Finding release

Greg Eccleston has been a figure on the Sydney theatre scene for a number of years, as actor, director and prime force behind Casting Couch Productions. June sees his debut as playwright, with Catharsis having its world premiere at the Tap Gallery.

"Catharsis is set in Sydney, 2003, and is primarily about dealing with loss," said Eccleston. "It's also a boy-meets-girl story. But it's not so much a love story, as it is a story about loss, grief and love as redemption. It touches on a range of life issues, including death, infidelity, impotence, estrangement, alcoholism, sexual disease and rape. Yet, it's still as much a comedy as it is a drama (I hope!)."

Eccleston was inspired to write the play a twelve month overseas trip, which in turn was inspired by his divorce.

"When I got back, I had a feeling my life was starting again, but I didn't know in which direction," he said. "The title Catharsis came first. To avoid being too autobiographical, I then deliberately made the protagonist a female. When I eventually introduced a male character, I couldn't help myself, he became a co-protagonist!"

"I started it as a short story in 1994, and it pretty much sat untouched for the next seven years. When I got back to it, I turned it into a stage play and then finished the first completed draft in a month. It has been been a work-in-progress ever since (currently up to Revision #116!)."

"When I handed it over to a director (Regina Botros) and a dramaturg (Adam Gelin), it has changed more in the past month than the previous nine years! Scenes have been cut, characters deleted... But it is still true to my initial vision. I am in the very fortunate position of being able to take the credit for other peoples' great ideas!"

Not only is Eccleston writing the script, he has also nabbed one of the plumb roles. He said acting in his own script offered its own set of challenges.

"I am finding it really important to give the character his own voice and not speak from my own perspective," he said. "Sometimes, I forget that I know the lines so well that 'Bradley' [the name of Eccleston's character] is speaking them for the first time. Plus if a joke falls flat, I can't really blame the writing!"

Stephen Vagg