A remarkable gathering of Australian theatre veterans is about to take audiences on one final great adventure.

Queensland Theatre Company’s production of Patricia Cornelius’ award-winning Do Not Go Gentle brings together seven of the country’s most distinguished performers – Marilyn Richardson, Andrew Buchanan, Jennifer Flowers, Steven Grives, Christen O’Leary, Bruce Spence and William Zappa – in an inventive work that explores ageing, memory and resilience.

Directed by Heather Fairbairn, Cornelius’ inventive scenario imagines a group of aged-care residents who transform themselves into Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s doomed Antarctic expedition.

Together they turn one of history’s most famous tales of endurance and sacrifice into a meditation on growing old without surrendering one’s sense of self.

Andrew Buchanan says the play strikes particularly close to home.

“My mother is in aged care, so I find the work hits me on a very deep and personal level,” he says.

After more than three decades on Queensland stages, Buchanan says age has fundamentally changed his approach to acting and to life itself.

“Time teaches you that life cannot be controlled. It demands you be courageous, honest and open. We all will march on into the unknown. Get your bearings and pack a...