By Stephen Carleton

Bastard Territory is a confessional human drama about a man – and a city – carving out an identity. Mixing wry humour, raw insight, a dash of Tennessee Williams and a killer 60s and 70s soundtrack, it’s a powerful and affecting yarn.

Russell thought he’d made peace with his past, but the skeletons won’t stay in the closet – even if he came out of it long ago. It’s Darwin in 2001, and Russell and his boyfriend run The Tectonic Plate – a hip café, art gallery, and queer cabaret dive. Its walls are about to be shaken by some earth-shattering truths. PNG-born Russell came to the Territory with his adoptive white parents, but his boho mum shot through when he was eight. Suddenly, unpleasant memories are dredged up from the murky past and Russell has a new fire to find out the truth of his biological parentage.