About This Show
A new play called China Bound written by Joyce Flynn of South Yarmouth, presents the dilemma of Irish prisoners transported to a penal colony in 1790’s Australia. As brutality in the camp increases, the men are forced to choose between the danger of being reduced to brutes if they stay and the danger of the Australian wilderness if they risk escape. One of them hatches the notion of escaping to China on foot–hence the play’s title. Caught between the Pacific and the wilds of 1790’s Australia, Irish prisoners decide to hike to China, where they know they’ll be appreciated.
China Bound explores a little-known episode in Australian penal history, the so-called “China Travelers.” Not many specifics are known about the 1790’s “Travelers” other than that they were Irish and that part of their motivation in breaking out was a belief that the Chinese had a special affection for the people of Ireland. The play focuses on how one band of six prisoners chose to run away to an imaginary China in the middle of the harsh Australian interior.
Box Office Hours: 20 minutes before showtime
Appropriate For Ages: 16 and above
Free Wine – Free Lollipops – Free Seltzer – Free Parking