Image: Vanida O’Brien
To commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the end of World War 2, Limelight Touring Company and Benalla Art Gallery is proud to present The Shoe Horn Sonata by John Misto.
A story of friendship, survival, enduring hope and sadness. Two women reunite and share their stories as war camp survivors.
Proudly supported by Veteran’s Remembers & State Government Victoria The Shoe Horn Sonata is a play by Australian playwright John Misto. Misto is one of Australia’s most eminent playwrights, working as a script writer for Australian television, creating and writing the hit television series The Damnation of Harvey McHugh.
The Shoe Horn Sonata is set in 1995, fifty years after protagonists Sheila and Bridie were released from a Japanese prison camp where they were held during World War II. This is the first time that they have been together since their liberation and their reason for reuniting is to appear on a television documentary about their wartime experiences. Both women had been captured when the ships they were traveling on were torpedoed by Japanese submarines, and sunk, leaving the ships’ passengers to be picked up by the invading Japanese Navy. Although they used to be friends, the two women harbor a lot of resentment for each other. At the end of the play we learn that both women have been holding on to terrible secrets for fifty years. It is only when they reveal these secrets to their interviewer, that they truly feel liberated from their experiences.
The Shoe Horn Sonata is Misto’s best known play, and his most prolifically awarded, winning the Australia Remembers Play Competition and the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Award for best play. Misto has written nine other plays, but this remains both his most widely performed and his most memorable.
About the Artists:
Limelight Touring Company is an independent theatre company based in Yarrawonga and Wangaratta with a focus on shining the limelight on local talent. Led by three local female actors they are passionate about supporting women in theatre and bringing professional theatre experiences to small regional towns.
Past productions:
November 2024 – Waiting by Dina Ross
February 2025 – Garce by Katy Warner
CAST:
Brenda Spilva
Brenda plays Bridie Cartwright and has a long-standing history of drama and performing, having started acting in primary school. Her love of theatre has seen her perform in plays and musicals spanning 20+ years with recent performances over the last few years with local theatre companies before launching Limelight Touring Company in late 2024 with phenomenal women she has met and performed with.
Brenda has much compassion for these women and their stories in The Shoe-Horn Sonata and is deeply conscious to be portraying the role of Bridie with sympathy and respect, honouring all women and their role during the war.
Colette Quin
Colette plays Sheila Richards and has been involved in all aspects of dance and acting for as long as she can remember. She has appeared in TV commercials and a yet to be released film. She was the recipient of a Churchill Fellowship studying – Repertory Youth Theatre in the UK in 2000. In 2009 Colette was lucky enough to audition for and be accepted to study a 3-year Advanced Diploma – Theatre Arts course at GRADA and has completed several short courses with the Victorian College of the Arts and NIDA.
Of the play, Colette says, “John Misto is an incredible playwright. His work has shone a light on the courage and resilience of the thousands of women and children that experienced the horror of this war. This story is set in two different times, with such realism that it will resonate today. Without ‘The Shoe-Horn Sonata’ the story would be largely unknown.”
When: Friday 25 April (ANZAC Day), 2.30PM (1.45hrs + interval)
Where: Ledger Gallery
Price: $30members / $35 non-members
Numbers are limited. Payment and registration essential.
To secure your place, book online , visit the Gallery, call on 5760 2619, or email gallery@benalla.vic.gov.au
Supported by:
