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 compass.”

That acceptance has also reshaped his craft. “Early on, I was reaching for a character – someone other than me. I didn’t really know who I was. Now I know that I’m enough.”

Jennifer Flowers views the production as “one last glorious adventure into old age”, embracing the Antarctic setting as a metaphor for resilience.

“The Antarctic metaphor is a challenge to embrace this journey with the same resilience and grace the explorers had,” she says, adding that she hopes “their heroism and courage would inspire all of us.”

Having worked as an actor, director and teacher, Flowers continues to find endless fascination in language itself.

“Bringing a script to life in real time is one of the great gifts of theatre,” she says. “The more deeply we dig into a text, the more that communicates to an audience.”

In rehearsal, Steven Grives. Photo © Georgia Haupt

For actor Steven Grives, 76, the themes resonate every day.

“I look at a tree and think about how strange it is that it has witnessed so many human lives that have come and gone, including my own, and yet it still grows strong,” he says.

Grives believes the play speaks to life’s inevitabilities rather than offering simple answers.

“Life is about resilience. Every one of us will experience the pain of losing someone we are close to.”

Christen O’Leary also finds herself confronting a significant stage of life.

“I do feel I am venturing into a new part of my journey,” she says. “I’ve now lost both my parents, my children are young adults and I’m fast approaching 60. It takes resilience to face this life, but there is spirit and grit and beauty in every human being right up until that final breath.”

While reflecting on career milestones ranging from A Month in the Country to her portrayal of Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow, O’Leary says her enduring love of theatre began with her mother, a drama and music teacher who first introduced her to the stage.

“Inspiring performances from others always reignite my own passion,” she says.

Marilyn Richardson in the Sydney Theatre Company production of Do Not Go Gentle, 2023. Photo © Prudence Upton

At 89, legendary opera singer Marilyn Richardson is the eldest member of the company and uniquely qualified to speak about the play’s themes. After making her dramatic stage debut in the original Sydney Theatre Company production of Do Not Go Gentle in 2023, she now reprises the role in Brisbane.

“This is a play about ageing, memory and resilience,” Richardson says simply. “I’m right in the middle of it all.”

Looking back across a career that has encompassed Wagner, Verdi and Schoenberg, Richardson sees the unexpected twists of her artistic life reflected in Cornelius’ story.

“Isn’t that simply life?” she says.

In rehearsal, Christen O’Leary, Bruce Spence, William Zappa and Jennifer Flowers. Photo © Georgia Haupt

Bruce Spence – who was Assistant Director on the STC production of the play – approaches the work with characteristic wit.

“I’m 80 years old – that should answer the question!” he says when asked why the play speaks to him.

He admires the determination of its elderly characters to continue seeking adventure despite the physical realities of old age.

“Despite dementia, constipation, arthritis, impending death, these characters choose adventure, to ‘fight the dying of the light’,” he says.

His message for audiences is equally straightforward: “Never stop getting the most out of living… There is always something remarkable in everyday adventures.”

William Zappa believes the play ultimately reflects experiences that confront everyone.

“We all have moments when our ambitions are tested, and accepting success or failure is part of life’s lesson,” he says. “There comes a time when all of these themes ring loudly and personally.”

After decades tackling roles from Death of a Salesman to Richard III and his ambitious nine-hour adaptation of The Iliad, Zappa says curiosity remains essential.

“When one has survived in any industry for a long time, you’ve got better at what you do, and being able to pass on those skills is a privilege.”

Queensland Theatre Company presents Do Not Go Gentle in the Billie Brown Theatre, Brisbane, 11-30 August.