S. Shakthidharan’s new play The Wrong Gods will be co-produced by Belvoir and Melbourne Theatre Company in 2025. Photo © Daniel Boud

One of theatre’s big challenges is capturing the shifting political and cultural zeitgeist, given plays can take several years to ripen and become production-ready. Sometimes, however, scripts can presciently anticipate newsworthy developments in matters central to human survival and self-expression.

Consider, for instance, the first play for 2025 at Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre, Truth by playwright Patricia Cornelius. Directed by her longtime collaborator Susie Dee, five young actors play WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at various stages of his life, as well as portraying whistleblowers Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden. When commissioned several years ago, its makers could not have anticipated Assange’s release from a British prison last June, after agreeing to...