Malthouse opens its 2026 season with a world premiere written and directed by Jada Alberts, who identifies as Yanyuwa, Bardi and Wardaman.

Black Light is set on the outskirts of Darwin, where three generations of Larrakia women gather to avoid the worst of what seems to be a slowly unfolding apocalypse. On their porch by the sea, sisters identified as Mum and Aunty bicker, Bub argues with their ex on the phone about the kids, while Nan, who has dementia, reminisces, forgets, frets, cracks jokes, is lucid and wise.

The depth of their relationships are slowly revealed in the moments of tension and care between them. We also learn of another sister who has disappeared, and the white man they hold responsible. That’s the story’s centre of conflict and one of its few somewhat clear narrative elements.

Tahlee Fereday, Trisha Morton-Thomas and Rachael Maza in Malthouse Theatre’s Black Light. Photo © Pia Johnson

This 90-minute play is more often than not a meditation in a dream-like netherworld. The apocalypse feels remote, essentially a metaphor for colonial destruction, while Nan’s words draw the women back...