Splintered Parts' before it closes this Saturday 23 August.

2. ‘The Comment Section’ by First Nations playwright Aidan Rowlingson's, is a theatrical experiment in which the playwright has trawled the worst of the comment sections the internet has to offer.

THE CRITICS SAY
“The brilliant Zoe de Plevitz … and Nick James … bring the range of characters to life by blending drama and pathos with comedy and farce.” - Stage Whispers

AUDIENCES SAY
“Truly wonderful! Pure theatre – excellent writing, intimate space, and outstanding, committed performances.” – John

Until 23 August | Diane Cilento Studio Queensland Theatre

All tickets $39

Book now: queenslandtheatre.com.au/plays/so-many-splintered-parts

18/08/2025

EIGHT reasons you need to see 'So Many Splintered Parts' before it closes this Saturday 23 August.

1. 'Self Check Out' by Kathryn Marquet sees the State Opposition Leader's wife come home with a very public story to tell.

THE CRITICS SAY
“Sharp poignant comment on politics, personal matters, comedy, despair, rage, and hope.” - Absolute Theatre

“Nick James and Zoe de Plevitz demonstrate impressive range and stamina across comedy, tragedy and highly physical theatre.” - Limelight

AUDIENCES SAY
“A Tour de Force for Nick, Zoe and Tyrone … insightful plays that reflect society today.” – Maggie

“Amazing show – don’t miss it.” – Shirley

Until 23 August | Diane Cilento Studio Queensland Theatre | All tickets $39

Book now: queenslandtheatre.com.au/plays/so-many-splintered-parts

15/08/2025

The brilliant Tyrone Noonan, Zoe de Plevitz and Nick James in full flight during 'So Many Splintered Parts' at Queensland Theatre.

💥 “There’s courage in the work that I think needs to be seen.” – Nick James

🎟️ Until 23 August | Diane Cilento Studio | All tickets $39

🔗 Book now: queenslandtheatre.com.au/plays/so-many-splintered-parts