When the Rain Stops Falling

The play opens to the sound of falling rain in the desert region of Alice Springs, Australia in 2039.{{cite web|title=When the Rain Stops Falling|url=http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/when-the-rain-stops-falling-iid-150884|website=Drama Online|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc|access-date=16 March 2017|ref=2}}

Itinerant, eccentric wanderer, Gabriel York, is waiting for a visit from his adult English son, Andrew, after years of estrangement. Gabriel is keen to make a good impression. With an empty wallet, empty fridge and flooding barring the roads, Gabriel has no idea what to serve his son or where to find food. Suddenly a fish falls from the sky, landing at his feet.

The action then shifts to the past, to a modest flat in London in 1959.

The relationship between married couple Henry and Elizabeth Law (Gabriel York's grandparents) begins to suffer soon after their son (Gabriel Law) is born. In the same flat in 1988, Gabriel Law's relationship is strained due to his mother Elizabeth's refusal to shed light on his father's mysterious disappearance when he was only seven.

Keen to retrace his father's footsteps and piece together his family's past, Gabriel Law journeys to Australia where he meets a vulnerable young roadhouse waitress, Gabrielle York. Gabrielle is troubled by her own tragic past, having lost both her parents in the aftermath of her brother's disappearance. The pair discover the truth about their family histories.

The play takes place in various timeframes between 1959 and 2039, in rural Alice Springs and Coorong, Australia and London, England.{{cite web|title=When the Rain Stops Falling - show program|url=https://www.bsstc.com.au/assets/Uploads/Files/Programmes/Rain-ProgramWebNEW.pdf|website=Black Swan Theatre Company|publisher=Black Swan Theatre Company|access-date=24 May 2017}} The 2039 scenes feel faintly apocalyptic.{{cite web|last1=Rooney|first1=David|title=Review: 'When the Rain Stops Falling'|url=https://variety.com/2010/legit/reviews/when-the-rain-stops-falling-1117942369/|website=Variety Magazine|publisher=Variety Media|access-date=16 March 2017}} Much of the action is staged around a dining room table, where family members almost "catch glimpses of one another across time".{{cite web|last1=Nestruck|first1=J. Kelly|title=When the Rain Stops Falling: Haunting, simple and beautiful|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/when-the-rain-stops-falling-haunting-simple-and-beautiful/article629655/|website=The Globe and Mail|publisher=Phillip Crawley|access-date=23 May 2017}} Famous Australian landmark, Uluru can be seen as a surreal backdrop in several scenes.

The full list of characters is:

• Gabriel York
• Gabriel Law
• Gabrielle York (younger and older versions)
• Henry Law
• Andrew Price
• Elizabeth Law (younger and older versions)
• Joe Ryan

The original cast of the 2008 and 2009 production consisted of Paul Blackwell, Michaela Cantwell, Carmel Johnson, Kris McQuade, Yalin Ozucelik, Anna Lise Phillips, Neil Pigot and musician and composer Quentin Grant, who was a collaborator in the creative process and performed the piano music live.{{cite web|title=When the Rain Stops Falling - cast and creatives|url=http://www.brinkproductions.com/productions/when-the-rain-stops-falling|website=Brink Productions|publisher=Brink Productions Limited|access-date=16 March 2017}}{{cite web|title=When the Rain Stops Falling|url=http://www.stagewhispers.com.au/reviews/when-rain-stops-falling|website=Stage Whispers|access-date=22 March 2017}}

The two hour full-length play is performed without an intermission.{{cite web|last1=Zoglin|first1=Richard|title=The Best New Play of the Year|url=http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1973108,00.html|website=Time Magazine|publisher=Time Inc|access-date=16 March 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Laurie|first1=Victoria|title=When the Rain Stops Falling|url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/reviews/2011/11/03/3355589.htm|website=ABC Radio Perth|publisher=ABC Radio|access-date=22 March 2017}} Its non-linear structure is unfolded in 22 scenes. The drama features several monologues.

A critic from Time Magazine described the play as featuring "the most complicated time-shifting dramatic structure I've seen in years" due to the deliberately disorienting shifts in timeframe and characters from different periods often overlapping on stage.

As the drama progresses, the connections between the interweaving stories and the characters become clear.

Repetition and idioms, passed down throughout the generations, are devices used throughout the play.{{cite web|last1=Katz|first1=Alan|title=When the Rain Stops Falling - review at 1st stage|url=http://dctheatrescene.com/2016/02/10/when-the-rain-stops-falling-at-1st-stage-review/|website=DC Theater Scene|access-date=19 March 2017}}

Described as a "poetic pretzel of a play", the drama has drawn comparisons to another structurally complex piece, Wajdi Mouawad's Incendies (also known as Scorched in English translation).

