Beneath an Oxbow Lake is a multi-generational coming of age tale about two young men set in Griffith.

Faced with some big decisions as their schooling comes to end, the boys explore what staying in town means to their futures, and if leaving as soon as they can really is the best step. The story revolves around two local families, and investigates what impact our parent’s decisions have on us, and what impact our decisions have on our futures. It is a play that shares an authentic regional voice and resonates with communities in South West NSW.

The Outback Theatre for Young People (OTYP) has chosen to open the play in its ‘home town’.

Written by Julian Larnach and directed by Paige Rattray, the show debuts on Wednesday 24 June. The production will then tour on to Deniliquin, and the Australian Theatre for Young People in Sydney.

The play had been developed through a comprehensive mentoring process with writer Julian Larnach (winner of the OTYP EMERGE: Riverina playwright commission) and mentor Jessica Bellamy (has worked with ATYP, Tamarama Rock Surfers and Griffin Theatre, among others).

“I hope that through the combination of my own personal experiences of rural New South Wales, my extensive research on the area, and my consultation with young people, I am able to tell a story that resonates with the people who live here,” Mr Larnach said.

“My mum and her family grew up in the area so it’s always been in my periphery vision and central to my understanding of the world. Growing up in a cattle farm in regional New South Wales, my experience of theatre was limited to Shakespeare and bi-yearly school musicals. Outback Theatre for Young People is a great company as it realises that theatre has the capacity to shine a light on the manifold experience of regional Australia in an honest and imaginative way.”

OTYP’s creative producer Sarah Parsons said they were thrilled to be sharing a story from Griffith with the wider communities of NSW.

“Outback Theatre for Young People has cast the production with young people from the Riverina, as we want to make sure local people have ownership over Julian’s story, as it is their story too,” Ms Parsons said.

“We are so excited to share this story with audiences in our region, and all the way to Sydney. A regional playwright sharing a regional story, told by young regional actors, it’s not every day you get a chance to see that, so it is definitely something to be celebrated.”

Tickets are on sale now from Griffith Regional Theatre.