University of Tasmania’s graduating theatre students will bring Kit Lazaroo’s acclaimed black comedy “Letter from Animals” to the state for the first time this month.
Set in a post-apocalyptic future where a scientist secretly works to resurrect vanished animals while evading a memory-erasing regime, the production unites students from Theatre, Design and Music courses. The play, first staged in 2007 and refreshed for its Tasmanian debut, runs 15-18 October at Hobart’s Dechaineux Theatre.
Media release – University of Tasmania, 3 October 2025
Animals brought back to life for Tasmanian premiere
A haunting black comedy exploring the relationship between humans and animals will be given its state premiere by the University of Tasmania’s graduating theatre students.
Letter from Animals, by renowned Australian playwright Kit Lazaroo, will feature students studying Theatre and Performance in collaboration with their colleagues in Design and Music courses.
In the not-too-distant future a city lies in ruins. The river is rising, the animals are gone.
Queenie, a scientist, is secretly collecting fragments of the old world—biological materials, memories and poems of animals—with the hope of bringing them back.
All she has to do is avoid the ploys of a scheming bureaucracy and evade the mandatory jabs that cause everyone to forget.
Bringing Lazaroo’s vision to a Tasmanian stage for the first time are theatre students Ruby Goward, Abbey Udovičić, Joshua Murray, Matthew Nelan, Lucia Poljansek and Jorja Williams. The production also showcases the scenic, costume and projection design of graduating design student Lucienne Soulliere, with the original music and soundscapes composed by graduating music students Sebastian Allen and Sam Collins.
“We have really enjoyed the way this class revealed a new approach to facilitating cast and crew development. It has provided an outstanding example for the many aspiring teachers among this group of students,” student Abbey Udovičić said.
The play will be directed by lecturer Alexandra Tálamo, who previously taught at NIDA and whose work includes performances at Weimar International Performance Art Festival, 2018, Museum of Contemporary Art, Venice International Performance Art Week and the Unconformity.
“We have been transforming into animals over the last ten weeks of rehearsal and this imagined perspective has invited new ways of seeing our surroundings. Where are the places to nest, to soar, or to hide?” she said.
“We’ve observed how animals continue to carve out these spaces, even in places that have not been built with non-human creatures in mind.”
Lazaroo’s works have won the RE Ross Trust Playwright’s Award and Wal Cherry Play of the Year and been nominated for the Green Room Award and both the Queensland and Victorian Premiers’ Literary Awards. Letter from Animals, first staged in 2007 and shortlisted for the Max Afford Memorial Award, has been refreshed for its Tasmanian debut, the playwright said.
“It was really lovely to come back to Letters from Animals, it was a bit like meeting an old friend,” she said. “When I finished it in 2007, there was a feeling that it was not quite done, so it was nice to come back and wonder about the possibilities.”
Letters from Animals is showing at the University of Tasmania’s Dechaineux Theatre, 37 Hunter Street Nipaluna/Hobart from Wednesday 15 October to Saturday 18 October.
Image courtesy University of Tasmania.
Tasmanian Times (TT) is a community-based news and current affairs service covering the island state of Tasmania. It exists to provide a diverse presentation of Tasmanian issues. TT creates and supports independent media content utilising the best of modern technologies and tried-and-true practices of public-interest journalism.
Support us in expanding our coverage and developing new content by and for Tasmanians.
New initiatives on the way include … what our contributors and readers suggest! Please get in touch with your suggestions.