When the Rain Stops Falling explores themes relating to self-identity, abandonment, forgiveness and love and how inherited legacies shape our future in seen and unseen ways.{{cite web|title=When the Rain Stops Falling|url=http://newtheatre.org.au/when-the-rain-stops-falling/|website=New Theatre|publisher=New Theatre Sydney|access-date=16 March 2017}}

The themes are referenced in Gabriel York's opening monologue as he nervously awaits his son:

"I know what he wants. He wants what all young men want from their fathers. He wants to know who he is. Where he comes from. Where he belongs. And for the life of me I don't know what to tell him."{{cite web|title=When the Rain Stops Falling|url=http://www.currency.com.au/product_detail.aspx?productid=2413|website=Currency Press - the performing arts publisher|publisher=Currency Press|access-date=20 March 2017}}

According to Time Magazine journalist Richard Zoglin, the time shifts throughout the play serve as metaphors for the "impossibility of escaping the past, for the way we are all shaped by what came before — and are living in the shadow of what comes next." The drama poses the question of whether we have the capacity to correct the damage of the past in the present. For all its bleakness, there are surprising moments of humor. The play ends on a note of optimism and hope.

Climate change and how it has reshaped the world is a major theme, with the textured soundscape and lighting design conveying both an ominous atmosphere and an unceasing tropical rainstorm in Alice Springs in 2039.{{cite web|last1=Billington|first1=Michael|title=When the Rain Stops Falling review|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/may/22/theatre-review-when-the-rain-stops-falling|website=The Guardian|publisher=The Guardian News and Media Limited|access-date=16 March 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Lancaster|first1=Lynne|title=When the Rain Stops Falling|url=http://performing.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/performing-arts/lynne-lancaster/when-the-rain-stops-falling-247493|website=Performing Arts Hub|publisher=Arts Hub Australia Pty Ltd|access-date=22 March 2017}}

In an interview, the playwright Andrew Bovell said the play depicted "the relationship between a family saga and the Anthropocene."{{cite web|last1=BWW Newsdesk|title=When the Rain stops Falling continues the Wilma Theater's 2016/17 season|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/philadelphia/article/WHEN-THE-RAIN-STOPS-FALLING-Continues-The-Wilma-Theaters-201617-Season-20160915|website=Broadway World Pennsylvania|publisher=Wisdom Digital Media|access-date=16 March 2017}}

"We inherit what is unresolved from the past, and if we do not resolve it ourselves, we pass it on to our descendants. Are we prepared to pass on the damage from the past to our children?"

An Australian ABC Radio review referred to the play as a universal quest for answers, tackling the scope of global issues about whether the environment will survive humankind to more personal questions about "how we can survive our own family histories and traumas".{{cite web|last1=Laurie|first1=Victoria|title=When the Rain Stops Falling|url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/reviews/2011/11/03/3355589.htm|website=ABC Radio Perth|publisher=ABC Radio|access-date=19 March 2017}}

The play was commissioned and originally produced by Brink Productions in Adelaide, South Australia, developed in collaboration with contemporary artist and designer, Hossein Valamanesh.

When Rain the Stops Falling was first performed at the Scott Theatre, University of Adelaide, on 28 February 2008. Directed by Chris Drummond, the production was co-presented by Brink Productions, the 2008 Adelaide Festival of Arts and the State Theatre Company of South Australia.

Australian productions have also taken place in Brisbane, Alice Springs, Cairns, Sydney and Perth.{{cite web|title=When the Rain Stops Falling - show program|url=https://www.bsstc.com.au/assets/Uploads/Files/Programmes/Rain-ProgramWebNEW.pdf|website=Black Swan State Theatre Company|publisher=Black Swan State Theatre Company|access-date=24 May 2017}}

The play premiered in Europe at the Almeida Theatre, London, on 15 May 2009. This production was directed by Michael Attenborough and designed by Miriam Buether.

