Of Auburn by Steven Oppes Adelaide Fringe 2022

A frank study of the gross realities of the first world war as experienced by sensitive artists and intellectuals, the ‘ordinary’ men and women from SA’s mid north who became its soldiers and nurses. ‘Australia’s Robert Burns’, poet C J Dennis and Adelaide playwright Steven Oppes have moulded together, though through the distance of time, an exquisitely articulated rendition of the realities of war to see at the exact same time as a new one begins in Ukraine. 

We ponder the perspectives of participants of all ages and social roles; the descent into depravity that all wars engender, the sapping of innocence, the nightmares that haunt the repatriated.

This compellingly moving theatre piece is rendered all the more powerful and poignant by fitting interludes of live music - keyboard, cello and exquisite voice.

Bravo to all involved. 4½ stars

Gillian Hunter, Arts Garden, Three D Radio