Into the Shimmering World

Title: Into the Shimmering World
Author: Angus Cerini
Publisher: Into the Shimmering World was commissioned and developed by Sydney Theatre Company. STC subsequently premiered the play on 6 April 2024.

Shortlist: Drama

Ray and Floss are a farming couple who have lived off the land their entire adult lives. Through boom times and bust, they’ve been each other’s support and constant companion. But at the tail end of a once-in-a-generation drought, both are on the precipice of earth-shattering change and transformation. A gothic and dreamlike take on the Australian landscape featuring lush and musical language, and a powerful exploration of the depths of our national psyche.

Judges’ report

Angus Cerini is a master of his craft, and in Into the Shimmering World, his lyrical language, careful, minimalist dialogue and distinctive characters shine in a simple yet insightful story. This is theatre as visceral portrait – here, of working class masculinity, of rural lives shaped by the land and the hardscrabble experiences of those who love and labour on it. Simultaneously a fresh take on the Australian Gothic and a tale that feels intimately familiar, Cerini is beautifully concerned in this work with time: the time of seasons changing and the time the land sets for itself; the time of human life and the helpless realisation that years slip away; and the time of theatre – with the play’s sparse, rhythmic scenes demanding our full presence in the world of the script. Cerini’s unique and brutally Australian voice balances seamlessly with abstract images, silence and storytelling to draw out universal themes of grief, resilience, connection and the unspoken strengths and vulnerabilities of enduring love. Hyper-domestic yet sharply informed by the constrictions of Australian capitalism, Into the Shimmering World is not only a complete theatrical work but truly, achingly sublime.

Extract

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Kerry Armstrong and Colin Friels.
Photo by Rene Vaile.

About the Author

Photo by Pier Carthew

Angus Cerini

VPLA book photography by Sarah Walker

The 2025 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards are proudly supported by the Victorian Government through the Community Support Fund and Creative Victoria.