AustLit

'The Crossroads Hotel in Casula has gained the kind of infamy that most venues in 2021 want to avoid. In June the hotel became ground zero for the Covid-19 outbreak in the multiracial, largely working-class area of south-west Sydney. The starkly different, militarised response to this outbreak, compared with those in the eastern suburbs, has arguably done more to entrench Sydney’s west–east divide than any other event in the city’s history.' (Introduction)

'“They said: ‘Keep that boy at arm’s length’. But whose arm? The arm of an orangutan, a giant squid, a Tyrannosaurus rex?” These lines from Chloe Wilson’s short story collection Hold Your Fire could be a response to the standard advice given to girls on how to ward off unwanted sexual advances. It’s the kind of advice that puts the onus on victims, so that the body they’re trying to protect – their own – somehow, monstrously, becomes both predator and prey, a hostile, turbulent force that they must spend their entire lives keeping under tight control.' (Introduction)

'Matte is ready to re-enter the workforce. He's educated, certified and competent. Only, there don't seem to be many jobs…

'At JobReady Agency, it's our job to get you a job, no matter what! Job job job. But you'll have to work for it (because you can't expect to sit around all day on public money, can you?). We'll break you down and build you back up to be the perfect candidate. This may feel a little strange.

'JobReady is a surreal, dark comedy set in an employment agency. The play follows Matte Roland through the dark underbelly of the welfare system.'

Source: Old 505 Theatre.