Heroes of the Fourth Turning - Will Arbery

Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre
Director: Emily O’Brien-Brown
Cast: Annie Shapero, Charlie Cousins, Darcy Kent, Margaret Mills, Mollie Mooney
Set & Costume Design: Louise McCarthy
Lighting Design: Effie Soropos
Sound Design: Justin Gardam

Heroes of the Fourth Turning explored devotion, delusion, and the collision of generational and ideological divides. Set at a late-night reunion in rural Wyoming, it follows four young conservatives navigating loyalty, ambition, and faith as the bonds that hold them together threaten to unravel. Will Arbery’s text is densely layered, written in the wake of the Charlottesville riots. It intertwines theology, philosophy, poetry, Catholic thought, and political debate. I approached the work as an investigation into how ideology shapes identity, the human cost of belief, and the tension between moral conviction and destructive potential, while shaping the language and intensity to be immediate and accessible for an Australian audience.

Reviews:

★★★★ “Riveting to watch. Brilliant performances all round. Compelling, intellectually bracing and surprisingly funny, and there’s nothing quite like it in Australian theatre.” - The Age

★★★★ “Director Emily O’Brien-Brown’s work is akin to the work of a conductor and psychoanalyst with the emotional and intellectual precision with which she’s enlivened thisdeeply lyrical text.” - Theatre People

“Powerfully attuned to the emotional and contextual stakes of its subject matter.” - Australian Book Review

“Powerful, insightful, and very well acted.” - The Blurb

“Insightfully written and beautifully performed.” - Stage Whispers