EDINBURGH FESTIVAL 2009: THIS MORTAL COIL, Runs August 10-15

Seven characters are catapulted into a mysterious world to confront their destiny. Seemingly waking from a dream, the group of women are challenged by the caretaker of a black room with no doors to
complete a task that will change their lives forever.

As each character reveals various aspects of her past and tries to uncover her reason for being there, it becomes apparent that there is more to the caretaker and the room than first meets the eye. The women also discover that each of them has a past and view of the world that is vastly different from the other.

The play's themes are both universal and timeless - the treatment of women throughout the ages; fate versus self-determination; the possibility of life after death; and the evolution of western society.

Written and directed by Mark Matthews, This Mortal Coil is a fresh and intriguing work, developed
through a Mike Leigh style of improvisation and performed by an exciting new theatre group of graduates from the Sydney Theatre School, an establishment which offers Australia's only production-based training program for professional actors. Leading Australian playwright TimoThy Daly, who has assisted and advised on script development, describes the play as a ‘fascinating premise' with the makings of ‘a very rich experience in the theatre'.

Receiving its world premiere at Edinburgh's Quaker Meeting House and playing between August 10-15, This Mortal Coil will not only entertain, amuse and delight audiences, but also challenge them to question their views on a range of issues, and to reflect on the meaning and purpose of their own lives.