threadbare
About
The birthday candles are lit. A gecko cake; the music of laughter, the warmth of their touch. Memories flicker like worn-out home videos: a child pretending to be the perfect grandchild.Sasha is only just beginning to understand who they are, carrying a quiet hope that one day they might tell their grandmother, Elaine. But dementia has begun to blur Elaine’s memories - fracturing the past and clouding her sense of the present. What follows is a delicate and powerful portrait of two souls reaching for each other through the fog of memory—where identity, timing, and love don’t always align.
Written by multidisciplinary artist Tomas Parrish-Chynoweth (MTC’s What If If Only, When the Light Leaves), threadbare is a moving exploration of dementia and the complexities of family. At its heart lies the story of a fractured relationship between grandparent and grandchild—one shaped by memory, identity, and the struggle to hold onto love when everything else is slipping away.
“A moving, poignant and unique story of queer experience.”
“A nuanced and thoughtful piece of writing that does justice to the fraught experience of navigating complex relationships marred by one party’s degenerative brain illness.”
“A nuanced and thoughtful piece of writing that does justice to the fraught experience of navigating complex relationships marred by one party’s degenerative brain illness.”
Cast
Tomas Parrish-Chynoweth (they/them)
Blake Appelqvist (They/them)
Sarah Fitzgerald (they/them)
Matisse Laida (they/she)
Rebecca Morton (she/her)
Director and Contributor - Manali Datar (she/her)
Assistant Director - Tiah Bullock (she/her)
Producer - Nick Mayer (he/him)
Sound Design - Trevor Adelson (he/him)
Stage Manager - Steph Lee
Lighting Designer - Tom Vulcan
Intimacy Coordinator - Kiana Daniele
Content warning: Coarse language, shouting, sexual themes & intimate content, LGBTQIA+ themes, dementia, death & dying, familial breakdown, foster care, drug use.
Dates
Tuesday 15 July 2025 - Saturday 19 July 2025 (UTC+10)Location
St Martins Youth Arts Centre
28 St Martins Ln, South Yarra VIC 3141
The threadbare team acknowledge the support of the VCA50 Creative Development Grant funded by the Hansen Little Foundation and VCA Foundation.
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