After touring the critically acclaimed Mother around the nation for a decade, on and off, Noni Hazlehurst, writer Daniel Keene and director Matt Scholten return with another powerful one-hander.

This world premiere season of The Lark is a theatrical gift, with Hazlehurst effortlessly spinning out Keene’s melancholy yet frequently funny yarn. On a sparse, static set, she brings his retired publican Rose Grey to life for 70 extraordinary minutes.

The Lark is the name of the pub Rose visits one last time before it’s demolished. As she wanders down memory lane, we gradually learn that this working-class watering hole was Rose’s world for most of her life.

It was where she was born, where her dad, the former owner, faded away, and day in, day out, where she served a motley crew of characters who came because it wasn’t “home or the hereafter”.

Noni Hazlehurst in The Lark. Photo © Cameron Grant, Parenthesy

Keene’s script is full of memorable lines, both poetic and amusing. Many a turn of phrase – such as “hangin’...