THE Blue Room Theatre's latest new work, Under the Sun, arose from the patriotism director, producer and co-devisor Warwick Doddrell felt returning to Australia last year following overseas travels.
After studying theatre and film at Curtin University, the 27-year-old spread his wings to explore life and theatre in the UK before teaching English in Asia.
"Having seen the quality of life people have around the world, I felt immense pride at the quality of life we have in Australia," Doddrell said.
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READ NOW"I was a bit miffed because just as I came back there was a lot of discussion about boat people and sending the boats back.
"There was a lot of commentary about, if this is what it is to be Australian then I don't want to be Australian. I found that quite personally affecting because from my international experience, I saw lots of things to be proud about being Australian and others didn't feel this."
Doddrell started to explore the birth of the Australian national identity, including the poetry and prose of Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson.
"They were both influential on what we now hold as that old-school idea of Australia " of the swag man, bushrangers " they really romanticised that in pop culture," Doddrell said.
"We looked at what that image of Australian identity was, why it was important, how it was communicated and then seeing what was the same and different today."
Under the Sun resulted from that initial creative development and is a production about three 20-somethings, played by Maja Liwszyc, Tristan McInnes and Peter Lane Townsend, who go out and experience the bush for the first time.
"It's very much spoken from our perspective of being white, middle-class Australians," Doddrell said.
"Contemporary Australia didn't happen without the hard work of generations of people struggling against the odds and the elements.
"In today's urban environment, I want to rekindle and re-examine this connection with the landscape."
THE ESSENTIALS
What: Under the Sun
Where: The Blue Room Theatre
When: May 19 to June 6
Tickets: www.blueroom.org.au