In the United States, the play premiered at the Lincoln Center Theater, New York in March 2010 and was directed by David Cromer.{{cite web|title=When the Rain Stops Falling {{!}} Lincoln Center Theater|url=http://www.lct.org/shows/when-the-rain-stops-falling|website=Lincoln Center Theater|access-date=22 November 2017|language=en}}

In New Zealand, the Silo Theatre-produced drama premiered at the Herald Theatre, Auckland, in June 2010.{{cite web|title=When the Rain Stops Falling|url=https://www.theatreview.org.nz/reviews/production.php?id=1682|website=The New Zealand Performing Art Review and Directory|publisher=New Zealand Performing Arts Directory (PAD)|access-date=16 March 2017}}

The Canadian premiere was presented at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada. The show was directed by renowned Canadian director Peter Hinton to critical acclaim.{{cite web|title=When the Rain Stops Falling: Haunting, simple and beautiful {{!}} Shaw Festival|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/when-the-rain-stops-falling-haunting-simple-and-beautiful/article629655/|website=Globe and Mail|access-date=4 May 2018|language=en}}

The play’s development was supported by the Australia Council's New Australian Stories Initiative, Arts South Australia's Major Commissions, the Pratt Foundation and Brink Production’s Principal Benefactor Maureen Ritchie.

The Australian newspaper described it as "a spell binding saga"{{better source needed|date=November 2017}} while the Sydney Morning Herald stated it was a "theatre of rare intimacy and resonance."{{cite web|last1=Blake|first1=Jason|title=When the Rain Stops Falling review|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/arts/arts-reviews/when-the-rain-stops-falling/2009/05/13/1241894030248.html|website=Sydney Morning Herald|publisher=Fairfax Newspapers|access-date=16 March 2017}}

The Daily Telegraph commented that it was "Visually arresting, cleverly written and populated with interesting, gritty characters…a truly great addition to modern Australian theatre..."{{better source needed|date=November 2017}}

Time Magazine described it as "the best play of 2010".

In contrast, the New York Times commented the "elaborate structure" made it "hard to fully immerse yourself in the destinies of the people onstage".{{cite web|last1=Isherwood|first1=Charles|title=Fish Soup and Bad Weather, Across the Decades|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/theater/reviews/09when.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=16 March 2017}}

Meanwhile, a Variety Magazine reviewer noted that the play "is likely to be a divisive work" due to its confusing narrative elements but acclaimed its "suspenseful and peculiar language, which is earthy and naturalistic but also intensely lyrical".

The play has won a number of awards including:

• AWGIE Stage Award (2009){{citation|title=AWGIE AWARD WINNERS 1968 - 2017|url=https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awgau/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/12165340/Past-AWGIE-Award-Winners-1968-2017FINAL.pdf|publisher=Australian Writers Guild|access-date=22 November 2017}}
• Sydney Theatre Awards - Best new Australian work (2009){{cite web|title=2009 {{!}} Sydney Theatre Awards|url=http://www.sydneytheatreawards.com/history/2009|website=www.sydneytheatreawards.com|access-date=22 November 2017}}
• Green Room Award - Best Production and Best New Writing for the Australian Stage (2009)
• Louis Esson Prize for Drama (2008){{cite web|title=Louis Esson Prize for Drama {{!}} AustralianPlays.org|url=https://australianplays.org/award/louis-esson-prize-for-drama|website=australianplays.org|access-date=22 November 2017|language=en}}
• Queensland Premier's Literary Award - Best Drama (2008).

The production at the Lincoln Center Theater, New York, in 2010 won in five categories at the Lucille Lortel Awards, including Outstanding Director, Outstanding Featured Actress, Outstanding Scenic Design, Outstanding Lighting Design and Outstanding Sound Design.{{cite web|title=The Lucille Lortel Awards 2010|url=http://www.lortelaward.com/2010nominees.htm|website=The Lucille Lortel Awards|access-date=16 March 2017}}

The production at the Greenhouse Theater Center, Chicago{{cite web|title=When the Rain Stops Falling|url=http://www.theatreinchicago.com/when-the-rain-stops-falling/6090/|website=Theater in Chicago|access-date=16 March 2017}} won four awards at the 2013 Non-Equity Jeff Awards for Best Production, Best Director, Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Artistic Specialization.{{cite web|last1=Jones|first1=Chris|title=2013 Non-Equity Jeffs: Circle, Den, Theo Ubique take top honors|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-ent-0604-non-equity-jeff-20130603-column.html|website=Chicago Tribune|access-date=16 March 2017}}

The script was first published by Currency Press, Australia in 2009.

{{more citations needed|date=November 2017}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{YouTube|H3s2DyrC03g |Clips from Adelaide Festival premiere}}

Category:2008 plays

Category:Fiction set in 1959

Category:Fiction set in 1988

Category:Fiction set in 2039

Category:Plays set in the 1950s

Category:Plays set in the 1980s

Category:Plays set in the 21st century

Category:Plays set in Australia

Category:Plays set in London

Category:Plays by Andrew Bovell

Category:Uluru

Category:Tragedy plays